The Associated Press Will Launch Polygon-Based NFT Marketplace

The Associated Press will launch a polygon-based NFT marketplace that will feature Pulitzer Prize-winning photo shots so let’s read more in our latest crypto news.

The Associated Press will launch a photo NFT marketplace based on Polygon and will include Pulitzer-prize winning photos. Amid the ongoing frenzy of companies that enter the growing NFT industry, the Associated Press will join the frenzy with its own marketplace of NFT photos from its award-winning journalists. The marketplace will feature an array of photos including a few that won the Pulitzer Prize as well as the digitally enhanced depictions of the photographer’s work. The not-for-profit marketplace will run on Polygon which is a sidechain scaling solution for Ethereum that was built by Xooa blockchain company.

The AP’s initial drops will spread out in a series of weeks starting on January 31 with images focused on the topics like climate, space, and war. The shots from photographers like Emilio Morenatti and Oded Balilty will also be included in the first waves. Each NFT will feature detailed metadata and information about the shot in question and according to the release, the metadata will feature information about the time, date, and location of the photos alogn with the camera settings used to capture the image. The AP director of blockchain and data licensing Dwayne Desaulniers noted:

Each NFT will feature detailed metadata—or stored information—about the shot in question. According to a release, the metadata will feature information about the date, time, and location of each photo, along with the equipment and camera settings used to capture the image.

“For 175 years, AP’s photographers have recorded the world’s biggest stories through gripping and poignant images that continue to resonate today. With Xooa’s technology, we are proud to offer these tokenized pieces to a fast-growing global audience of photography NFT collectors.”

Polygon uses a lot less energy than the Ethereum mainnet and delivers faster and cheaper transactions. The AP marketplace will support both credit card and crypto payments and will allow for secondary market sales. The proceeds will support unbiased AP journalism according to the press release. Photography is a growing segment of the NFT market and it is effectively a receipt for a unique digital item such as video files, video games, and images. The market swelled to $22 billion in trading volume in 2021 according to DappRadar.

This is not the AP first step into the blockchain market. The AP partnered with blockchain oracle maker Chainlink Labs to create a Chainlink node and use the network to provide data whcih cannot be tampered with. The Associated Press planned to use chainlink for data like election results, financial reports, and sports scores.