For two days, the City of Lights transformed into the European capital of NFTs. After a first edition that brought together nearly 1,000 people at Station F in 2022, the major Parisian event dedicated to non-fungible tokens once again found its audience. This year, more than 10,000 people from all over the world strolled through the aisles of the Grand Palais Éphémère to discover the latest innovations in Web3 . " We really wanted this venue ," explains Alexandre Tsydenkov, co-founder of NFT Paris . "It 's a very well-known building in Paris, I would even say symbolic. Having a successful edition at the Grand Palais means that NFTs have become part of the culture ," he justifies.

Democratize NFTs

As soon as you step through the doors, you'll find The Smurfs' Society 's booth and its three-meter-tall Smurf, graffitied by the artist André. 3D printed from recycled plastic waste, it's destined to be auctioned off to benefit a charity. " We're a collective of Web 2.0 entrepreneurs who have transitioned to Web 3.0, and we wanted to create a project with impact," explains Christophe Menard, co-founder of The Smurfs' Society. "To do this, we acquired the licenses for these characters and are developing a collection of 12,500 Smurfs in NFT format ." A fun way to discover these digital certificates, considered tamper-proof because they're powered by the blockchain.

Just a few steps away, things get serious. Arianee welcomes visitors to demonstrate how Web3D can reinvent the relationship between brands and their communities. Between conferences, attendees can scan a QR code at the booth to spin a virtual wheel and win NFTs offered by partner brands. This program impressed Brigitte Macron, a surprise guest at the event, who spent considerable time discussing the possibilities offered by Web3D with the Arianee team.

Crypto art, star of NFT Paris 2023

Among these new applications, we find the founders of Billy , a fledgling company offering a ticketing solution using NFTs. " We offer event organizers a rather virtuous system that prevents fraud, regulates the secondary market, and engages their community by sharing exclusive content ," explains Robin Champseix, co-founder of the startup. Billy's solution also allows people to preserve their tickets by transforming them into digital works of art. " We're quite nostalgic for the days when we could collect our tickets ," he adds. This vision resonates with the theme of this year's NFT Paris: the future of creativity. " The organizers did a fantastic job, and with the digital art section, we really understand what an NFT is ."

Far more than just a digital artwork, NFTs open up new possibilities for artists. And numerous works at this exhibition demonstrate this to visitors, such as AA Murakami's "The Passage of Ra." " It's a truly impressive installation with smoke rings projected into a digital world ," explains Alexandre Tsydenkov, the event's co-founder.

On the French creative front, the Ebb studio, run by artist Neil Beloufa, invites visitors to generate an image from a scan of their backside! Created with digital art specialist Nicolas Sassoon, this installation is described by Constantin Beck, the project manager, as " a reflection of what's happening in the crypto world ." It's a fun way to demystify NFTs for the venue's many visitors.