Turns out NFTs and crypto tokens aren’t just about cartoon apes, video-gaming weaponry and difficult-to-explain yield-farming protocols. We knew that, but here are two use cases we weren’t aware of – NFTs for wild-caught lobsters, and tokenised vintage-wine investment.

We’ll start with the lobster, before pairing with some fractionalised vino.

As reported by Decrypt, the Tezos-blockchain-based non-fungible token (NFT) platform OneOf has announced it’s created an NFT-based membership club with a US-based online seafood delivery service called Get Maine Lobster.

The “Lobster Perks+” memberships are tiered at four levels, reportedly ranging from a free, entry-level pass offering discounts and other perks, to “feature-rich passes” that involve lobster and seafood deliveries to door, as well as merch and other benefits.

According to Decrypt, the top-tiered “Diamond Club NFT”, for example, bundles all the perks from the previous tier with 100 lbs (about 45kg) of live, wild-caught lobster spread out across 12 monthly deliveries, valued at US$1,250.

You may be wondering, why does a lobster-delivery business need NFTs to do this? It’s a fair question, and to be honest, it appears as if there’s a hefty element of marketing gimmick at play.

Delving a bit deeper, however, and it’s clear that Mark Murrell, founder of Get Maine Lobster, is clearly well versed in NFTs and the metaverse.

Like many enterprises big and small (see trademark lawyer Mike Kondoudis’ tweets below) you could argue he’s putting his business ahead of the curve here with a well-planned campaign of tokenised benefits – one that contributes to further mainstream adoption of utility-based digital assets secured on the blockchain.

“Owning an NFT doesn’t just mean that you now have a record of your purchase,” writes Murrell on the Get Maine Lobster site. “With absolute proof of ownership comes some nice perks, depending on the NFT you buy.”

He continues, citing one of the most successful NFT clubs to date: “The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT project allows owners of their NFTs to access an exclusive club that features guest speakers, promotions, and additional benefits.

“There’s no requirement for a password or verification either, as the existence of a Bored Ape NFT token in your wallet is proof enough that you belong in the club.”

 

Fractionalised, tokenised vintage wine menu, sir?

Courtesy of a Singapore-based private market exchange called ADDX, private investors who know their Burgundy from their, er, Chateau Verdafloor (thanks, Billy Birmingham), can now invest in a curated portfolio of vintage French wines through fractionalised tokens.

According to info provided to Stockhead, the wines are sourced from top wineries in the famed Burgundy region of France, including Domaine Coche-Dury and Domaine Leroy.

About half of the bottles carry “Grand Cru” appellations, which is the highest tier of wine classification in Burgundy. The indicative worth of each bottle ranges from hundreds of dollars to thousands, with the vintage years of the wines falling between 2006 and 2020.

According to ADDX, which is capital markets services licensed and approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the bottles are all stored in a professional, secured wine storage facility in Singapore and fully insured.

In September, the firm explains, the primary subscription for the wine NFTs was completed at S$0.83 per token (AUD$0.92).

“The minimum subscription size was set at 1,000 tokens or S$830, to give investors fractional access to the investment deal,” ADDX noted, and the secondary trading of tokens is now live on the ADDX exchange. 

The portfolio, which has an estimated worth of about $1 million all up, is managed by Provenance Treasures – a licensed wholesale wine and alcohol-trading company and a subsidiary of Singapore Exchange-listed company Intraco Limited (SGX: I06).

 

‘Wine can play a unique role in portfolio diversification’

Fancy getting involved? It’s not for average punters, mind. In order to take part with ADDX, you need to be an accredited investor that meets certain net-worth criteria, a wealth manager or corporate investor. Nevertheless, a fractionalised-token use case is clear for broadening luxury assets such as vintage wine to a wider range of investors.

ADDX CEO Oi-Yee Choo said: “The value of fine wine as an investment class has appreciated 137% over the past decade. Wine investments can play a unique role in portfolio diversification because investment performance tends to be based on factors unrelated to the stock markets.

“These include weather and climate patterns, harvest yields, vineyard reputation and consumer trends,” added Choo.

Intraco’s Executive Chairman and Director Mak Lye Mun meanwhile noted: “We have seen an acceleration in the demand for digital assets. The tokenisation of the wines is another step towards Intraco Group’s strategy to expand into the digital assets business. We are very encouraged by the interest investors have shown towards the wine tokens.”

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