Dubai's Museum of the Future to launch its first NFT collection

The collection will be offered in collaboration with Binance NFT

Dubai's Museum of the Future will embody the forward-thinking spirit of the UAE's founding fathers, a senior Emirati minister said. Photo: UAE Government Media Office

The museum opened its doors to the public on February 22. Photo: UAE Government Media Office

Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, said that it would be much more than a museum, serving as a 'research lab' for the future. Photo: UAE Government Media Office

The museum will feature a dedicated space for children, helping to harness their love of learning. Photo: UAE Government Media Office

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, hailed it as the "most beautiful building on Earth". Photo: UAE Government Media Office

Workers are dwarfed by the Museum of the Future in this November 2019 picture. The intricate design is inspired by Arabic script. Antonie Robertson / The National

The striking structure was years in the making. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The opening date was pushed back several times and a 2020 opening date came and went as the pandemic hit. Photo: Dubai Media Office

This 2018 image shows the unique design taking shape. Antonie Robertson / The National

A cyclist poses for a photograph in front of the museum in November. AP Photo / Jon Gambrell

The unique facade was voted among the most striking in the world in a recent poll. AP Photo

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visit the museum in September. Wam

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid tries out some of the museum's technological features. Wam

Dubai's Museum of the Future is to launch its first non-fungible token (NFT) collection — The Most Beautiful NFTs in the metaverse — as it aims to develop a range of products on the blockchain.

The collection will be in collaboration with Binance NFT, the NFT marketplace of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Binance has been expanding its presence in the Middle East, following approvals to operate in Bahrain and Dubai, and has received in-principle approval from the Abu Dhabi Global Market.

“Museum of the Future’s partnership with the world’s largest cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem player makes a significant contribution towards Dubai’s plans to establish a new international digital asset ecosystem, which will, in turn, generate long-term economic growth within the digital economy,” Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, said in a statement.

The first NFT drop is set to be announced in the coming weeks, "with the collection to be intrinsically linked to 'The Most Beautiful Building on Earth’, aiming to set new standards for NFTs worldwide", Museum of the Future said.

The museum was inaugurated by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, in February.

The museum was hailed as one of the most beautiful buildings on Earth in a 2021 list compiled by National Geographic magazine — and that was before its construction was even completed.

The 77-metre-tall architectural marvel houses a series of interactive exhibitions that give visitors the chance to experience the technologies and trends that promise to shape the future of humanity. Spanning an area of 30,000 square metres, the pillar-less structure is also promoted as a novel global intellectual centre.

What is the metaverse?

The metaverse is a digital space where participants, represented by three-dimensional digital representations called avatars, interact.

In other words, it is an online equivalent of a person in a virtual world — performing, interacting and transacting.

No one owns the metaverse, not Meta (formerly Facebook), even if it named itself as such.

Like the internet, there is no defined owner and the metaverse can be expanded under internationally-adopted regulations.

What are NFTs?

NFTs are tokens that represent ownership of unique items. They allow the tokenisation of things such as art, collectibles and even real estate.

An NFT can have only one official owner at one time. And since they're minted and secured on the Ethereum blockchain, no one can modify the record of ownership, not even copy-paste it into a new one.

This means NFTs are not interchangeable and cannot be exchanged with other items. In contrast, fungible items, such as fiat currencies, can be exchanged because their value defines them rather than their unique properties.

NFTs are receiving increasing attention in Dubai, which is focusing on developing future technologies as part of its move towards the digital economy.

NFT collectors have sent more than $37 billion worth of digital assets to NFT marketplaces so far in 2022, nearing the $40bn recorded for all of last year, blockchain platform Chainalysis said in a report earlier this month.