CES 2022: all eyes on NFTs

CES 2022 (Consumer Electronics Show) is one of the world’s biggest tech events/conferences. 

The event was held from January 5 to 8 in its annual stomping grounds of the illustrious Las Vegas. In 2021, CES had to pivot to an all-digital format thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even with the Omicron variant causing concern, CES 2022 had a strong showing in Las Vegas. Thankfully, that allowed the blockchain tech showcase to shine in its inaugural year of inclusion.

The history of CES: from 17k attendees to 1+m

The first CES took place decades ago, back in 1967 in New York City, boasting over 17,000 attendees in its inaugural year. It has since moved to Las Vegas, but CES today remains the go-to conference in the world for entrepreneurs, influencers, media members, technology thought leaders, and tech fans and enthusiasts.

There was a lot of buzz before the show, especially with the rise in prominence of the new blockchain tech exhibitors and features, with questions in the media and amongst participants as to: 

• Will the NFT craze be brought up among the exhibits? 
• How many cryptocurrency startups and organizations will show up? 
• What innovative CES blockchain tech will there be to show off, since the conference is known for showcasing game-changing technologies? 
• Will there be products or companies related to the DeFi sector? 
• What did CES 2022 offer in terms of the cryptocurrency sector? 

For the first time in its history, CES keynotes and panels featured major CEOs and influencers of crypto-centric companies, including Atomic Form, Autograph, and FTX. Even Samsung, which hosts one of the largest footprints in the entire conference, showcased its future-forward initiatives and concepts for blockchain and the metaverse.

Let’s examine a few of the prominent companies featured at this year’s CES 2022 conference and find out what they’ve been doing.

Atomic Form

Atomic Form is based in New York, and the company claims that “building a blockchain-based internet of property” is one of its main goals. Atomic Form sells products that allow NFT collectors to display and aggregate the NFTs that they own and verify ownership at the same time. 

Those who use the products can also control what information about the NFT is displayed. In other words, Atomic Form wants to be the premier “frame” for NFT collectors to show off their collections. It planned to showcase its 27-inch 4K LCD “Atomic Wave” product at CES.

On its website, Atomic Form says it “makes hardware and software for NFTs and Web3 media.” What exactly does that look like, and what does the future hold for Atomic Form? It seems like there’s a lot of mystery around this company, but it used this opportunity to showcase new CES blockchain tech that can help it gain traction in the sector.

Autograph

Many NFT companies are making a name for themselves, but Autograph has been making major moves lately. Dillon Rosenblatt is the 23-year-old son of a tech mogul who is showing the world that he might just have inherited the entrepreneurship gene. 

He’s the founder of Autograph, a company that has launched NFT collections with sports stars like Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, and Naomi Osaka. In fact, Brady is a co-founder. Autograph’s goal is to become the go-to NFT platform to launch collections by the biggest names in sports, entertainment, and culture. The fact that Autograph has a deal with DraftKings is also a great sign for the future. 

FTX

It’s no surprise that FTX had a prominent showing. If bets were taken on what blockchain-focused companies would show up at the CES, many people would’ve mentioned FTX as one of their first answers. The cryptocurrency exchange has had an incredible year, and it’s now valued at somewhere around $32 billion. 

It’s also founded by the world’s richest man under 30, crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried. As far as CES blockchain tech companies go, FTX is one of the most high-profile companies involved in the conference. The crypto exchange recently pushed for banks to accept stablecoins, offering a $1 million prize for banks in different regions to do so.

There’s no doubt that FTX is one of the companies on the frontline for mainstream cryptocurrency adoption. After all, the exchange is even buying Super Bowl ads to reach as many viewers as possible. FTX will be interested in showcasing their partnerships, but they are still tight-lipped about future crypto derivatives features and NFT services.

What else should I know about CES 2022?

One of the biggest CES blockchain tech trends is the NFT space, with many major companies making their presence known. Blockparty and Infinite Objects are both NFT marketplaces and were showcased at CES 2022. Also, more metaverse companies were highlighted, which isn’t surprising considering it’s one of Wall Street’s biggest recent buzzwords.

There were some major names at the CES blockchain tech showcase. It’s very clear that CES is focused on the NFT space specifically rather than other subcategories of the cryptocurrency sector. Two other companies that had a prominent presence at CES 2022 were Blockparty and Infinite Objects, both of which are NFT marketplaces.