World’s first NFT vending machine arrives to New York City

Neon, an NFT marketplace and gallery built on Solana recently rolled out the world’s first NFT vending machine–located just off Wall Street in New York.

The machine operates 24/7 and facilitates NFT purchases with no cryptocurrency, crypto wallet, or specialized knowledge required. 

How does it work?

Located in the Big Apple’s financial district, the unique vending machine accepts USD credit and debit cards. Upon purchase, it allegedly dispenses a box containing a unique code for the chosen NFT, which can then be redeemed on the Neon platform. 

“Our goal is to support artists and creators by letting them sell digital art to everyone, and to help anyone who wants to become a collector,” explained Jordan Birnholtz, CMO and co-founder of Neon, in an official press release. 

According to Birnholtz:

“NFT buying and selling doesn’t need to be a mystery and you shouldn’t be required to hold Ethereum, write a smart contract, pay gas costs or bridge blockchains to participate.”

The CMO elaborated that Neon wanted to “engage the widest possible audience,” which entails decoupling cryptocurrency from NFT participation.

Allowing NFT artists to reach new collectors

“While only 2% of Americans have digital wallets, 80% have a credit card or debit card,” he argued, implying that there is a bigger NFT market out there, which expands beyond crypto savvy audiences.

As Birnholtz pointed out, this implies a 40-fold increase in terms of market reach for the NFT artists, who stand to significantly broaden their customer base.

“We want to empower creators and digital artists whose work has often been undervalued because it’s not tangible in a traditional sense. We make selling digital art even simpler than selling physical art. If creators want to make NFTs based on their existing content or based on new material, we want them on Neon,” he noted, appealing to NFT artists.

Built on the Solana blockchain, Neon prides itself on being an environmentally friendly marketplace. 

“We wanted to embrace a blockchain that’s fast, green and meets demand at a global scale,” Birnholtz added, pointing out that all of Neon’s transactions are carbon neutral thanks to offsets purchased by the Solana Foundation.