MUMBAI: Celebrating the spirit of unity and freedom this August, renowned artists Priya Malik, Vinay Kaushal, DJ Shaan, Nehha Rajpal, Abhishek Bhaskar, among others, are set to launch non-fungible digital tokens on the WazirX NFT Marketplace. A special tribute to 75 glorious years of India’s Independence, the creations dropped by these top artists are bound by a common theme of challenging the norms, staying fearless, and breaking free. A total number of 2071 NFTs have been minted so far on the WazirX NFT platform, out of which 752 NFTs worth 109,512.56 WRX have been sold.

Taking the center stage in the NFT marketplace, popular poet and writer Priya Malik have bowled the NFT marketplace over with some of her stellar creations ‘Broken But Beautiful’ and ‘Main 2019 mein 1999 dhoond rahi hoon’. Her next NFT drop, Azadi, which consists of a poem, written exclusively for WazirX, will be a tribute to women and their journey towards financial freedom. 50% of the sales of this special NFT will go to charities that work for the upliftment of women. Priya’s NFT is an amalgamation of her poetry and art.

METAVOICE IIIx75 by Abhishek ABVERSE Bhaskar is the next evolutionary phase in the genesis collaboration between the human voice & generative art. Abhishek aims to bring to light India’s rich heritage & culture of music via exploring two native genres of music that are characteristic of Indian music. The first drop would be on “Tapanguthu” / “Dappankoothu” / “Tapanguchi” which is renowned for its free-natured beats accompanied by its high-intensity dance. The second drop would be featuring the beauty of Maharashtrian folk genres of music – Lavani/Lavni, Pavada & Bhaleri.

Making his way to the hearts of the audience, musician Vinay Kaushal has created a niche for himself in the past two years of being in the music circuit. When he debuted in 2018 with his first album, the musician and writer received accolades from known people from the music industry. His creation ‘TRAPPED- Moral Boxes’ is one of the most talked-about NFT creations on the marketplace. His breakthrough theme to bust the stereotypes that we are often kept boxed in makes it an apt freedom day release. The three-part series consists of parallels drawn about society and greed, through music and dance. Along with the digital asset, for the first collector, Vinay Kaushal will be giving a physical copy of the album with additional perks.

Symbolizing strength and individuality, DJ Shaan minted a masterpiece called ‘The Forbidden Tiger’, which sold for 799 WRX, within a few hours of dropping on the platform. The reason why he chose a tiger for his creation for this occasion is special to DJ Shaan and the country. The National animal of India, the tiger symbolizes individuality, fearlessness, strength, and stealth. The music in this symbolizes the energy and strength a tiger possesses while the visual art is meant to depict the royal and fierce nature of a tiger.

A doctor by profession and a playback singer at heart, Nehha Rajpal is the first Indian female motivational singer to trade with NFT on WazirX NFT Marketplace. Her first devotional NFT ‘Ganesh Mantra’ has been successful in making a mark as the winner of prestigious awards like Zee Gaurav Puraskar, RadioMirchi, Prabhat Puraskar, Dada saheb Phalke award brings her skill of singing to foray with digital art of Lord Ganesha.

Talking about the new offerings in the market and identifying this massive trend, Vice President of WazirX NFT Marketplace Vishakha Singh said, “The passion economy has presented a new way for artists to capitalize on creativity and engage with a wider community. WazirX NFT marketplace has been on a mission to create more opportunities for our South Asian native artists who inspire their community every day through their creations. No matter what the form, art, and tech has been uniting people for centuries. NFTs is that business solution for the passion economy. For the month of August, we are excited to have onboard some of the most sought-after artists who will be dropping NFTs based on their personal interpretation of unity and freedom.”

Since the crypto market gathered momentum in India, NFTs have been gaining traction amongst the millennials and Gen Z. NFT marketplaces are a great platform for artists to monetize their work. Because the sales of the NFT majorly depend on virality, Indian creators are gaining popularity in the international NFT market as well. Minting NFTs not only puts the power back in the hands of the artists but these are also considered a tool for artists and creators to engage with their audience and unite them with the power of art.