IOI
An influencer in Poland made $250,000 (1 million Polish Zloty) after becoming the first person to turn her love into an online NFT (non-fungible token).
A woman named Marta Rentel, whose Instagram handle is @martirenti, sold her digital love asset to an unknown buyer on July 13; once the transaction is completed, the two will meet for dinner.
NFTs, are digital assets backed by blockchain, the same technology that powers cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
The report added: “The idea behind storing information on a blockchain is that it becomes next to impossible to edit it or remove it. This means when you buy an NFT, the record of your purchase is put on a digital ledger forever.”
In an interview, 26-year-old Rentel said she wants to distinguish between her real name, Marta Rentel, and the online persona, Marti Renti, to whom her love has been sold.
“Nothing on the internet is physical, it’s a part of my online persona,” she said.
This philosophy extends to her influencer work as well, as stated on her website. It reads: “My name is Marti Renti. It’s not my ‘real’ name though, it’s the digital version of it, coming from the parallel world where the internet is my stage.”
By tokenizing an emotion, Rentel, who has 654,000 Instagram followers, wished to achieve something “unique.” Additionally, she will be selling exclusive rights to her YouTube videos and Instagram photos through her website.
“Io sono” (meaning “I am”) is an invisible sculpture created by Italian artist Salvatore Garau that sold for $18,300 earlier this year, according to Artnet.com.
Rentel said in an interview, that selling her love goes beyond simply making money or making her mark in history books; it is a statement about women’s independence, she said.
“Women can love without giving up their freedom and individuality when selling digital love”, says this female entrepreneur.
“Digital love is transactional, but so is marrying a man just because he is wealthy and stable, right?” she added.
Rentel also stated that she is searching for a charity to which she could donate some of her earnings.
The goal for Rentel moving forward is to see more influencers follow her example and offer their online followings informative and useful content.
The buyer’s identity will remain anonymous until the deal is completed, owing to the nature of the crypto trend.
In response to a question about whether such a digital transaction could lead to real love, Rentel said there was also the chance that the mysterious buyer might be “a woman or child who is very rich.”
While this is true, Rentel believes that she will be able to find her second half, writing on her website: “If I manage to successfully mint my Digital Love and find my second half, then why shouldn’t other feelings and emotions just follow?”
