Filipinas are plotting to take over NFT and Web3
Krystl Fabella, podcaster behind Filipinas on the Rise, is leading the NFT launch and putting Filipinas on the Web3 map.
With blockchain on the rise, NFTs are becoming the new thing. 3D art, digital art, animations and GIFs, music, digital products and so forth, people have turned to blockchain for the emerging economy for artists and creatives alike. Despite claims that blockchain technology is decentralized, there are still gender and racial disparities in the industry with the “crypto-bros” culture dominating the space.
Krystl Fabella, Filipino-born content creator and producer, is a podcaster behind Filipina on the Rise, a podcast and platform shedding light to the success stories and pathways of Filipino-American women. With her mission to advance Filipina excellence and uplift the community, she is in the works to launch an NFT project like AsianGirlz - combining community and advocacy with tech to put Filipino women on the Web3 map. “This token can unlock many possibilities and opportunities.” She told me over the phone.
Before we jump into the project, let’s give ourselves a brief background to what an NFT is and how it works. NFT stands for “non-fungible token”, which is a cryptographic asset with each asset assigned with a unique identification code that separates each other on a blockchain. With each of its own uniqueness and inability to be replicated, they cannot be traded or exchanged at the same value (hence the name, “non-fungible”); in comparison to a “fungible” asset which can be used for commercial exchanges or transactions such as cryptocurrency or stocks.
NFTs are sweeping the market and gives artists the opportunities to claim creative agency, allowing them to take control of their own financial assets and their art. “The great thing about NFTs is that it’s less about the art or the money, but more about community",” Krystl tells me.
Inspired by the community-driven NFT project that funds and gives back to the Asian-American women, AsianGirlz, Krystl is set to use tech and Filipinx-created art to do something similar. “There are three ways I’m doing this, Nicole, which is 1) supporting Filipino artists, not just in traditional art but in all kinds of mediums like digital art; 2) Ensuring that NFTs are accessible to the community. As you know, there’s not a lot of representation for marginalized communities such as Filipina women and [tech] is very white and male dominated. It’s a new and emerging space that I want us [Filipina women] to forefront. And 3) Obviously there’s a financial aspect to [NFTs], so I want this project to be able to fund [a Treasury], where the money goes to Filipina-led projects.”
With her goal to build community and connect Filipinas, not just with one another, but with themselves as Filipina and Filipina-American women - something she has been doing with her podcast, Filipina on the Rise - Krystl has started to build a growing team of Filipina women in Web3, tech, and art (including myself!). “NFTs are a new and exclusive space, but it’s very white male dominated. Because of how new it is, it’s where underrepresented groups should be and I want to elevate the voices of my community. I want to put Filipinas on the Web3 map.”
According to Forbes, consumers today are looking for “a deeper reason to connect with a brand”. With blockchain technology, each transaction can be tracked on a public ledger which puts the artist in the spotlight, not only helping them make more money than if artists sold to third-party traders or galleries, but dismantles the hierarchical system of the world of art trading.
The decentralized nature of blockchain and NFTs has the potential to be sustainable and give better recognition to creatives and artists. But there is still work to be done to close the disparities that have emerged as blockchain itself is emerging where, as Midia research elegantly puts it: “As tech collides with entertainment, so do their gender histories”. But it’s the 21st century, no? And as a new market, there is also the potential to change that history and create a new world.
Learn more:
Look at the sneak peeks of the NFT collection here.
Attend the Sisterhood event in NYC.
Similar NFT project.