So it has come to this. The coda to a long and storied history of Australian cricket memorabilia, from Don Bradman’s baggy green to Channel Nine’s deep vault of autographed ephemera: Steve Smith is becoming an NFT.
In an Instagram post at the tail end of last week, the Australian vice-captain announced a partnership with Glorious Digital, a New Zealand NFT studio launched by All Blacks great Dan Carter. The studio plans to release a range of digital collectibles this month, with collaborators like Crowded House’s Neil Finn and the estate of Kiwi portrait and landscape artist Rita Angus.
There’s no word on what Smith’s collection will contain just yet, but one can safely assume there will be no references to Sandpapergate, artistic or otherwise. Presumably it will offer more than just photos of Smith staring pensively into the middle distance, as the Instagram post might suggest. The price that devoted Smith-heads will end up forking out is also not clear, but Glorious Digital are currently selling a “founding membership” package for 0.75 Ethereum – or about $2,500.
