SICAN Insights

SICAN Insight #14

Adam Smith once famously noted in his book, The Wealth of Nations, that it is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner but from their regard for their own self-interest. For centuries, such self-interest was mainly concentrated on direct profits and losses of individuals and companies. Consequently, the global economy grew exponentially, focusing on development and revenue generation, and the world developed at an unprecedented rate. However, the side-effects of such measures began to emerge in the mid-20th century, with various environmental, humanitarian, and other problems arising. To face such problems, individuals and organizations worldwide began exploring sustainability as a central value in self-interest, which eventually developed into the area of Environmental, Societal, and Governmental(ESG) values. As of 2022, various companies, both big and small, are committing themselves to the pursuit of sustainability through promoting ESG values.

Now, the critical question is, what exactly is ESG? ESG is a non-financial value set for the three central values. The first of those values is the environment. In evaluating such criteria, the impact of the particular company in the discussion of climate change is studied thoroughly, taking data such as annual carbon emissions and transparency of company policy into consideration. Other vital environmental factors assessed by the CFA Institute include but are not limited to: air and water pollution, biodiversity, deforestation, energy efficiency, and water scarcity. While the first value of ESG, the environmental value, receives the most attention, the second and the third values also have their own significant part. Regarding the societal impact, the second criterion of ESG, a company is assessed on its promotion of base social values such as equality, diversity, and so on. Programs that allow a significant rise in the inclusion of underrepresented communities and programs that help solve society's problems allow a company to receive high scores on the societal part of ESG evaluations. Additional factors that are taken into consideration regarding a company's societal impacts noted by the CFA institute include but are not limited to: customer satisfaction, data protection, and privacy, gender and diversity, employee engagement, community relations, human rights, labor standards, and more. The last criterion, governance, shows insight into how the company is operated. Bribery and corruption both inside and outside the company are taken into consideration, where such indicators could lower the governance score of a company's ESG evaluation. Additional criteria established by the CFA institute include but are not limited to: Board composition, executive compensation, lobbying, and whistleblower scheme.

Following the rising interest of both corporates and consumers in the market, consulting firms such as McKinsey & Company and Bain & Company are also providing consultations focused on incorporating ESG values. Telkomsel, one of the world's largest and most influential mobile operators, worked with McKinsey & Company to tighten the gap in interest access in Southeast Asia. Under the notion of simplicity and extended engagement, Telkomsel provided comprehensive internet services to the people of Indonesia, allowing previously limited fixed broadband access. Moreover, the company's innovative mobile application extended various online services to the Indonesian people, allowing services like online banking to be publicly used. Similarly, Bain & Company also worked together with a client(the exact name of the company remained unknown due to confidentiality) in 2022 to rebuild its greenhouse gas emission reporting sectors. Such improvements not only allowed the company to provide a transparent report to its investors and customers but also to react to various environmental problems quickly.

(Source: Bloomburg)

As shown by the cases presented, the promotion of ESG values not only enables sustainability but eventually allows companies to increase their returns on investment. Noted in the article published by McKinsey & Company in 2019, "paying attention to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns do not compromise returns—rather, the opposite." Telkomsel’s implementation of easy and straightforward applications allowed their customer pool to grow significantly, with customers, with "20 percent month-over-month growth." Bain's recommendations in applying a new monitoring system have allowed Bain & Company's client to take a step in leading the ESG sector of its market. Shown by the cases of two companies, the pursuit of ESG values eventually allowed each company to grow substantially. As long-term value creation has now become central to maintaining investors in the market, the pursuit of such values is becoming a significant task for many companies; promoting strong ESG values has become the solution for such need for value creation, with more than 90% of S&P Companies and 70% of Russell 100 companies generating sustainability reports every year. Successful incorporation of the values that companies are recognizing would be a significant task many companies would need to complete for them to flourish in the future.

References:

https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/products-benefits/products/esg-evaluation?utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=ESGEIssuers&gclid=CjwKCAjwg5uZBhATEiwAhhRLHnSWF50sZEpfUH2eVCNMtJ_Nr5JJPEuwsTQoBEhqevdtnZIsh3KvthoCqhoQAvD_BwE

https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Business%20Functions/Strategy%20and%20Corporate%20Finance/Our%20Insights/Five%20ways%20that%20ESG%20creates%20value/Five-ways-that-ESG-creates-value.ashx

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/does-esg-really-matter-and-why

https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/research/esg-investing

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/environmental-social-and-governance-esg-criteria.asp

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/how-we-help-clients/how-telkomsel-transformed-to-reach-digital-first-consumers

(https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/research/industry-research/climate-change-analysis)

With digital transformation disrupting the banking industry and creating new competitors in the fintech space, banks have been heavily pressured to develop a solution of their own across their value chain. Investment banking is one of the more obscure sectors that have received less attention than its counterparts for widescale digitalization. Despite digital technologies already being an integral part of every capital markets professional and having transformed the sales and trading business, corporate and investment banks have shown mixed and often disappointing results in regard to digital solutions. However, exploring the different approaches, priorities, and risks that involve digital transformation is crucial given the potential value that such solutions can provide.

Investment banks have experienced setbacks due to two overarching reasons in the past: volatile revenues, and increased competition. According to a report from Accenture, “despite significant cost-cutting measures, quarterly revenues in investment banking have been stagnating” (Accenture). The main aspects of the value chain that are driving weak returns are volatility in trading volumes, competitive advisory fees, falling revenues in merger and acquisition activities, and stringent capital and liquidity requirements. Furthermore, the increased regulatory measures have added to the burdens of investment banks and driven more costs. In addition to these trends, the competition in the capital markets industry has been ever-growing with the introduction of FinTechs. Financing through crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending has eliminated the need for existing investment banking services and brokers, and more and more FinTechs are entering the market and providing alternative services that replicate and improve the services of traditional investment banks. Both of these challenges call for a revamped business model that is driven by digital that can cut costs and also keep up with new trends in the Fintech space.

Digital transformation provides great potential in optimizing the business to boost weak returns. The problem around volatile revenues encompasses inefficiencies in the value chain that can be addressed through the implementation of technologies like robotic process automation (RPA), machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data analytics. Ralf Bemman and Bhuvana Karthik from Accenture believe that these solutions alongside other disruptive technologies such as blockchain, virtual customer assistants, and advanced analytics will play a key role in “streamlining and simplifying processes, eliminating redundant ones, and curtailing investments in monotonous and repetitive internal processes” (Accenture). When looking into a traditional investment bank’s value chain, the client onboarding process in front-office operations was determined to show the highest potential and urgency for automation that can reduce the team size and time required for processing client onboarding. Bemman and Karthik also emphasize that new competition should be tackled through both competition and collaboration, allowing banks to improve existing services and tap into innovative ideas, while also developing innovative solutions through digital channels and interactive technologies that retain their existing clients base. Upgrading legacy applications through blockchain and RegTech collaborations is one way that investment banks can upgrade their value chain to address larger clearing volumes, ensure regulatory compliance, consolidate reporting, and provide customized reports.

However, despite the advantages of going digital in investment banking, investing heavily in digital is not a clear cookie-cutter answer for all banks. In McKinsey’s report on Digital Success in Capital Markets, analysts outlined that there were two different routes for success in digitalization for investment banks: the all-in route and the targeted route. Determining which route a bank should take depends entirely on its positioning. Banks that have a substantial portion of revenues coming from clients who are focused on executing at low cost and capital markets divisions facilitating adjacent businesses that are going digital, such as wealth management units, transaction banking, and retail banking will require highly digitized service models. However, banks that serve clients with highly customized needs such as pension and insurance funds seeking complex asset-liability management solutions will find digital services less urgent in many aspects of the value chain. Furthermore, banks should evaluate their track record with digital initiatives; those who are “late entrants, that have struggled to deliver historically, or that are constrained by funding” may find it better to explore limited digitization, to begin with (McKinsey).

Investment banking may see new opportunities going forward with digital and centering business models around disruptive technologies, but challenges have and always will be present. Assessing previous hiccups in the introduction of digital is key to developing a focused and successful migration path that is set up for success. Previously, banks “have misread the economics of electronic trading, failed to anticipate market structure changes or engaged in expensive ‘me too’ initiatives that were not sufficiently differentiated” (Mckinsey). Alongside these missteps, they have also underestimated the capabilities required for digital transformation to succeed. Moving forward, McKinsey has identified four immediate priorities that address many of these mistakes: clearly defining digital strategy for each sector, building digital capabilities and operating models, implementing “no regret” digital transformations and end-to-end automation, and fueling the innovation pipeline.

Text

Bemmann, Ralf, and Bhuvana Karthik. “Charting the Digital Journey for Investment Banking: Part 1 .” Accenture, 2018, https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/pdf-83/accenture-charting-digital-journey-investment-banking-part-1.pdf.

Bemmann, Ralf, and Bhuvana Karthik. “Charting the Digital Journey for Investment Banking: Part 2.” Accenture, 2018, https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/pdf-89/accenture-charting-digital-journey-investment-banking-part-2-pov.pdf.

Buehler, Kevin, et al. Two Routes to Digital Success in Capital Markets. McKinsey, Oct. 2015, https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Financial%20Services/Our%20Insights/Two%20routes%20to%20digital%20success%20in%20capital%20markets/Two-routes-to-digital-success-in-capital-markets.ashx.

Franklin, Joshua. “Investment Banks Accelerate Efforts to Automate Junior 'Grunt Work'.” FT, Financial Times, 14 Sept. 2021, https://www.ft.com/content/06b0a82d-b0fa-437f-b640-57bdaa508e59.

Springfield, Cary. “Can Investment Banking Successfully Embrace Digitalisation?” International Banker, 24 Mar. 2021, https://internationalbanker.com/banking/can-investment-banking-successfully-embrace-digitalisation/.

Photos

Buehler, Kevin, et al. Two Routes to Digital Success in Capital Markets. McKinsey, Oct. 2015, https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Financial%20Services/Our%20Insights/Two%20routes%20to%20digital%20success%20in%20capital%20markets/Two-routes-to-digital-success-in-capital-markets.ashx.

Franklin, Joshua. “Investment Banks Accelerate Efforts to Automate Junior 'Grunt Work'.” FT, Financial Times, 14 Sept. 2021, https://www.ft.com/content/06b0a82d-b0fa-437f-b640-57bdaa508e59.

Springfield, Cary. “Can Investment Banking Successfully Embrace Digitalisation?” International Banker, 24 Mar. 2021, https://internationalbanker.com/banking/can-investment-banking-successfully-embrace-digitalisation/.

(Wearable device keywords, TechforAging)

A representative example of a human-centered design can be said to be a wearable device. Currently, the biggest stake in the wearable device business in Korea is the elderly wearable device. The greatest potential of wearable devices is that they can be a medium for platform linkage. The core of the wearable device platform is to distribute wearable devices to the elderly population by linking institutions such as welfare institutions and telecommunications companies, collect data of the elderly, share it among institutions, and provide linked services. This journal will address the elements necessary for wearable devices to connect with the platform.

(Wearable technology daily usage rates, Statista)

If wearable devices for the elderly are commercialized in Korean society, they can be said to be an extension of the u-care service, a digital welfare service. Activity sensors, gas and fire sensors, and emergency callers can be installed at home for the elderly living alone, and if the elderly living alone is not active or is significantly lower than usual, the institution can be expanded to check their safety by phone. Furthermore, it is possible to compensate for the problem that the u-care service is not widely implemented due to a shortage of manpower. This is because if the devices are distributed, caregivers can manage the safety of the elderly by integrating them into machines without visiting them in person. Public institutions that can be linked include fire engines, surrounding elderly institutions, and medical institutions. First of all, firefighting agencies can receive emergency calls and fire report signals sent by the elderly to their terminals in real-time. In addition, if an outlier appears in which the degree of water and electricity use measured in the data is lower than the average, it can be dispatched after receiving a report from a nearby elderly institution that manages the device. Elderly institutions can collect GPS data and provide safe zone services with the consent of the elderly themselves or their guardians. When the elderly with dementia leaves the designated place, they can provide a service in the form of notification to local institutions immediately.

Medical institutions can collect medical-related data on the elderly and provide appropriate welfare data in connection with welfare institutions. A representative example is the provision of nursing services for stroke patients using k-cluster cluster analysis. Seoul National University's Graduate School of Medicine analyzed the data of stroke patients and divided them into long-term care groups and short-term care groups to provide nursing services for an appropriate period. If the above institution is linked, it is possible to achieve data welfare governance in which institutions and companies cooperate, not central government-centered welfare provision.

(Wearable device usage example, Senior Lifestyle)

The key to the "platform for all" is to allow as many people as possible to enjoy the benefits of data welfare services without difficulty. This means that the elderly population is more likely to have lower device utilization and judgment ability than other generations. The screen should be composed of large letters, simplified screens, and pictograms so that there is no inconvenience in use, and interfaces using touch (vibration), vision (red use in emergency situations), and hearing should be configured. You will also need a shortcut button to contact the emergency contact network.

The limitation of the welfare platform through devices is that the national budget alone cannot cover the supply of devices for the entire population. From a long-term perspective, it is possible to earn profits by reducing the labor cost of welfare workers through device distribution, but this takes a long time and even if it earns profits through this, there are budget limitations. Therefore, it is necessary to supplement the limitations of device distribution with data welfare services to be described later and expand the scope of welfare in the form of distributing devices to as many populations as possible by linking them with telecommunication companies and platform companies.

(Wearable device industry growth, Business Insider)

The closer you are to the city and the center, the more likely you are to see the benefits of technological development, but in farming and fishing villages and provinces, technology alienation is occurring because related infrastructure is inadequate. To solve this problem, a community care system should also be included in the platform that allows locals and businesses to form a cooperative relationship within data governance to enjoy the benefits of data technology development. The basic concept of community care is a policy that integrally supports social services so that residents in need of care can enjoy individual services in the region and live together in the community. The types of subjects of the elderly model are clustered to provide services accordingly. The classification presented by the state is divided into five models, which are health promotion, chronic diseases, and long-term care. Health care/welfare services in the community can be provided to health care targets discovered based on data, and are conducted through cooperation between health centers and private companies.

References

“Wearable Technology for Seniors.” Senior Lifestyle, 5 Nov. 2021, https://www.seniorlifestyle.com/resources/blog/wearable-technology-for-seniors/.

Stewart, Conor. “Wearable Technology Daily Usage Rates 50+ Adults by Group U.S. 2019.” Statista, 28 July 2020, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1088638/wearable-technology-daily-usage-rates-among-older-adults-by-age-group-us/.

Intelligence, Insider. “Wearables Usage Has Dropped Significantly - but There's a Silver Lining.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 26 Aug. 2016, https://www.businessinsider.com/wearables-usage-has-dropped-significantly-but-theres-a-silver-lining-2016-8.

Wearable Technology for the Elderly: Underutilized Solutions. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308006477_Wearable_technology_for_the_elderly_Underutilized_solutions.

Olmedo-Aguirre, José Oscar, et al. “Remote Healthcare for Elderly People Using Wearables: A Review.” Biosensors, vol. 12, no. 2, 2022, p. 73., https://doi.org/10.3390/bios12020073.

Over the past decades, the global society has been rapidly shifting from conventional analog to digital technologies. Such transition has brought about numerous benefits to mankind, such as reinforced international connectivity, enhanced data collection, and freedom from spatial restraints. A less renowned field where digitalization has come into active use is cultural heritage preservation. International organizations, governments, and museums worldwide have made significant progress in this sector, creating a sustainable and inclusive reservoir of heritage. This article looks into the implementation and outcomes of these activities.

Being rich in cultural heritage as well as the resources to protect and preserve them, the European Union (EU) and its constituting countries have actively powered cultural heritage efforts throughout the 21st century. The utilization of digital technology has been one of them. From artificial intelligence to 3D tech and virtual reality, these technologies are being utilized to not only ensure preservation but also to promote the European culture and engage broader audiences both in and out of the EU. In 2019, 26 EU countries signed a Declaration of cooperation on advancing the digitalization of cultural heritage. The Declaration “invites the Member States to leverage synergies between digital technologies and Europe’s cultural heritage in three key areas: (i) a pan-European initiative for 3D digitization of cultural heritage artifacts, monuments, and sites; (ii) enhancing cross-sector, cross-border cooperation and capacity building in the digital cultural heritage sector; and (iii) fostering civic engagement, innovative use and spillovers in other sectors” (European Commission). In the following year 2020, the European Commission released the “10 basic principles for 3D digitization of tangible cultural heritage” which served as an important guideline for museums and heritage professionals. The need for digitalization was further highlighted with the start of COVID 19, which caused many cultural institutions to close. However, many were able to quickly respond by expanding their pre-established digital services. The European Commission also offers sustained support for cultural heritage innovation and research through its Horizon 2020 program. From 2014 to 2020, the program has funded around 70 million euros in digital cultural heritage.

(damaged Iraq heritage site, UNESCO)

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is another leading actor in the digitalization of cultural heritage. Similar to the activities of the EU, the international organization focuses on preservation through documentation and making culture more accessible to a wider audience. As part of its initiative, UNESCO has launched the #ShareOurHeritage campaign in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture. It is an interactive online exhibition featuring UNESCO World Heritage sites from across the globe, including the Mudejar Architecture of Aragon of Spain, Ngorongoro Conservation Area of Tanzania, and the Pampulha Modern Ensemble of Brazil. Another significant activity of UNESCO is the protection and preservation of cultural heritage in conflict zones. An exemplary case is Iraq. While home to six UNESCO world heritage sites, the country, and its heritages have been constantly affected by unstable conflict situations, which resulted in deliberate and non-deliberate destruction of heritage as well as looting of relics. In response, the Iraqi State Board of Heritage and Antiquities has proposed an initiative to “create a central database and digitally preserve and archive historical documents and photographs related to World Heritage sites in Iraq. The project will collect the pictures and documents held in several archives, digitize them, and catalog them to improve access to crucial conservation material and ensure the documents’ safeguarding” (UNESCO). Similar measures are being undertaken in Middle Eastern and African conflict zones as a sustainable and accomplishable way to preserve valuable information.

(before and after digital reconstruction of Leptis Magna of Lybia, CBNC)

In addition to nation-states and international organizations, some public sectors have also joined heritage preservation efforts by utilizing digital technology. In 2020, the London-based agency NeoMam Studios and insurance company Budget Direct have collaborated to digitally reconstruct destroyed heritage sites. With input from Turkish and Serbian architects, computer-generated renderings, and animations, the sites were digitally restored to their state before destruction. Museums and universities have also launched digital restitution projects. The ArchAIDE project led by the University of Pisa has developed “innovative software to identify fragments of pottery found during excavations and to store them in a dedicated database” (Cordis). According to archeologist Gabriele Gattiglia, this software will be able to save up to two-thirds of the time and effort spent on the identification of pottery artifacts.

The role of digital technology in cultural heritage preservation has increased continuously over the past decade, with funding and involvement of nations, international organizations, and private sectors. While COVID 19 has highlighted the need for digitalization, global demand and the need for digital expansion are prospected to continue in the post-COVID era. Following this, interregional collaboration similar to that of the EU would be much needed for an effective, sustainable, and inclusive digital environment for heritage preservation.

References

Devčić, Helga Bubanović, and Ivana Šimunec. “How Digitization Can Help to Preserve the Cultural Heritage.” EY, 25 June 2021, https://www.ey.com/en_hr/consulting/how-digitization-can-help-to-preserve-the-cultural-heritage-.

“Exploring World Heritage from Home with UNESCO.” UNESCO, 30 Sept. 2020, https://en.unesco.org/covid19/cultureresponse/exploring-world-heritage-from-home-with-unesco.

“How Digital Technologies Can Play a Vital Role for the Preservation of Europe’s Cultural Heritage.” European Comission, 16 Feb. 2021, https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/413473-how-digital-technologies-can-play-a-vital-role-for-the-preservation-of-cultural-heritage.

Pitrelli, Monica Buchanan. “Watch These 5 Endangered UNESCO Sites Get Digitally Restored in a Matter of Seconds.” CNBC, CNBC, 30 July 2020, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/30/watch-5-unesco-sites-get-digitally-restored-in-a-matter-of-seconds.html.

With headlines like Beeple sold an NFT for 69$ million circling around the internet, it is easy to understand how NFTs have gained the interest of so many and become one of the defining buzzwords of 2021. Just in the last year, NFTs have become a 40-billion-dollar market with 28.6 million wallets trading these digital assets. And, although these figures depict NFTs in a positive light with a promising future, they also call for a long overdue discussion on its more controversial characteristics: its sustainability and impact on the environment.

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) are digital assets on a blockchain that utilize unique identification codes and metadata that distinguish them from one other. Because NFT leverages blockchain technology, digital assets that are usually easily replicable can be recorded onto a blockchain that acts as a digital ledger that individuals can refer to for proof of ownership. Jacob Kastrenakes from The Verge simplifies the concept behind the technology in his article explaining that, “NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are unique files that live on a blockchain and are able to verify ownership of a work of digital art. Buyers typically get limited rights to display the digital artwork they represent, but in many ways, they’re just buying bragging rights and an asset they may be able to resell later.” It is the ability to track a digital asset and prove one’s ownership of such asset that has so many creators, artists, collectors, and even big brands like Coca Cola and Gucci joining in on the movement for new ways of generating profit.

From an ecological standpoint, however, the entire process of creating and maintaining NFTs is a mass-scale burden. Because most NFTs are minted on the Ether cryptocurrency and utilize Ethereum for transactions, the carbon footprint that is associated with the Ethereum cryptocurrency is exacerbated by the high-frequency trading that governs the high-volatility NFT market. Memo Akten, an artist and programmer, estimates that “an average transaction specifically for NFTs has a carbon footprint of about 48kg CO2,” which is 20 times that of physically mailing an art print or equivalent to more than a month’s worth of electricity for a person living in the EU (Qiu, Jiahui). Considering that these carbon emissions are incurred every time someone mints or buys an NFT, quickly reveals how damning NFTs can be to the environment.

Despite the large carbon footprint of NFTs, there are a few possible solutions that may create a more sustainable and ecofriendly system for these new asset types. One of the main problems with Ethereum in the NFT market is that this cryptocurrency utilizes a Proof-of-Work system that is very energy inefficient. Proof-of-work acts as Ethereum’s security system, as it oversees and verifies transactions through complex puzzles that users, or “miners”, solve in exchange for tokens. However, because of the energy consumption of the “miners” that maintain this system, many newer coins are adopting a Proof-of-Stake system that “validates block transactions based on the number of coins the validator stakes,” which reduces the number of puzzles and computing power necessary to maintain the system (Leonard, Kimberlee). Thus, the NFT market could reduce its carbon footprint by transitioning from Ethereum to cryptocurrencies employing Proof-of-Stake solutions. Furthermore, a higher adoption rate of green energy resources for existing mining facilities that are currently maintaining the Ethereum blockchain could greatly reduce the total carbon footprint of NFTs. Finally, new technologies and features like the ability to batch transactions and process them in bulk, which is being developed by Bitcoin Lightning Network, show hope for possible developments in the efficiency of transactions.

Some marketplaces for NFTs have already integrated more energy-efficient blockchains. OpenSea has begun supporting Polygon and Klaytn while Rarible is using Flow and Tezos. These alternatives for Ethereum show great promise for sustainability. For example, Tezos is estimated to consume 0.00006Twh annually compared to the 33.57Twh that are required to maintain Ethereum (Qiu, Jiahui). Other newer projects like one of from Dapper Labs are also using Tezos to provide artists with an eco-friendly way to transform their music into NFTs. Beside marketplaces and projects adopting Proof-of-Stake cryptocurrencies, new NFT sustainability initiatives are also being created. TreeDeFi is a project that “mints NFTs that represent real-life trees that sequester carbon” (Matthews, Leigh). Thus, despite the inefficiencies and complications that come with the current NFT market, many are still confident that developments are coming soon and that NFTs are here to stay.

References

Calma, Justine. “The Climate Controversy Swirling around Nfts.” The Verge, The Verge, 15 Mar. 2021, https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/15/22328203/nft-cryptoart-ethereum-blockchain-climate-change.

Carter, Rebekah. “18+ Fascinating NFT Statistics &Amp Facts for 2022.” Findstack, 27 Feb. 2022, https://findstack.com/nft-statistics/#:~:text=Around%2028.6%20million%20wallets%20traded%20NFTs%20in%202021&text=According%20to%20the%20company%2C%20though,2020%2C%20per%20the%20DappRadar%20data.

Kastrenakes, Jacob. “Beeple Sold an NFT for $69 Million.” The Verge, The Verge, 11 Mar. 2021, https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/11/22325054/beeple-christies-nft-sale-cost-everydays-69-million.

Leonard, Kimberlee. “Why Nfts Are Bad for the Environment.” SeekingAlpha, Seeking Alpha, 18 Feb. 2022, https://seekingalpha.com/article/4488450-nfts-environmental-impact?external=true&gclid=CjwKCAjwopWSBhB6EiwAjxmqDXVIO0C4tgFsRZsHOVO9q6JGd0hcZz5soZRJ_tCjp8pe_WrfTlB9ghoCCdAQAvD_BwE&utm_campaign=14823831578&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_term=128719140158%5Edsa-1427141793820%5E%5E549166468495%5E%5E%5Eg.

Matthews, Leigh. “How Some Nfts Are Becoming More Sustainable.” LeafScore, 7 Jan. 2022, https://www.leafscore.com/blog/how-some-nfts-are-becoming-more-sustainable/.

Qiu, Jiahui. “What Are Nfts, and What Is Their Environmental Impact?: Earth.org - Past: Present: Future.” Earth.Org - Past | Present | Future, 5 May 2021, https://earth.org/nfts-environmental-impact/.

Photos

Bhattacharjee, Ananya. “Ecology: Are Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) Bad for the Environment?” Yoair Blog, 15 Jan. 2022, https://www.yoair.com/blog/ecology-are-non-fungible-tokens-nft-bad-for-the-environment/.

Saul, Josh, and Crystal Kim. “Bitcoin Miner TeraWulf Buys 15,000 Computers for Upstate N.Y. Facility.” Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-21/bitcoin-miner-terawulf-buys-15-000-computers-for-ny-facility.

Yee, Ng Chung. “Treedefi: An Eco-Friendly Yield Farming Community.” RSS, https://www.bsc.news/post/treedefi-an-eco-friendly-yield-farming-community.