Crypto’s Night at the Grammys

From Binance and OneOf to a side of PFP NFTs, a crypto presence was felt during the music industry’s marquee event.

AccessTimeIconApr 4, 2022 at 5:48 p.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 4:01 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

“We’re in Las Vegas,” Trevor Noah, comedian and host of the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, said Sunday night during the show’s opening remarks. “It’s like if crypto was a city.”

The crypto joke (one of two by Noah on the night) was far from the sector’s only cameo. From sponsored events and afterparties to non-fungible token (NFT) meetups, the space once again found itself intertwined with mainstream entertainment.

  • How NEAR Enables Multichain Access From One Account
    00:56
    How NEAR Enables Multichain Access From One Account
  • Why the NEAR foundation Chose Eigenlayer as a Security Partner
    00:54
    Why the NEAR foundation Chose Eigenlayer as a Security Partner
  • Judge Kaplan Had 'No Love' for Sam Bankman-Fried, Legal Expert Says
    07:08
    Judge Kaplan Had 'No Love' for Sam Bankman-Fried, Legal Expert Says
  • How Bitcoin and Ether's Options Contracts Combined Expiry Could Spike Volatility
    01:11
    How Bitcoin and Ether's Options Contracts Combined Expiry Could Spike Volatility
  • Two Grammy partnerships in particular dominated the weekend’s festivities, one with crypto exchange Binance and the other with OneOf, a music non-fungible token platform on the Tezos blockchain.

    (Eli Tan/CoinDesk)
    (Eli Tan/CoinDesk)

    OneOf’s prominence on the weekend came as part of a three-year partnership the platform signed with the Recording Academy back in November. The deal will lead to various NFT sales from high-profile artists and award winners, many of which, like Doja Cat and H.E.R., have already released collections on the platform.

    Binance kept a lower profile throughout the weekend (an official afterparty aside) but a spokesperson teased “larger partnership plans” to be announced later.

    Grammy NFTs

    With every major artist seeming to be experimenting with NFT drops nowadays, their presence in Vegas this weekend was at times ubiquitous.

    At a pool party outside the MGM Grand, Steve Aoki, crowned “DJ prince of Web 3,” performed his set amid a backdrop of flashing screens promoting the “A0K1VERSE,” his NFT-gated membership club.

    “Steve Aoki is actually the reason I got into NFTs,” one onlooker said from the pool.

    “AOKIVEEEEERSE,” another yelled.

    (Eli Tan/CoinDesk)
    (Eli Tan/CoinDesk)

    Across the street was a meetup for the NFT project OnChainMonkey, which helped host various events for its holders throughout the weekend, including a pool party of its own and a meal at the Bellagio Hotel.

    “We actually weren’t planning to even come to Vegas this weekend, but then I was just scrolling through the Discord two days ago and saw it was happening,” Bryan Hernandez, a holder of the NFT project, told CoinDesk. “For a second I wasn’t sure about it, but then I saw there was gonna be brunch included. I had my hotel booked 10 minutes later.”

    At one point in the Grammys telecast Noah made an NFT reference that landed a lot better than his opening Vegas line.

    “You know it’s been rough when your favorite artists go from trying to sell you music to pictures of digital monkeys,” Noah quipped.

    The joke, of course, was an allusion to the Bored Ape Yacht NFT collection and its rise to media stardom. (After the joke, the camera panned to Justin Bieber, who purchased an NFT from the collection in February.)

    ‘Entertainment’s newest asset class’

    For all the silliness NFTs bring to events like the Grammys, the business behind them is anything but.

    Record labels and talent agencies are scrambling to get their clients involved in the increasingly popular and mainstream form of digital assets. Many of them are experimenting with the tech as they go.

    “People often talk about crypto as a new asset class,” a lawyer who represents the popular NFT project Doodles told CoinDesk at the Grammys. “NFTs are entertainment’s newest asset class.”

    Before the night of the event, there was no shortage of artists eager to talk about upcoming NFT releases. Rapper Gerald Gillum, better known by his stage name G-Eazy, was one of them. He’s announcing his debut collection with OneOf later this month.

    “It’s really all about being curious and finding new ways to reach fans,” he told CoinDesk in an interview. Compared to other promotions, he said working on NFTs has felt like “a more creative process,” adding, “I had fun coming up with concepts for the artwork.”

    (Eli Tan/CoinDesk)
    (Eli Tan/CoinDesk)

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

    Eli Tan

    Eli was a news reporter for CoinDesk. He holds ETH, SOL and AVAX.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.