Alt Investment: Expanding The Collectibles Market Frontiers

Aside from stocks and bonds, there exist alternative investments, which are a motley collection of other asset types. A subsection of alternative assets is collectibles, undoubtedly more exotic and rare than other asset classes.

What is an alternative investment? 

An alternative investment refers to any financial asset that doesn’t fall under the traditional categories of stocks and bonds. These include things like real estate and art, and though the term is a relatively modern one, the concept can be traced as far back as the 1800s, when people made investments in emerging projects during the Industrial Revolution.

Restrictions in the financial structure of banks at that time meant private investments were made mostly by the wealthy. The first notable example of an alternative asset investment is the Transcontinental Railroad in 1852. 

As time went on, the alternative asset class grew, and today it includes digital assets like NFTs and cryptocurrencies, so much so that almost every legacy financial instrument now has a blockchain-powered counterpart in Web3. 

As more and more people scramble to diversify their portfolios, alternative investments are opening up new avenues for those hoping to boost returns and generate income beyond traditional means. 

Collectibles: A market worth the investment 

Collectibles are undoubtedly a significant type of alternative asset. The rarity of these items and their popularity have made the buying and selling of these into a multi-billion dollar industry. In 2021, it was worth $412 billion, and it’s expected to reach $628 billion by 2031. 

Some collectibles have historically guaranteed great returns, like rare coins. The Flowing Hair Silver Dollar, for example, was minted in 1794, and by 2013, it was valued at over $10 million, making it the most expensive coin in the world. Sneakers, another alternative investment, also go for thousands of dollars, provided they’ve never been worn or touched the floor. 

Other collectibles like vintage toys (a market set to be worth $3.75 billion by 2023) and fine art (currently worth $64 billion) join this rank and provide immense potential for growth. Lately, NFTs have also joined this asset class, making ownership of a Bored Ape or a CryptoPunk as meaningful as owning a home or vintage car collection. 

The gatekept world of Collectibles 

There is, however, an issue of affordability when it comes to collectibles, physical or digital. As a growing asset class, collectibles have garnered quite a bit of attention, making them more valuable and gatekeeping ownership from the masses who wish to have a piece of the pie. 

Owning a piece of the pie has been possible for those open to fractional ownership, something that came about in the late 70s when everyone wanted a vacation home to call their own. Thanks to timeshares, multiple people could own the same property and use it as per their convenience, allowing anyone to enjoy a privilege previously only the wealthy had access to. 

So… if only there were a way to do a similar thing with physical collectibles like fine art, sneakers, and cars. Well, thanks to Jupiter Exchange, which is looking to bring fractional ownership of real-life assets to the public, you too can call an iconic piece of art your own! 

Bringing Ownership of Real Life Assets to Web3 

The NFT collectible market is one of the fastest-growing domains, experiencing over 1,400% growth in a single quarter. Despite the enormous success, the market hardly represents real value in the physical world.

The most iconic collectibles only exist in physical form, and introducing them as NFTs will open up a multi-billion dollar sector. This effort is being pioneered by Jupiter Exchange, which bridges physical and digital collectibles by making iconic items available to the general public through fractionalized NFTs.

Essentially, Jupiter leverages blockchain technology to enable fractional ownership of iconic items so you can invest in them without spending a fortune. 

The way it works is that Jupiter curates a collection of iconic items and collectible assets from around the world and mints them as NFTs before breaking them up into a number of fractions or ownership tokens with equal value. 

These tokens are then listed on the Jupiter Marketplace, where anyone can purchase a limited number of shares of the item. Once all the fractional tokens of an asset are sold out, they are moved to the Jupiter Exchange. The Exchange offers a unique trading model for assets traditionally available to a select few. Leveraging fractional NFT technology, the platform creates liquidity, and facilitates real-time price discovery for traditionally illiquid assets . 

The future of collectibles is digital

Tangible assets have long dominated the investment world, but things are steadily changing as it becomes possible to own part of a physical asset in a digital reality through digital means. Jupiter Exchange is making it possible to own a fraction of your dream, diversify your investment portfolio, and potentially see high returns in the future.