German intelligence agency launches NFT treasure hunt to attract talent

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Germany’s intelligence agency, the Bundesnachrichtendienst, has launched an NFT treasure hunt to attract blockchain tech talent.

In the event, participants must decipher the hidden string of characters, which could be a wallet address, transaction hash, block number or token number. Successfully locating the correct data grants access to mint into the “Dogs of BND” collection.

The collection comprises 999 generative dog-themed profile pictures (PFPs) adorned with cyber security-themed wearables.

Although the cost to mint a Dogs of BND NFT is less than 1 cent before gas fees, the floor price on the secondary marketplace OpenSea currently stands at 0.045 ETH (approximately $82). Out of the 999 NFTs, only 987 are available for minting, and the treasure hunt will conclude once all 987 tokens have been claimed.

The recruitment strategy aims to attract young talent with expertise in blockchain technology, particularly those interested in combating cybercrime.

“We are also looking for talents in the field of cyber security in the future… An NFT collection was an obvious new offering for our Instagram community,” the agency told German crypto news outlet BTC Echo.

Similar efforts

The Bundesnachrichtendienst’s move to enhance its recruitment efforts through the NFT collection follows similar initiatives in other countries.

Last October, Japan announced plans to boost the nation’s digital transformation through NFTs and metaverse services. Recently, on May 30, Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) launched an aviation-themed NFT marketplace named ANA GranWhale NFT.

Similarly, China introduced an NFT and digital asset marketplace, despite the nation’s stringent cryptocurrency regulations. China’s state-sanctioned secondary trading platform for NFTs and other digital assets, the China Digital Trading Platform (CDEX), was launched on January 1.

However, not all were successful in their foray. In April 2022, the U.K. government announced plans to create an NFT collection through the Royal Mint to support the nation’s plan to become a global crypto hub.

The move was proposed by Rishi Sunak when he was still the Chancellor of the Exchequer back in April last year, announced by Chief Secretary of Treasury John Glen.

“[This will be an] emblem of the forward-looking approach we are determined to take,” Glen said during the 2022’s Innovate Finance Global Summit.

The collection was planned to be released in the summer of 2022. However, the initiative was abandoned in March of this year overdue to concerns regarding speculation and financial risks.

Harriet Baldwin, the chair of the Treasury Select Committee, expressed her intention to inquire whether issuing NFTs is still the policy of the government’s chief financial minister.

In a March 9 official statement released on the parliament’s website, U.K. economic secretary Andrew Griffith announced that the plans would not be progressing “at this time” but assured that the proposal would continue to be reviewed.

As reported by the BBC, Baldwin attributed the decision to discontinue the collection to the risks surrounding the asset class.

“Until now, we haven’t witnessed substantial evidence indicating that our constituents should invest their money in these speculative tokens unless they are willing to face the possibility of losing all their funds,” said Baldwin. “Hence, it is conceivable that the Royal Mint has made this determination in collaboration with the Treasury.”