Just days after a report claimed that Salesforce was planning to move to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), company employees apparently began protesting the move.
Reuters reports that around 400 Salesforce employees have signed an open letter opposing its "NFT Cloud" plans, arguing that entering the space raises concerns about its ethical and environmental impact.
In an open letter, Salesforce employees described NFTs as "highly speculative and unregulated financial assets." Some drew attention on internal message boards during a recent Super Bowl ad that portrayed Salesforce as committed to sustainability.
NFT scams
“The amount of scams and fraud in the NFT space is overwhelming,” the letter reads, before discussing the carbon footprint of cryptocurrencies and uneven financial distribution. "We implore you to reconsider."
A Salesforce spokesperson said, "Our core values guide everything we do, including the development of our products. We value feedback from our employees and pride ourselves on fostering a culture of trust that empowers them to elevate various points of view."
Salesforce co-CEOs, among other things, released plans for an NFT Cloud, which would help users create and host NFTs for sale, rivaling platforms like OpenSea. The company, best known for its CRM tools, is looking for ways to challenge AWS and Azure with potential new revenue streams.
crypto-litigation
As cryptocurrency has gone mainstream, opposition has been fierce. Cryptocurrencies are seen by some as a solution to financial and social disparities; others, backed by evidence, show that only a few hold most of the crypto wealth.
In terms of NFTs, for example, a recent analysis found that just over 32,000 wallets hold 80% of the value. The same analysis revealed that nearly €41 billion was spent on NFTs in 2021.
The most powerful criticism concerns its broadcasts. Bitcoin and other blockchain-based currencies often use proof-of-work systems that require large amounts of computing power to solve increasingly difficult mathematical problems in order to claim the reward (for example, BTC).
As the calculations become more difficult, more energy is required. Although researchers do not agree on the specific level of energy use, the truth is that cryptocurrencies consume a lot of energy, so much so that China has completely banned mining.
The climate crisis will only intensify in the coming years and it seems quite reasonable to oppose the issuance of a speculative and fictitious asset class with limited real value.