The Block: Ether likely a 'significantly safer' investment than NFTs, says L'Atelier BNP Paribas CEO

L'Atelier BNP Paribas CEO John Egan has said that ether (ETH) is likely a "significantly safer" investment than non-fungible tokens (NFTs) at this point.

That is because Ethereum provides an infrastructure to NFTs, according to Egan.

"Ethereum is clearly the big winner when it comes to NFTs," Egan told BNN Bloomberg in an interview on Thursday. "So starting with Ethereum and adjacent infrastructure to Ethereum is probably a significantly safer investment at this point."

Buying NFTs, on the other hand, at this stage is akin to gambling in a casino, according to Egan. "You know you're going to spend money, but maybe you're doing it for the enjoyment, for the experience. If you win, you've got lucky," he said.

BNP subsidiary L'Atelier identifies trends in digital and virtual domains through research and analysis. Egan said NFTs are "very much an emerging asset" and are risky at this point.

However, in the next ten years, Egan expects NFTs to be the "bedrock economic infrastructure within the virtual economy" as it emerges.

Egan also compared the current NFT boom to the 2017 initial coin offerings (ICO) mania. He said both the trends are "very similar."

"I think a vast majority of the NFT propositions currently available are wrapped up in a hype cycle and have no real value," said Egan. "That doesn't mean NFTs aren't of value. I think NFTs are an extraordinary value as an infrastructure play in the long term."