Japan’s largest holding company, All Nippon Airways (ANA), has launched a non-playable token trading platform (NFT) on the Ethereum blockchain, featuring aviation photos, digital collectibles and more. At launch, the trading floor supports the MetaMask wallet as well as fiat currency payments via credit card.

The marketplace, called ANA GranWhale NFT Marketplace, was released through ANA subsidiary ANA NEO, which specializes in creating immersive digital experiences in the ANA ecosystem. The site’s first NFT collection will feature the work of aviation photographer Luke Ozawa, who has been photographing airplanes for half a century.

Other collections include NFTs of two digital 3D aircraft, including an adapted Boeing 787 that the airline introduced in 2011, and a generative art collection called Airbits, which features pixelated airline pilots.

ANA Group will apply NFT to the aviation industry and promote the business to develop new customer connections.

ANA Holdings was established in 2013 and has positioned itself as the largest aviation group holding company in Japan, consisting of 69 companies, including ANA and Peach Aviation. ANA NEO is also working on a metaverse travel experience called ANA Gran Whale, which will integrate passengers’ flight history into their digital avatars.

ANA joins other airlines looking to integrate cryptocurrency concepts into their business offerings. In March, the budget Argentine airline expanded its partnership with NFT ticketing company TravelX to offer all e-tickets as NFT on Algorand’s blockchain.

TravelX is also partnering with Spanish airline Air Europa in April 2022 to launch a series of NFT tickets linked to special perks and events, and Latin American crypto exchange Lemon integrated TravelX onto its platform in October 2022, allowing users to buy and sell airline tickets.