NFT Factory: "Paris must remain at the cutting edge of the arts
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The NFT Factory opened its doors this Saturday in Paris. Why such a place? What will it be used for? We spoke to its director, Lucie-Eléonore Riveron.

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THE BIG WHALE. After several months of work, you're finally opening the NFT Factory. How did you come up with the idea for such a place?

Lucie-Eléonore Riveron. The idea came from a small group of collectors last year. It was still a bit crazy on the crypto markets, there was already a lot of talk about NFTs, there was a real emulation, and we thought we needed a physical place to bring the whole community together with NFT enthusiasts and also of course the curious. Because Web3 isn't just about digital, it's also about the physical, meeting people, exchanging ideas...

We often forget, but before the NFT Factory there was the Maison du Bitcoin in Paris. That was back in 2014! This place allowed a lot of people to get together. It also led to the creation of Coinhouse (formerly La Maison du Bitcoin) and Ledger, which has become the world leader in digital asset preservation. We hope that the NFT Factory will make it possible to do the same thing.

Do you think Paris could become the capital of NFTs?

At least, that's the aim of its 128 founders who are funding the NFT Factory. Paris has always been an artistic capital, and this must continue, even if art is evolving and becoming digital. Today, there are a great many crypto-artists who live in Paris or visit regularly. With the NFT Factory (400 m2, editor's note), we want to offer them a dedicated space and raise the profile of the sector.

We can feel that something is happening in France and Europe: there are artists, collectors and an audience. We want to take advantage of the moment to make our mark, especially as other markets, such as the United States, are very dynamic, and are also developing quite quickly.

What will the NFT Factory be used for?

Not just to bring artists together. It will also enable as many people as possible to discover NFT, this new technology, this digital property that means you can own a virtual work. There will be workshops and exhibitions for this purpose.

We're right opposite the Centre Georges Pompidou, which is very popular with Parisians and tourists alike. The aim is also to enable NFT projects to organise their launch from the NFT Factory.

You've launched the NFT Factory in Paris, but do you plan to open others in France or abroad?

We've already been asked to set up Factories elsewhere. This is the case in Portugal, where there is a large NFT community. We also have contacts in Belgium and Switzerland. But the idea is already to develop the Factory in Paris and find a stable revenue model. Then we'll expand abroad.

Raphaël Bloch

Raphaël Bloch is CEO and co-founder of The Big Whale, an independent market intelligence platform on digital assets serving financial market participants through editorial coverage, research, a weekly briefing, and in-person events. He co-founded The Big Whale in April 2022. At the platform, he moderates and hosts institutional events bringing together banks, asset managers, custodians, and infrastructure providers on topics including staking, on-chain yield, stablecoins, DeFi lending, and tokenisation. He has moderated panels at events hosted in partnership with Bitwise, Everstake, Gemini, Morpho, Hexarq, Coinhouse, Delubac, Franklin Templeton, and the Ethereum Foundation, held in London and Paris between late 2025 and mid-2026.

Before founding The Big Whale, Bloch worked as a reporter at Les Echos from December 2016 to March 2020, then at L'Express from March 2020 to March 2022. He also previously worked at Reuters. Since September 2022, he has held a concurrent role as Business Analyst at BFM Business. He has been active in crypto journalism since 2016. He holds degrees from emlyon and the CFJ.

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Grégory Raymond

Grégory Raymond is Head of Research and co-founder of The Big Whale. A specialist at the intersection of traditional finance and digital assets, he has been covering the regulatory, institutional and technological developments of the sector since 2017 for an audience of decision-makers: ,banks, asset managers and fintechs. He is also the author of Bitcoin & Cryptos: L'enjeu du siècle (Talent Éditions, 2025), a book built around interviews with key figures from the ecosystem.

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