The buzzing topic at the moment is non-fungible tokens, otherwise known as NFTs. Millions of dollars in digital art and collectibles have been auctioned off recently in the NFT revolution. Digital environments will be changed forever by blockchain technology. There has been a talk in the media about the 300 ETH Nyan Cat GIF being sold for about US$600k or about Jack Dorsey’s first tweet being sold for 1630.58 ETH, about US$2.9 million at the time. A JPEG file of a digital collage “Beeple” reportedly sold for US$69 million recently, keeping the NFT hype alive. Read the article to know Why are people pouring so much money into NFTs? What are they exactly and why do they make so much money from them?
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A Brief Introduction To NFTs
There are two types of crypto tokens in the crypto world: fungibles and non-fungibles. The fungible token is like a currency. No matter what the serial number of a dollar bill is, it is still one dollar. Any one-dollar bill can be substituted for a one-dollar bill. Alternatively, non-fungible tokens (NFT) are unique and cannot be exchanged for other ones. As a result, NFTs can represent unique digital assets, such as CryptoKitties and virtual buildings on Decentraland.
The primary interest in NFTs is their uniqueness and ownership can be verified, the fact that they can be utilized by different companies for different purposes, as well as their ability to be traded in secondary markets. The features provided by these features create new opportunities for innovation and business models.
In an NFT, people buy ownership in a specific unique digital asset that is sold digitally. Each token is unique, making them a class of cryptocurrency asset. Ethereum is currently the leading blockchain for NFT trades, but other blockchains are gaining popularity as well.
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Can NFTs Be Valuable?
The value of traditional art, such as paintings, sculptures, and statues, stems from their uniqueness. On the other hand, digital files can be copied on the internet easily and endlessly. By utilizing this technology, any file can be converted into a digital certificate of ownership and traded on an NFT market.
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) are stored in a shared ledger called a blockchain, and so are other cryptocurrencies (altcoins). As thousands and thousands of computers all around the world maintain and verify the ledger in real-time, it cannot be falsified. Smart contracts can also be included in NFTs which can give the artist a share of future sales.
NFTs are individual tokens that are a part of the Ethereum blockchain; they store extra information on them. Extra information such as artwork, music, and video (and so on) can be made into images, MP3 files, videos, GIFs, and more, through JPG, MP3, and other formats. Like physical art, digital art can be bought and sold because they hold value, their value is heavily influenced by supply and demand.
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The Future Of NFTs
Nowadays, digital content is easy to copy, duplicate, or pirate, so staking claim to ownership is difficult. By creating NFTs, creators can protect their creations by storing them in blockchain-based unique tokens that represent various types of digital content (such as art, music, collectibles, gaming items, etc.). Digital creators increasingly are becoming interested in NFTs as they seek to establish ownership and proof of copyright. This latest digital age allows for easy copying and reuploading of just about everything, whereas NFTs provide authentication and identification.
It is well known that digital art is often used without the permission or consent of the original creators or plagiarized by another creator. Let’s take an example of selling a digital art print as a non-first-time copy. Copyright ownership will remain with you, but ownership of ownership will transfer to the buyer. Some market platforms, however, do not operate in this way. A platform such as Mintable allows you to sell the underlying copyright as well.
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In What Way Do NFTs Work?
The value of traditional works of art such as paintings comes from the fact that they are unique. A digital file can be copied countless times, which is the problem. NFTs enable the artwork to be tokenized and create digital certificates of ownership that can be used for purchasing and selling.
Similar to cryptocurrency, the blockchain is a shared ledger that records who owns what. Thousands of computers are used to maintain the ledger around the globe, so records cannot be falsified. Moreover, NFTs may contain smart contracts that allow the artist to receive a share of any future sales of the token.
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How Much Are NFTs Worth?
In theory, anyone could tokenize their work and sell it as an NFT, however recent headlines detailing dollar-million sales have increased interest.
Nyan Cat was a 2011 meme that shows a cat flying into a pop tart. However, an animated version of Nyan Cat sold for more than $500,000. Some of Grimes’ digital art was sold to the public for over $6 million weeks later.
Art isn’t the only thing that’s tokenized and sold. An NFT of Twitter’s first tweet went for $2.5 million, promoted by its founder Jack Dorsey.
Net artist Beeple, also known as Mike Winkelmann, sold his artwork for $6.6 million on Nifty Gateway, an online cryptocurrency marketplace for digital art. Christie’s sale of an NFT by digital artist Beeple is a record-breaking price for digital art.
CROSSROADS, which was sold via Nifty Gateway, was created as a reaction to the 2020 presidential election. All of Beeple’s NFT works are authenticated by blockchain technology, and CROSSROADS is no exception. It consists of an encryption file and a digital signature, so buyers have assurance that their purchase is a genuine one.
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What Prevents People From Copying The Digital Art?
Beeple’s art picture has played a major role in the lives of millions of people and has been copied and shared endlessly. In many cases, artists retain the right to reproduce and sell their work after they have purchased the copyright. Although the purchaser of the NFT owns the “token” proving ownership of the “original” work.
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How Can You Purchase NFT Tokens?
There are various platforms where you can buy NFTs, and your choice will depend on what you wish to buy (for example, if you want to buy baseball cards, digital trading cards are a great place to go, but there are also more generalized marketplaces). For each platform you are buying from, you must have a wallet, which you must fill with cryptocurrency. There have also been a few pieces reaching mainstream auction houses too, such as Beeple’s Everydays – The first 5000 days at Christie’s (below) – these are also worth keeping an eye on.
A great deal of attention was paid to the auction, with the bidding going up to $10 million. A final bid price of $69,346,250 was reached on the last day of the bidding. The Livestream of Christie’s auction ended with a record 22 million viewers, Christie’s told AFP. This may be partly due to the hype about non-fungible tokens. Non-physical objects such as digital art have them as a unique identifier.
Because NFTs are so in demand, they are sometimes released in batches. You’ll need to fill up your wallet and register ahead of time in order to avoid becoming overwhelmed by buyers when the drop starts. NFTs are also making waves throughout video games as in-game purchases. Please do not think that you’ve hacked an NFT by right-clicking and saving the image. NFT has the proper authentication and identification. This raises the question, though, how do you know which NFTs to buy and which ones have the potential to be worth a lot? Well, one way is to stay informed with everything that’s going on within the market and try to assume, and another is to use tools like Mythia, which do that for you and serve you the useful information on a platter.
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Why Do People Pay Millions Of Dollars For Tokens?
Bitcoin’s surging price, the impact of the pandemic, and distrust in the US dollar created a perfect storm. Over the week, Bitcoin reached a record high, exceeding $60,000. More people have been saving money since the pandemic started. Over 60% of people with an income above $100,000 increased their savings in 2020. People could invest in NFTs as their faith in the US dollar is at an all-time low. Crypto extends easily into digital art. Art can be used to invest like gold or bitcoin and as a form of investment.
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What Are The Best Ways To Start Collecting Valuable Items?
In recent years, more marketplaces for NFTs have emerged to facilitate their exchange. Owning a digital asset may seem attractive, but people also want to be able to sell it, as in the case of valuing art. Markets for NFTs, which are designed to make the buying and selling of these tokens more convenient for users, address this need.
WePlay Collectibles is a good place to start. WePlay Collectibles are designed for people who want to be part of an esports event and express their appreciation in a new way beyond traditional merch. With WePlay Collectibles, you can purchase NFT items such as esports merchandise and rewards associated with specific tournaments. Collectibles, using NFT technology, are available on a platform, where physical as well as digital items can be purchased.
Conclusion
As NFTs gain more popularity and are more mentioned in the media, we can see how they are becoming mainstream and more widely accepted. By exposing the underlying infrastructure of cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and promoting education on this topic, light is shed on cryptocurrencies. In recent years, companies have become increasingly interested in crypto-related technologies, discovering the advantages and efficiencies of integrating distributed ledgers into their business processes. As a result of all these developments, crypto and blockchain will be increasingly adopted in the future.
