There’s nothing like explosive blockchain news to get you thinking. Hmmm ……..” What the hell is going on?” That’s exactly what I felt when I read that Grimes was receiving millions of dollars in NFT, or that Nyanco was selling itself as NFT. But then I saw that the founder of Twitter was selling his own tweets as NFTs. A few months after publishing this article, there are still headlines about people paying for rock clips and my mother still doesn’t quite understand what NFT is.
Table of Contents
What exactly is NFT?
After a few hours of reading, I think I know, and I’m about to start crying too.
So let’s start with the basics.
What is NFT and what does the abbreviation nft stand for?
It is a Non-fungible token.
By itself, it means nothing.
Yes, sorry. “Unforgeable” means more or less unique and cannot be replaced by anything else. For example, bitcoins are interchangeable: if you replace one bitcoin with another, you get exactly the same bitcoin. However, a single trading card is irreplaceable. If you replace one card with another, you get something completely different. Give a squirrel and you get a 1909 Honus Wagner T206, which StadiumTalk calls the “Mona Lisa of baseball cards”. (We’ll take their word for it).
How does the NFT work?
At a very high level, most NFTs are part of the Ethereum blockchain: Ether is a cryptocurrency, as are Bitcoin and Dogcoin, but its blockchain also supports these NFTs that store additional information and are different from, for example, ETH coins. It is worth noting that other blockchains may implement their own versions of NFTs. (Some have already done so).
What is worth buying in an NFT supermarket?
NFT can be anything digital (e.g. paintings, music, downloading brains into artificial intelligence, etc.), but right now it is fashionable to sell digital art using this technology.
Does this mean people are buying my good tweets?
I don’t think anyone can stop it, but that’s not my point. Many people have said that NFT is an evolution of art collections using digital art.
(On another note, when I coined the phrase “buy my good tweets”, I was thinking of something unrealistically ridiculous. (Of course, shortly after this article was published, the founders of Twitter sold one for less than $3 million).
Do you think this is going to be an art collection?
Some certainly hope so, such as those who paid around $390,000 for Grimes’ 50-second video and $6.6 million for Beeple’s. In addition, Beeple’s work was auctioned at Christie’s, the world’s most famous auction house.
Sorry, but we were too busy right-clicking on Beeple’s video to download the file the guy paid millions of dollars for.
Wow, that’s weird. But hey, here’s the part that’s a bit embarrassing: you can copy any number of digital files, including the graphics that come with the NFT.
But the NFT is intended to give you ownership of what you cannot copy: the work of art (although, like a physical work of art, the author can retain copyright and reproduction rights). In the words of the Physical Art Collection, anyone can buy a Monet print. However, only one person can own the original work.
No disrespect to Beeple, but this video is not a real Monet.
How about the $3,600 Gucci Ghost? They wouldn’t even let me finish it first. Beeple’s painting sold at a Christie’s auction for $69 million. Incidentally, that’s $15 million more than Monet’s Ninefea, which sold in 2014.
Anyone who holds this work by Monet in their hands can truly appreciate it as a physical object. In digital art, a copy is as good as the original.
However, it is not as flexible as the first Beeple…
I think I heard that the NFT is over. The boom failed, didn’t it?
But have you heard of the Penguin Community?
P… Penguin community?
Yes, so …… In the past, people have built communities based on what they have, and that is what is happening now in the NFT. One very popular community is based on the NFT series called “Pudgy Penguins”, but it is not the only token-based community. Perhaps one of the earliest NFT projects, CryptoPunks, had a community, and animal-themed projects, such as the Bored Monkey Yacht Club, have their own little groups.
Of course, community activity depends on the community itself. The owners of the “fat penguins” and the “boring monkeys” seem to enjoy the atmosphere, sharing memes on Discord and congratulating each other on their fat penguin avatars on Twitter.
What is the NFT?
That depends on whether you are an artist or a client.
I am an artist.
Above all, I am proud of you. Maybe that’s why I was interested in the NFT, because it allows me to sell my work, which has never been on the market before. Even if you come up with a great idea for a digital sticker, what do you do with it? We don’t think so.
In addition, NFT has a feature that allows you to receive a percentage of every sale or price change made by NFT, so if your thing becomes very popular and increases in value, you get a share of the profits.
I am a buyer.
One of the obvious advantages of buying artwork is that you can financially support your favourite artists, and this also applies to NFTs (which are much more fashionable than Telegram stickers). Also, when you buy an NFT, it usually comes with some basic features, such as the ability to post the image online and set it as your profile picture. And, of course, you can boast that you own the work, with a blockchain record to prove it.
No, what I’m saying is that I’m a collector.
Yes, NFTs, like any speculative asset, are bought in the expectation that one day they will rise in value and make a profit. That said, it is a bit harsh.
What makes each NFT unique?
In a trivial technical sense, each NFT is a unique token on the blockchain. However, there may be one authentic and definitive piece, such as a Van Gogh, or there may be 50 or hundreds of serially numbered copies of the same piece, such as a trading card.
Who would pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for something like a trading card?
That is one of the reasons why the NFT is so confusing. Some use them as the future of their art collection (as a playground for the very rich), others use them as Pokémon cards (accessible to the general public, but as a playground for the very rich). Speaking of Pokémon cards, Logan Paul has sold a million dollar box related to NFT….
Please don’t do this. I don’t like what’s going on here.
Yes, he is selling NFT videos, clips of which you can watch at any time on YouTube, for up to 20,000 yen. He is also selling Logan Paul’s NFT Pokémon cards.
Who paid $20,000 for a Logan Paul music video?
Will this idiot and his money be parted soon?
It would be very interesting to see if Logan Paul decides to sell another 50NFT with exactly the same video.
Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park (who has sold several NFTs, including this one) talked about it. According to him, if they were “speculative hoarders” they could definitely do it. I’m not saying that’s the case with Logan Paul, but you have to be careful who you buy from.
Is NFT mainstream?
It depends on what you mean by that. For example, if you ask me whether my mother has one, the answer is no.
However, big brands and celebrities such as Marvel and Wayne Gretzky have launched their own NFTs, which seem to be aimed at more traditional collectors than crypto enthusiasts. I don’t think you can say that NFTs are “mainstream” in the same sense as smartphones or Star Wars, but they do seem to have some influence, at least outside the crypto community.
But what do younger people think of them?
Yes, it’s a good question. At Enterprise Channel we are interested in what the new generation is doing, and it seems that some of them are giving NFT a try: an 18-year-old who calls himself FEWOCiOUS claims to have made more than $17 million from NFT placements, but of course most of them have not been that successful! I doubt they have. The New York Times interviewed several NFC teenagers. Some of them said they used NFT to get used to working on team projects or to earn spending money.
Can I purchase this item as NFT?
No, but technically you can sell any digital product as NFT (including Quartz and New York Times articles if you have between $180,000 and $560,000). deadmau5 sells digitally animated stickers. William Shatner sells stickers with Shatner’s image on them (one of which is clearly an x-ray of his teeth).
Can you really buy someone else’s teeth as NFT?
Attempts to link NFTs to real objects are often made as a means of authentication. Nike has patented a way to authenticate trainers with an NFT system they call “CryptoKicks”. But so far no teeth have been found. I’m afraid to look.
Please look. Where is it?
A number of marketplaces have sprung up around the NFT where you can buy and sell. These include OpenSea, Rarible, Grimes’s Choice and Nifty Gateway, but there are many more.
I understand there is a kitten involved – tell us about Kitten.
NFT became technically possible because the Ethereum blockchain made NFT support part of the new standard. Of course, one of the first applications was the CryptoKitties game, which allowed users to buy and sell virtual kitties. Thank you, internet.
I love kittens.
Not so much compared to the people who paid more than $170,000 for it.
YES!
It’s the same thing. But for me, the kitty shows that one of the most interesting aspects of NFTs (for those of us who don’t want to create digital art for Dragon’s Gate) is how they can be used in games: there are already several games that allow NFTs to be used as objects. Some of them even sell virtual land as NFTs. Players can buy unique in-game weapons, helmets, etc. as NFTs, which I think is a flexibility that many people will appreciate.
At least it’s not the digital mascot variety… Yes, it is.
In fact, some people have spent tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on NFT pet rocks (which, as the website says, have no purpose other than trade and regulation).
Can I cry on your shoulder?
Only if I can cry over your body.
Can I loot your museum and steal your NFTs?
It depends on the circumstances. Part of the appeal of blockchain is that it keeps a record of every transaction, making it harder to steal or, conversely, to exploit than a painting in a museum. However, cryptocurrencies have been stolen before, so it all depends on how NFTs are stored and how much effort potential victims are willing to put in to recover theirs.
Warning: do not steal.
Should we worry about whether digital art will still be around in 500 years?
Probably, yes. Bit rot is a reality: image quality degrades, file formats can’t be opened, websites crash, you forget your wallet password. But physical art in museums can also be shockingly fragile.
We want to make the most of blockchain. Can I use cryptocurrencies to buy NFT?
Yes, in most cases you can. Many markets have embraced Ethereum. However, technically anyone can sell NFT and demand any currency.
Wouldn’t Logan Paul’s trade in NFTs cause global warming and melting of Greenland?
This is absolutely something to consider, as NFTs use the same blockchain technology as some energy-intensive cryptocurrencies, which also consume a lot of electricity. Efforts are being made to mitigate this problem, but so far most NFTs are associated with cryptocurrencies that emit high levels of greenhouse gases. There have been a few cases where artists have decided not to sell NFTs in the future or have withdrawn their proposals after learning of their impact on climate change. Fortunately, one of my colleagues has been studying this issue very closely, and this article will give you the full picture.
Can I build an underground cave or bunker to store my NFTs?
Like cryptocurrencies, NFTs are stored in digital wallets (although note that the wallet must explicitly support NFTs). However, you can store your wallet on a computer in an underground bunker.
What if I want to watch a TV programme that has to do with the NFT?
Believe it or not, you have a choice. Steve Aoki is filming a series based on the character Dominion X, who has already collaborated on the NFT. The show’s website says it will be a blockchain-driven series (the first short video is about OpenSea), and hundreds of NFTs have already linked to the series.
Also, a show called Stoner Cat (yes, it’s about cats who get stoned and features Mila Kunis, Chris Rock and Jane Fonda) uses NFTs as a sort of ticketing system. There’s only one episode so far, but you have to have a Stoner Cat NFT (called TOKEn, of course) to watch it.
Are you tired of writing the word “NFT”?
Yes.
