Beeple’s Collage, Every Days: The First 5000 Days
INTRODUCTION TO NFTS: The introduction of crypto and the blockchain. has made trading of virtual currencies and coins possible, however, these blockchain transactions are not limited to only digital currencies, but even NFTs can also be bought and sold online. In fact, the image you see above is an NFT made by Mike Winkelmann, also known as Beeple which was sold to VigneshSundaresan (aka MetaKoven) for $69 billion in March. Now, you’re probably wondering what NFTs are and if they’re really worth the hype. Well, to answer that question, we’ll need to understand what an NFT actually is.
What is an NFT?
Well, what NFT stands for is ‘Non-Fungible Token’. When something is described to be non-fungible, it means that it cannot be replaced, or interchanged with other similar goods or assets. An example of a fungible item would be a plain white t-shirt, which can be interchanged with any other white t-shirt, but if that white t-shirt had been signed by Elon Musk, kissed by Steve Jobs, and worn by Mark Zuckerberg, making it the only one of its kind, then it has become a non-fungible item.
You wouldn’t want to trade this t-shirt with another one because no other t-shirt has the same value, meaning it can no longer be interchangeable. Therefore, a non-fungible token is a distinct, one-of-a-kind digital asset or unit of data stored on the blockchain.
They are not limited to being only image files only, but can also be videos, audios, or any other form of digital files or assets that are recognized as unique, usually through the possession of a certificate of authenticity. NFTs are used to provide public proof of ownership and that proof of ownership can be transferred by sale to other users.
History of NFTs
The first-ever NFT known to man, Quantum, was created by Kevin McCoy in May 2014. At that time, Quantum was being referred to as ‘monetized graphics’ instead of an NFT since the term wasn’t that popular yet. However, NFT, as a term, started becoming more mainstream in 2017 via the launching of many different NFT projects such as CryptoPunks and Curio Cards. Games, such as Crypto Kitties, have also boosted the popularity of NFTs and have also helped to increase public interest in NFT-based games.
Currently, many people are taking part in the NFT buying surge, with NFTs like the Nyan Cat being sold for $600,000. Also, many brands such as Nike and Twitter support the NFT movement and endorse the NFT marketplace. Celebrities, like Snoop Dogg and Lindsay Lohan, have also been reported to have become invested in the NFT scene.
How do NFTs work?
NFTs operate on the principle of buying and selling ownership of a particular item. When you buy an NFT, the transaction is routed via a network of computers that keeps a digital record of all trades ever conducted for that exact token. This decentralized network is commonly referred to as a blockchain, and it assures that every computer engaged agrees with each modification to the ledger as is the case with paper papers, for example, when a car is exchanged. When an NFT owner sells their token, a new certificate is sent to the new owner, validating the item’s validity.
Non-Fungible Tokens were created using the Ethereum standards ERC-721 and ERC-1155 and they work by being non-interoperable (NFTs can’t be exchanged), indivisible (a single NFT cannot be broken down into smaller units of NFTs), indestructible (once they are stored on the blockchain, and NFT can never be destroyed or disposed of) and verifiable (no matter how many times they have been sold, an NFT can always to traced back to the original creator).
What is the future of NFTs?
Non-Fungible Tokens are said to have limitless potential. Through their revolutionary use of blockchain technology, their popularity and use in commercial applications will likely increase in the future. Proof of this would be the use of NFTs in the art, fashion, and real estate industry.
Many artists make use of NFTs to display and sell their work via online galleries. NFTs, ensure that their work is not forged or replicated enabling them to securely display their artwork online while still being able to maintain ownership rights on their artwork. The same goes with fashion designers who buy NFTs for their digital clothing products like shoes, hats, etc., and retailers that sell digital plots of land, estates, and other forms of digital assets.
Since an NFT delivers indestructible evidence of ownership as well as provenance that will remain forever, it should be expected shortly, that artwork, both digital and tangible, and any other form of the digital asset will have an NFT connected to it in the future.
Major companies and brands have also identified the importance of NFTs and are currently working towards integrating them. An example of this would be Meta and the building of the metaverse and also Nike’s creation of NFT verification on shoes. The possibilities are endless.
So now you can boldly say that you know a lot about NFTs, their history, how they tick, and what the future of NFTs could hold. And who knows, you may be the next NFT creator that puts out the next $69 billion buy.
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