What Are NFTs?

In just the past two years or so, NFTs have completely taken the world of gaming and art by storm. Whether you think they’re a fad that will quickly fade away or a wonderful new possibility for artists, you can’t deny the fact that they have been selling for millions of dollars. However, not everyone is aware of these new additions to the art world — in this blog post, I discuss the basics of what you need to know.

What are NFTs?

NFT stands for “non-fungible token” — this digital certificate has a unique signature stored inside a blockchain and provides ownership to the artist even in the Blockchain. NFTs are typically created digitally, and are often digital works of art. An NFT is used to provide artists with a way to establish their ownership rights in a digital space, which is generally hard to do since there is so much copyright infringement online.

NFTs are known to be “non-fungible” because each one is unique, there is no other like it.  If you decide to purchase an NFT, you will need to have a digital wallet to receive, transfer and access your NFT. Much like any other piece of property, all NFTs are available to be bought and sold as you please.

How Do NFTs Work?

NFTs are found inside blockchains — the same blockchains that make it possible for cryptocurrencies to exist. Many NFT projects are using the Ethereum protocol, but other blockchains support them as well. These are then “minted” or created from a digital object that can both be tangible and intangible, such as:

• Digital artwork
• GIFs
• Collectibles
• Sports or video highlights
• Designer sneakers
• Virtual avatars
• Video game skins
• Music

You can even turn tweets into an NFT — Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s co-founder, sold his first tweet for over $2.9 million. At its very core, NFTs work much like a collector’s item but are bought digitally. Rather than having a painting to hang on the wall, you get a digital file of artwork instead.

The Benefits of NFTs

There are plenty of reasons why you should get your hands on some NFTs; here are just a few of them:

Authentic

When an NFT is minted, it becomes a unique token that anyone can access and view. You can confirm its ownership history, metadata, blockchain address, TokenID, and other details to ensure that it is an authentic NFT. Moreover, transactions on a blockchain are available to the public, so you’ll be able to see where the NFT was first minted.

One of a Kind

NFTs are non-fungible and are stored on a blockchain, so owning an NFT that’s associated with a digital asset like digital artwork will ensure that only you have a copy of that NFT. However, there are times when an artist may release a limited number of NFTs for the same artwork, much like how we have limited editions of a particular sneaker or other consumer item.

When Did NFTs First Emerge?

Some of the earlier forms of NFTs appeared around 2010, but it wasn’t until 2017 that CryptoKitties, a digital cat-trading game went viral. This game gained momentum and since then, NFTs became more widely practiced in the blockchain community. In 2018, a common digital standard for minting NFTs emerged on the Ethereum blockchain.

There are a few places where you can buy NFTs, the most popular is Opensea.io. It Is a huge marketplace.

NFTs are here to stay and will most certainly evolve. If you would like to learn more about NFTs and how to participate in it, please sign up for the newsletter below and you will be the first to know when the NFT program is released.  I also have an entire section dedicated to NFTs in the bestselling course, Blockchains, Cryptocurrencies and Beyond. 

Speak soon.