NFTs, or irreplaceable tokens, are the latest gold rush to capture the imagination of the crypto community. They are inscribed in blockchain certificates of ownership attached to digital media. They promise to bring a sense of ownership to digital art, opening the door to creating a thriving, eclectic marketplace that connects artists and their fans, and creators with the communities that want to support them.
Early successes of NFT
Everyone seems to be getting in on the action. William Shatner sold an x-ray of his teeth, Jack Dorsey sold his first Tweet , and Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher sold NFT tokens to Stoner Cats, which, in addition to giving their holders ownership of the token, also doubled as exclusive tickets to watch an animated series written by Mila Kunis.
The most promising use of these tokens seems to be in the creation of collectible sets, with pilots like Cryptopunks, which are now trading for a minimum of six figures each and new follies like Degenerate Ape Academy, who single-handedly lift the Solana block on his back and walking them to the moon.
How do NFTs work?
Still confused? Let us explain. Assets like bitcoin or the US dollar are interchangeable - as well, their value, even if it fluctuates, is easily exchanged for something else. You go to the store and you can buy milk with a dollar. You can exchange bitcoins for US dollars and, most importantly, you can swap back . Their values are interchangeable, determined by the market.
NFT are more like art. If you go to the shops and try to buy Mona Lisa beef, even though the cashier would be a fool not to accept your offer of payment, it's very likely they'll reject it. The value of Mona Lisa is speculative, variable and probably infinite. It is not a medium of exchange. Rather, it is a singular piece with a unique, socially established notion of value.
What are the advantages of NFT?
The big advantage of NFTs is that because they are "minted" on the blockchain, their certificate of ownership can never be altered or stolen. You can try to transmit your footprint to Mona Lisa as original and may even get away. Yet you could never do that with NFT. This security and the inherent individuality of ownership allows creators to sell digital media with an NFT stamp that gives it value to the collector.
What gets confusing for most is the fact that even though you may own an NFT of an image, the image itself is of course still available on the internet. This has given many, even in the crypto-world, pause. How can you really own something infinitely - and perfectly - copyable? Yet for enthusiasts, ownership of NFTs is valuable enough. Yes, every hotel room can have a footprint of " The Starry Night" of Van Gogh , but only one person can own the original. The same applies to the digital media world of NFT.
What are the use cases for NFT?
One of the most exciting possible practical use cases of NFT are Tickets . Sports teams have already started experimenting with offering tickets as NFTs, since they can't then be collected or traded without the issuers permission (if indeed that code is written into the NFT itself). Mark Cuban's Mavericks have vowed to use them for tickets, and they won't be the last sports team to do so.
NFTs are also beginning to intertwine with decentralized finance (DeFi). Creating better liquidity for NFTs through Indexes or their fractionation to create liquidity for separate NFT .
This can help create a powerful ownership economy. It helps shape your digital identity, something our team is extremely passionate about, and allows you to express yourself through the items you own in your wallet.
NFTs, with blockchain authenticating their ownership, have the chance to create a whole new market and economy. Judging by the extravagant sums already being thrown at some of the first hackers in space and in the frenzied trade of digital collectibles, it's safe to say they've already done it.