NFT technology allows registration of originality for digital artworks and explains millionaire auctions of GIFs, tweets and images online.
What is NFT?
NFT means “Non-Fungible Token”. NFTs have a type of digital signature, authenticated on Blockchain, that transforms any type of digital media – a GIF or JPEG, photos, videos, messages, audio files, etc. – in a non-fungible good. An NFT is totally unique and the blockchain ledger it sits on verifies who is the rightful owner of that one-of-a-kind item. Blockchain technology is also used in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
NFTs and Digital Artwork
Each artwork is unique. It’s the same with digital artwork when turned into an NFT. NFTs have been gaining prominence due to their application in digital works of art, but there are also other uses. Basically, any digital item that the author or owner deems necessary to define its authorship can be linked to an NFT as a way of safeguarding its originality in the expectation of commercialization.
Can anything become an NFT?
Absolutely. Any digital collectible can be become an NFT. The first ever tweet, tweeted by Jack Dorsey, was turned into an NFT and sold at auction for $2.9 million.
just setting up my twttr
— jack (@jack) March 21, 2006
Will the value of NFTs continue going up?
There is great expectation that the NFT trend will continue to go up. As the value of bitcoin and other cryptocurrency keeps rising, it is likely the value of NFTs will keep increasing as well. Many big players are joining the hype, with Beijing art curators hosting one of the world’s first exhibitions dedicated to NFTs. An NFT created out of a New York Times column titled “Buy This Column on the Blockchain!” sold for more than $500,000 in a digital auction.
Which are the most expensive NFTs?
One great example of overnight NFT millionaires is NFT artist Mike Winkelmann, also known online by his alias Beeple. He recently sold a collection of his work through Christie’s. The most expensive art piece sold by him was “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” which sold for over $69 million. His collage was the first ever purely digital artwork (NFT) auctioned at Christie’s and the most expensive NFT ever sold.
Back in 2018, CryptoKitties, a collectible cat breeding game, helped lay the foundations of the current NFT craze. At the time, the sale of a CryptoKitty called “Dragon” by the hefty sum of Ξ600 attracted much interest to NFT. According to CryptoKitties website, CryptoKitties is a game centered around breedable, collectible, and oh-so-adorable creatures we call CryptoKitties! Each cat is one-of-a-kind and 100% owned by you; it cannot be replicated, taken away, or destroyed”.
Nowadays, CryptoPunks, like CryptoKitties, is another range of collectible characters with proof of ownership stored on the Blockchain. CryptoPunks 3100 and 7804 sold recently for $7.6 million each.
According to CryptoPunks website: “Originally, they could be claimed for free by anybody with an Ethereum wallet, but all 10,000 were quickly claimed. Now they must be purchased from someone via the marketplace that’s also embedded in the blockchain. No two are exactly alike, and each one of them can be officially owned by a single person on the Ethereum blockchain.”
Are companies joining the NFT craze?
Absolutely. One company making a lot of money from NFTs is NBA, with their collectible card platform called NBA Top Shots. The digital cards showcase videos of basketball highlights and, according to their website, “top shot moments from NBA history”. NBA Top Shot has generated over $230 million in sales with NBA earning fees from peer-to-peer transactions that use the Top Shot marketplace.
What’s next for NFTs?
The sky is the limit for NFTs. Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban is building a new online gallery to display NFTs, called Lazy.com. The digital gallery will let users display their NFTs in one place as well as share their collection on social media.
“I wanted an easy way to show my NFTs and a way to put them in my social bios, my email signature, and any place I can stick a URL. People are curious about what other people collect. There wasn’t a super-easy way to do it,” said Mark Cuban. “The NFT market is on fire. It will be interesting to see what comes next in terms of competition for mindshare and dollars,” he also said.
It’s the lazy way to create and show a gallery of your own NFTs. Everyone else tries to be social and complicated. We are personal and lazy. Sign up. Get your https://t.co/Vo3x4SmegJ url. Post it in your bio, send to friends. Tweet it. https://t.co/5cDwYK15Pt is easy https://t.co/mnVucRYoNZ
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) March 25, 2021
