NFT - what does it mean and why should I care?

Published by: 30.04.2021 13:11:12 NFT stands for "non-fungible token". This kind of token is like a bitcoin, except that you can have multiple units of bitcoins, which represent real money with different market values, as opposed to each NFT being unique. You own a token that says you own something, such as a piece of art that you can trade. But to have all the pieces in one place, there is an enforced scarcity.

One might wonder about the fact that a piece of art can be created and exist on a screen, whether it's your phone, computer, tablet, etc. Then that artwork can be seen, screen shot and downloaded by anyone online. But the deeper concept of NFT art is agreed value and ownership; while anyone can see, download, print and hang a piece of digital art, only a select few can actually own that exact piece. NFTs are therefore a form of digital asset whose ownership is recorded on the blockchain. What is a blockchain? Good question. Imagine a ledger that is online, and keep a publicly accessible record of who owns what, similar to the networks that establish cryptocurrencies like bitcoin or dogecoin. NFTs are linked to the Ethereum blockchain like this: you buy an NFT (say, a piece of artwork from Beeple Crap), and a unique piece of information about that artwork - including its smart contract - is stored on the blockchain. It proves you own it.

Where can I buy NFT?

There are several online marketplaces where you can buy NFT, such as: Nifty Gateway, MakersPlace, SuperRare, OpenSea, Decentraland, and Rarible. But there are many more.  If you're interested in NBA-themed collections, feel free to visit NBA Top Shot, where over $230 million in tokens have been traded.

How to create and sell NFTs?

Are you an artist or content creator trying to make money (or potentially several million dollars) from work that is otherwise inherently impossible to monetize? You can turn your piece into an NFT.  Let's say you have a holiday logo you want to turn into an NFT, a comic book, or something like Nyan Cat, an animated cat with a Pop-Tart body and rainbow footprint that just sold as an NFT for about $580,000. The monetization process varies, and some sites charge a fee (to cover the computational "fuel" needed for the transaction on platforms like Ethereum). But you can get started on platforms like Nifty Gateway, where you can request to create a project to be sold as an NFT on their marketplace.

Investing in NFT? Simple.. 

NFTs can serve as any other speculative asset that you buy, hoping that over time the value of the asset will increase and you will be able to sell it at a profit on the difference between the purchase and sale price. Last month alone, more than $200,000,000 transactions were traded on the NFT marketplaces. That's a very interesting amount, don't you think?

Examples of NFTs 

a) The first advertised NTF was "Everydays", which sold for an astronomical price of $69,000,000 

b) Or, for example, this piece of art (it is a GIF, i.e. an animated image) was purchased by the owner for $3,600 , now he is asking over $16,000  for it. Interesting, isn't it? 

Isn't this just another bubble? 

It could be a bubble. But many digital artists, after years of being fed up with creating content that generates visits and engagement on Big Tech platforms like Facebook and Instagram, get almost nothing in return. These artists of all kinds-authors, musicians, filmmakers-imagine a future in which NFT transforms both their creative process and how the world values art; now, for the first time, it's possible to "own" and sell digital art. "You're going to have so many people from different backgrounds and genres coming in to share their art, connect with people and potentially build careers," says Boykins. "Artists have given so much of their time - and themselves - to their work." To see them compensated on an appropriate scale is really reassuring. " Technologists, meanwhile, say NFTs are the latest step toward a long-promised blockchain revolution that could radically change consumer capitalism, with big implications for everything from home loans to health care.

Sources: 
https://time.com/5947720/nft-art/
https://www.theverge.com/22310188/nft-explainer-what-is-blockchain-crypto-art-faq
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a35742083/what-are-nfts-explained/
https://www.nationalworld.com/lifestyle/money/nft-meaning-crypto-art-tech-explained-what-is-a-non-fungible-token-where-to-buy-them-and-best-marketplace-3163733
https://coinmarketcap.com/sk/currencies/nftx/