NFTs also known as Non-Fungible Tokens, (Non-fungible simply means non-replaceable whereas tokens are riding on blockchains), can’t be replaced which makes it a unique digital asset. An NFTs can be said to be a unit of unprocessed information (data), which is stored on a blockchain, a digital ledger. NFTs can be anything digital that represents real-world objects, such as drawings, music, in-game items, arts, videos, etc. As NFTs is a digital asset, it is taking digital art and collectibles to another level. Although NFTs can be like cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and bitcoin they are unique as they can’t be exchanged like-for-like, that is what makes them non-fungible. An individual can create NFTs from almost anything unique which holds value and can be stored digitally.
The blockchain ledger makes the ownership and unique identity of an NFT verifiable. The Ethereum blockchain first hosted NFT (a digital trading game, CryptoKitties, that allowed individuals to sell and buy cats that were unique and stored on the blockchain. It was one of the original NFTs), due to its growing popularity other blockchains such as FLOW and Bitcoin cash are also in support of it. No matter the form the original file takes, whether JPG, MP3, or anything at all, the ownership that’s identified by the NFT can be sold or bought like any type of art. A lot of excitement about NFTs is the ability to use tech to sell digital art, due to its uniqueness, NFT is designed to give an individual a digital asset that can’t be copied ( even if the artist still has the right to retain the reproduction right and copyright, like a real-world artwork). In this way, NFTs convert digital artworks and other collectibles into unique and one of its kind verifiable assets that can be traded on blockchain easily.
A tweet by Twitter Co-founder, Jack Dorsey (he sold the ever first tweet) was sold for a sum of $2.9 million, a “Nyan Cat” which is a decade-old went for $600,00 and a LeBron James slam dunk video clip was sold for $200,000. These prove that many musicians, artists, influencers, and the like benefit from a huge payoff as investors spend a lot of dollars to possess an NFT version of digital assets. Why would anyone want to spend so much on such assets? Some people derive joy in purchasing the works of creators who are independent as a means of supporting their works. While some just love or are intrigued by the idea of claiming ownership of a digital asset (digital real estate and 3D assets), as headlines prices for NFTs have been greatly driven by newly minted crypto millionaires who are interested in diversifying their bitcoin holding and crypto ecosystem.
NFTs are gradually becoming an attractive revenue for brands, they are shaking the concept of in-game like the purchase in video games. Gamers purchase any digital asset inside a game temporarily to use while playing the game, because the digital asset still belongs to the game company. The assets purchased temporarily by the gamers can be sold to other gamers across the gaming platforms, extra values can be applied according to who has owned it. Check out the 99 starz crypto lightpaper
Though any digital image can be bought as an NFT, there are a few things to put into consideration when purchasing one, especially if it’s your first time purchasing. To purchase a digital image, you need to know the type of digital wallet required and the type of cryptocurrency you need to buy the asset and you need to consider the marketplace to buy, a few common NFT marketplaces to purchase from Nifty Gateway, Rarible, and OpenSea. When purchasing a digital asset, you might come across charge fees such as cost of dollar to ethereum conversion, “gas” fee, this is the energy needed to complete the transaction on the blockchain, and closing expenses.
The process for selling NFTs (marketplaces) differs from platform to platform. To sell, you have to upload the content to any marketplace of choice and proceed to follow the instructions provides to convert the content into an NFT. Depending on the platforms, you might be required to add specifics like the description of the content and probably a price range. Ethereum can be used to purchase NFTs, other ERC-20 like Flow and Wax can also be used. A digital wallet is required for any individual that’s interested in creating an NFT. A connection to the marketplace where you have picked to upload and convert the content into crypto art or NFT and a little purchase of Ethereum.
Many are concerned about the horrendous computing power used during the creation of blockchains, NFTs inclusive, as it can have an impact on the environment and climate. This thought has created a lot of controversy in many people, even though a lot of money is made in the NFT marketplace. Whether to consider to get into creating content that can be converted into NFT or not or if it’s going to be around for a long time, for what’s worth a crazy amount of individuals are making money and NFTs is making new possibilities for digital arts or assets.