In the last 2 years or so, NFTs have stirred the world quite a bit. Whether you know what it is or not, you’ve certainly heard the term. And you may also realize that something big is about to happen regarding NFTs. But what?
Well, time will answer that question. For now, let’s focus on the rise of NFTs in recent times. The world can’t seem to get enough of it and we’re on the same boat as you are.
What are NFTs?
The term itself stands for Non-Fungible Tokens. If you’re not familiar with what fungible means, think of it as replaceable for now. So, NFT refers to entities that cannot be replaced.
In laymen’s, NFTs are digital entities that are probably unique. The uniqueness is proved with help of blockchain. Yes, it’s the same blockchain you’re thinking about. Learn more about what is NFT and why it is a big deal.
The Rise of NFTs
There’s a widespread misconception that NFTs are the latest cryptocurrencies. While the “latest” part is true, it’s not a cryptocurrency in any way. The closest it gets to crypto is the fact that NFTs are on the Ethereum blockchain.
Despite being not crypto, the cumulative volume of NFT trading ended at a whopping $21.5 billion in 2021! It clearly shows how crazy the world is regarding the phenomenon. Although it's quite early to claim any history-altering effects of NFTs, there’s no doubt that the world of digital arts is going to change drastically.
Speaking of digital arts, how can we not mention Beeple, also known as Michael Winkelmann. He’s a digital artist who's been pretty well-known for his animated works in pop culture. For the longest time, he has been drawing up 1 contemporary utopian illustration every single day.
Once NFTs hit the market and started the buzz, Beeple converted 5,000 of those illustrations and named it “Every day's: The First 5000 days”. Effectively, it’s a huge collage of his artwork minted as an NFT.
And it sold for a jaw-dropping $69 million! Christie’s auction house was in-charge of the sale and it sold after months of a bidding war between prospective buyers.
You might be wondering, why on earth will a single collage of artwork cost this much?
The answer is simply exclusivity.
See, the idea behind NFTs was to create a world where artists, as well as grassroots, can convert something that belongs to them and make it unique. The authenticity of the NFT is proven by the existing blockchain. Once an NFT is minted, it has only 1 instance.
Sure, you can download the JPEG of every day's: First 5000 Days all you want, but it still belongs to the person who bought it for $69 million.
Interestingly, it’s easy to find casinos online that accept NFT as a payment method. As unlikely as it may sound, it’s happening. And the explosion of NFTs across every industry might be sooner than you expect.
A New World for Artists
From the current trajectory of the NFT craze, it’s safe to assume that it’s the artists who’re going to be the most benefited. Since the inception of the internet, it has been extremely hard on the artists due to non-existent copyright enforcement.
It goes for illustrators, painters, musicians, and whatnot. Speaking of musicians, you can even create NFTs out of music. Pretty much everything you can see on the internet is a potential NFT.
Coming back to the point, artists can now claim what’s rightfully their and stop the unlawful use of their intellect.
If the $69 million sales for the Beeple NFT were not enough to blow you away, what do you think about the $532 million NFT known as CryptoPunk #9998?
NFTs and the Metaverse
If there’s another trend that’s going hand-in-hand with NFTs, it would be the Metaverse. The theorized virtual world where we’re supposed to be living as soon as the VR and AR technology is advanced enough.
The CryptoPunk #9998 from earlier is one of the many CryptoPunk avatars released by Larva Labs, one of the very first adopters of NFT. Someone might be trying to secure his own avatar for the Metaverse and that’s why they bought CryptoPunk #9998 for $532 million.
Who knows?
The bottom line is, NFTs are one of the craziest things in the current world. The paradigm is changing on a daily. It’s very much possible that what we’ve shared on this post is not valid a few days from now!
But one thing is for certain. NFTs will keep rising!
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