To an extent, NFTs are the new cryptocurrency: The average man in the street is aware of them but has no concept as to what they actually are.
It’s a new concept that is developing into a multi million dollar industry so it’s certainly worth looking into things with more scrutiny. If you’d like to know more about NFTs, please read on.
Firstly, let’s deal with the basics: NFT stands for a Non Fungible Token and, at this point, most of us will be reaching for our dictionaries. If you’ve already looked it up, you’ll now know that the word fungible relates to something that cannot be replaced.
Therefore, when something is non-fungible, it is a complete one-off. It cannot be replaced, and this unique concept has created a whole new industry.
These days, it seems that every site has the potential to implement an NFT marketplace. As long as you are selling digital or physical products, there is scope to make them unique in some way, which is what companies like Open Sea and DraftKings have done.
Digital artist Kevin McCoy is credited with developing the first-ever NFT in May 2014. It was a piece of digital art known as Quantum which was an octagon containing different colored shapes within its overall structure.
Those shapes pulsed hypnotically and Quantum was a stunning piece of work. A true one-off, it went on to fetch $1.4 million at a Sotheby’s Auction.
The new genre of digital art began to gain some momentum in 2017 with the development of Cryptopunks.
These are a set of unique characters that appeared on the Ethereum Blockchain and all are available as Non-Fungible Tokens.
Canadian software developers Matt Hall and John Watkinson were the men responsible for a set of 10000 digital figures that paid homage to classic punk generations of the past.
They are clearly highly desirable with one character selling for an incredible $532 million.
From those early days of 2014, the wider world was largely ignorant of NFTs. Mainstream media coverage didn’t really take off until the Kings of Leon came along and introduced the concept into the consciousness of the general public.
In early 2021, the rock band released their latest album entitled ‘When you see Yourself’. As an established group, there was great excitement among the fanbase and the anticipation grew with news that NFTs would play a big part in that release.
Perks at live shows, including front row seats for life, were among the advantages that could be snapped up. Limited edition vinyl adaptations of the original album were also available at the right price.
Talking of financial figures, it was subsequently revealed that the Kings of Leon had generated some $2 million in extra sales thanks to those NFTs.
It’s a modest sum in comparison to other tokens but it’s a move that clearly drove fans’ interest.
There really are no limits when it comes to issuing an NFT. Digital artworks have started to dominate the scene with infinite opportunities to create a unique piece.
It’s a young industry and many burgeoning artists are looking for opportunities to get in on the ground floor.
Clearly they will have plenty of competition among the establishment but there’s room for everyone as long as they know how to get started.
The act of developing an NFT is really only limited by the creator’s imagination. If releasing a digital product, these can be placed on canvas, vinyl, newsprint or on the regular medium that you usually work with.
For digital products, those with experience will have no trouble in finding a home for their work. If you’ve never worked digitally before, it’s easy to get started through publishing platforms such as WordPress.
The next step is to sell that work. Established producers already have their own website platforms but, for those who are just starting out, this could be tough. Mainstream selling sites are already providing a platform for developers with eBay having a range of NFT artwork up for grabs.
Options may be relatively limited right now but in time, more mainstream platforms will get involved and we will surely see dedicated NFT marketplaces starting to follow.
It’s very early days and for artists and other creators, this is the time to get in on the ground floor. In the future, it doesn’t require a great leap of faith to see how NFTs can create a whole new cult of celebrity around those who produce the best work.
We’ve seen it with YouTubers and the world of NFT is fully ready to follow suit. Now that the concept has been explained, the opportunity is there to step in and take full advantage.
Additional Sources
Altpress
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