If you have been browsing the internet, researching advancements in computer science, or even looking at memes, you must surely have heard of terms like cryptocurrency or bitcoin. But did you know of NFTs, the newest and most exciting of these booming technologies?
If you didn’t, this is the article for you.
NFTs or Non-Fungible Tokens, at the most basic level, are digital assets stored in a blockchain. These assets may take different forms, such as an image, an mp3 file, or literally anything that exists in the digital form.
But what makes an NFT an NFT; or what does ‘non-fungible’ mean?
The word ‘non-fungible’ indicates that these digital assets are unique, non-interchangeable, and not equal in value. This makes them quite different from other mediums of exchange such as money or bitcoin, which have countless copies, all bearing the same structure, design, and value.
A Short History of NFTs
So, how did these come about? Well, there were certain platforms before the NFTs which influenced its creation.
The first of these were the ‘colored coins’. They were based on the idea of distinguishing some bitcoins from others by color-coding them. Since they were different, they had a value of their own. They could be used for different kinds of transactions including ‘commodity certificates, smart property, and other financial instruments such as stocks and bonds’.
Although the experiment could not go very far because of the limitations of bitcoin’s scripting language, it inspired the advent of the Counterparty. This was an open-source protocol which developed the ‘Smart Contracts’ technology, which is now critical for the integration and transferring of NFTs within the blockchain.
But the step which truly hit the mark was when Cryptopunks launched the first marketplace for digital art on the Ethereum blockchain (which NFTs also use). They established the blueprint of how non-fungible digital assets were to work on the blockchain. They showed not only how art could be integrated into the emerging cryptocurrency scene, but also how blockchain could be used to trade digital assets.
How do NFTs work?
Now that the history (boring!) part is out of the way, let’s move to the exciting part: How do NFTs actually work?
The first thing to know is that NFTs exist on a blockchain. Although other blockchains may also support them, NFTs generally exist on the Ethereum blockchain .
But how are digital assets stored on Ethereum? Or, how to make an NFT? As the official website of Ethereum explains, first you have to create a new block on the blockchain. This block would contain the DNA of the desired NFT. Once the block has been validated, you need to mine it on the blockchain. The mining process ensures that the new block is validated successfully.
Once the token has been mined, it is given a unique identifier that is directly linked to one Ethereum address. Who owns this particular address, owns the token. An important thing to note is that this information and the transaction record of the NFT in question are all publicly visible and verifiable.
What are the different types of NFTs?
The growing infrastructure and scope for innovation in the field of NFTs can help them find applications in a variety of fields. As a result, the creation of new types of NFTs is a logical expectation. Let’s take a look at the numerous NFT types to see what they’re all about.
1) Gaming: NFTs have just invaded the gaming arena by opening up a whole new set of possibilities. As the Ethereum website points out, NFTs can provide records of ownership for in-game items, fuel in-game economies, and bring a host of benefits to the players. You can even sell the in-game assets you’ve bought to newer players. Each time such assets are sold, the game developers may earn a kind of royalty, creating a form of exchange where both the gamers and game developers benefit. In fact, you might have come across games that make use of NFTs, such as Cryptokitties and Axie Infinity. If you haven’t, well, now you know what to do! (Go, try them out.)
2) Art: Perhaps the most extensive use of NFTs is as digital art. If you are a digital artist and have created something original, you may sell that piece as an NFT. The security of the purchase means that the buyer usually gets the ownership of the art piece, but the copyright remains with the artist. The worth of NFT art depends, of course, on its demand in the NFT market, but you might be surprised at how expensive they can be. A collage by Beeple was sold for about $69 million, making it the most expensive NFT ever!
3) Music: Just as for artwork, NFTs can also be used as tokens for musical assets. You might have heard of Grimes selling this thing for $388,938. Yeah. Well, since NFTs allow one to bypass the middleman, they do present a tremendous opportunity for musicians. Musicians can now sell their art without getting bogged down by the demands of label, distributor, and publisher rights. They can also use NFTs to sell collectibles, concert tickets, special access shows, livestream interviews, and even publish limited edition albums!
4) Licensing: Another industry in which NFTs are making deep inroads (unsurprisingly) is the licensing scene. Since NFTs grant ownership of the digital asset to the buyer while allowing the copyright to be retained by the creator, it allows consumers to be involved in their fandoms in unprecedented ways. Similarly, they give companies and individuals the chance to interact in more intimate ways, such as by allowing them access to rare and exclusive material.
5) Collectibles: Finally, if you are someone who is excited by collectibles, you’d be delighted to know that the NFTs also function as a vehicle for trading and possessing them. Since they are unique and non-interchangeable, the NFTs are tailor-made for this role. The certificate of ownership means that you get the distinction of holding the ‘original’ thing. Since their scarcity influences their price, you could sell these NFTs later, often at a profit.
Benefits of NFTs
After all this information, if you are still wondering what exactly are the benefits of using NFTs, well, here are some!
1) Ownership: One of the reasons for the development of NFTs was the need for a foolproof certificate that someone owns a digital asset. Blockchain ensures this because it is virtually unchangeable. Since no one owns a blockchain on their own, everyone has to agree on a change before it is accepted into the blockchain.. This makes owning a digital asset pretty secure.
2) Transferable: NFTs also come with an unprecedented ease of transfer. Firstly, you can easily identify the owner of the asset and engage with them in a transaction. Secondly, you don’t need to worry about the problem of ‘walled gardens’ because NFTs allow transfers even across different platforms and different publishers. Finally, since the transfers are conducted through smart contracts, the middleman is removed and the process becomes more efficient.
3) Authentic: If you are also fed up with digital piracy or fraud, NFTs are just the thing for you. No one can tamper with the digital assets integrated into the blockchain. In fact, the owner might even place their stamp inside the NFT’s metadata. If we consider these factors with the publicly available record of that asset, we can agree that NFTs are ideal for preventing fraud and counterfeiting.
4) Unique: What’s better than an authentic product? You guessed it! An authentic and a unique product. Each NFT is different from the others. They are non-fungible, after all. Since only a handful of copies of the asset exist at most, which cannot be easily forged, you can be assured that the asset you own is rare and distinct.
5) Indivisible: If you weren’t getting tired reading all these benefits, there is another. NFTs are indivisible. They cannot be split up into smaller parts. This ensures the integrity of the digital asset and discourages its forging. It also means that if you own an NFT, you own the whole of it, not just a part.
If, having gone over the benefits, you are wondering this big question — we’ve got you here too!
If you want to buy NFTs, first, you’d have to set up a cryptocurrency wallet. Once that has been set up, you’ll need to purchase the cryptocurrency your NFT provider accepts. It can be bought using a credit card on platforms like Coinbase, Kraken, eToro and even PayPal and Robinhood.
After, you’ve put the currency in your wallet, you can head to different NFT marketplaces to perform transactions. The most popular of these marketplaces is Opensea.
If you want to sell an NFT, you’ll need to select that NFT in your collection on Opensea. You can then select whether you want to sell it at a fixed price or put it up for an auction.
You can also use NFTify or the Shopify NFT store to sell NFTs without creating your own store. Alternatively, you can make a MetaMask account which allows you to interact and transact with websites that act as Ethereum platforms, including EtherCards, OpenSea, NodeRunners, Rarible, Nifty, etc.
So, all this seems exciting enough. But are NFTs a safe bet?
True, there is some uncertainty regarding their future. But what is a safe bet in a chronically uncertain world?
In a world that is rapidly expanding online, especially since the coronavirus broke out, NFTs hold enormous potential to shape our world. They are changing how we think of ownership, art, the trade of digital assets, how they are distributed and used.
Plus, the security, ease, and transparency provided by NFTs also argue for their continued use as the future unfolds. If you look around, you’ll notice that more and more platforms are adopting these tokens into their transaction networks. And it is becoming increasingly popular among artists.
In these circumstances, it is not far-fetched to say that before long, they will become one of the most dominant ways of trading digital assets online. As such, NFTs present an exciting opportunity for you to invest in, something you should definitely consider!
Contact Information
Website : https://nftglobal.space/
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/NFTgloball
Twitter : https://twitter.com/NFT_Globall
Telegram : https://t.me/NFT_Globall
Username: Bidadari_surga
Bitcointalk Profile: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1011291
(Bep-20) wallet address: 0xBd706dD25c38c5502DbB2B254bFA6bbD54b8F8d3
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar