People are going to start buying gifts again because the Easter season is around the corner. Read through this NFT simplified article to learn all you need to know.
NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, are a new option for this season.
These digital tokens linked to digital assets like a video highlight, a joke, or a tweet have the potential to make someone a lot of money in the future (or not) (more below).
In a nutshell, NFTs provide a digital asset or work of art with a blockchain-created certificate of authenticity.
They’re all over the place, from the NFL to Twitter and Variety. It’s fine if none of this makes sense to you.
We’ll lay down what NFTs are and how to sell them (a 12-year-old is on track to make $400,000 selling NFTs).
Before you buy, we’ll go over everything you need to know about scams and blockchain.
What exactly is an NFT?
This is the phase where you’ll need to be a little more open-minded.
An NFT is a one-of-a-kind digital token that uses the Ethereum blockchain to record transactions digitally.
It’s not a fungible cryptocurrency like bitcoin or ether, which can be exchanged for another bitcoin or cash.
NFTs, like cryptocurrency, are kept in a digital ledger, and each one has a list of who owns it.
The digital asset linked to the token is what distinguishes an NFT.
This might be an image, video, tweet, or piece of music that is submitted to a marketplace and then sold as an NFT.
What types of NFTs can I purchase?
Any digital asset can be linked to NFTs.
Anything you view on the internet can be an NFT, including music, social media posts, and clip art.
Here are a few of the most recent nifty NFTs we discovered.
Topps x MLB
The 70th anniversary of Topps’ original set of baseball cards is being commemorated by Major League Baseball.
New and historic baseball card designs of popular players were recently released as NFTs by the company.
Collectors will be able to pick between normal and premium packs, each of which will include eight cards.
On ToppsNFTs.com, you may find the NFTs.
Moments on TikTok
TikTok’s new video collection, TikTok Moments, is the most recent huge news in NFTs.
The videos will highlight the importance of artists on TikTok.
The collection’s proceeds will benefit NFT artists and creators.
The first collection will feature Lil Nas X and will be available on October 6th.
Fortune
Fortune readers were also given the opportunity to participate in the NFT craze.
On OpenSea, the firm sold 256 copies of the limited edition cover for Fortune’s August/September issue by graphic designer Pplpleasr.
Starting for 1 ethereum (about $3,000), the copies sold out in less than five minutes.
However, the NFTs may be resold for three times their original price.
Digital trading cards are quite rare
NFTs, on the other hand, aren’t just for musicians.
Sorare has released a digital trading card of Lionel Messi that is presently bidding at 29,993 euros, or almost $35,000.
Sorare also announced a $680 million funding round for its next-generation sports fantasy game.
SoftBank is presently leading the investment round.
Autographed Tiger Woods collectibles
Tiger Woods is presently selling thousands of digital items on the DraftKings marketplace through Autograph.
The price of the set begins at $250.
Tom Brady co-founded Autograph, which is releasing digital collectibles from Naomi Osaka, Derek Jeter, and Tonk Hawk.
Expect more digital assets to become available for sale as the hoopla surrounding NFTs rises.
Where do I buy and sell NFTs?
While you may not want to jump right in and bid six figures, there are other NFT marketplaces to check out, the largest of which is Opensea.
Buyers can bid on paintings, domain names, and other miscellaneous things without breaking the bank.
Woods’ digital collection is one of numerous NFT collections available on the DraftKings marketplace, which also include Tony Hawk, Simone Biles, and other athletes.
Curio Cards, a set of 31 NFTs, sold for $1.2 million at Christie’s recently.
The Curio Cards, according to Christie’s, are the oldest pieces of art on the Ethereum blockchain.
On Oct. 1, the collection, titled Post-War to Present: The NFTs, was auctioned off.
If you wish to sell an NFT of your art, on the other hand, you can utilize NFTify, a Shopify NFT store, to do so without having to set up your own store.
To get started, you’ll need need a MetaMask account.
Burberry has recently announced a cooperation with Mythical Games to use the Blankos Block Party game to make buying, selling, and collecting toys as NFTs more fun.
I scanned through YouTube to get an easy step-by-step video about buying and selling NFTs and I found CNET’s Chris Parker provides a step-by-step explanation on how to create and sell your own NFT.
Do I own the asset if I have an NFT?
No.
That’s the real kicker when it comes to grasping the concept.
The individual who purchases the NFT does not actually own the asset.
“NFTs challenge the concept of ownership,” said Jeffrey Thompson, an associate professor at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.
“Digital files can be reproduced indefinitely, and you don’t (usually) buy the copyright or a license when purchasing an NFT.”
The originator of the Nyan Cat meme, for example, sold an NFT of it for $590,000.
The individual who purchased the token has ownership of the token but not of the meme.
That is still the property of the creator, who has retained his or her intellectual and creative rights.
The token’s owner has a record and a hash code proving ownership of the one-of-a-kind token connected with the digital asset.
People will be able to download Nyan Cat and use it on social media, but they will not own the token.
This also means they won’t be able to sell the token like the owner.
Why are NFTs so costly?
There is a market for NFTs, just as there is for actual treasures like Beanie Babies, baseball cards, and toys.
The customers are typically tech-savvy folks who grasp the concept of wanting to purchase digital products and have likely made a fortune with cryptocurrency in the past year.
Ethereum, for example, has risen from $730 at the start of the year to almost $4,100 now.
Buyers are flexing their digital wallets in some cases to show off how much cryptocurrency they have, but in others, there is a deeper curiosity.
In an email, Jason Lau, chief executive officer of crypto exchange OKCoin, said that “specifically for art-related NFTs, there is a big rise in demand due to their uniqueness and originality of early artists.”
“Whether it’s a physical piece with an attached NFT (think of it as a digital autograph and evidence of veracity) or a completely digital work (where the NFT is the art), this new medium is allowing collectors and artists to explore their relationship with the artwork itself in new ways.”
It’s also beneficial to the artists, according to Lau.
An artist can begin monetizing work without having to try to sell it in a gallery by selling digital art directly to individuals who are interested.
What are some of the drawbacks of NFTs?
The hundreds of dollars in costs necessary to create an NFT is a disadvantage.
If you want to create your own token on the Ethereum blockchain, you’ll need some ether, which, as previously stated, is quite expensive.
After that, there’s a “gas” cost, which is based on the price of ether, that compensates for the work that goes into handling the transaction.
When an NFT is sold, marketplaces streamline the process by handling everything for a charge.
There is also a cost to the ecosystem.
Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin rely on computers to do computations, a process is known as “mine,” which consumes a lot of energy.
According to a Cambridge University study, Bitcoin mining used more energy than the entire country of Argentina.
Ethereum is the second most popular cryptocurrency behind bitcoin, and its power usage is on the rise, approaching that of Libya.
NFT scammers are also on the rise as a result of all of this.
According to Vice, after promising a collection of 10,000 NFTs, the “Evolved Apes” NFT salesman got away with millions of dollars.
Last month, the tokens were available for public purchase, but the social media profile and website mysteriously vanished.
NFTs were not delivered to buyers.
According to Vice, the seller left hints on Etherscan indicating that they made off with more than $2.7 million.
This is just one of several NFT frauds that are robbing people of their money.
We hope you found this article on NFTs simplified extremely helpful.