All about NFTs

BY NAISHA DAHIYA

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Did you know Grimes makes millions of dollars for NFTs and the founder of twitter put out an autographed tweet up for sale as an NFT.

Here take a look.

All this stuff sounds really cool but also complicated. Here’s a simple explanation about the not so cryptic NFTs.

NFT stands for non-fungible tokens. Non- fungible means that it is irreplaceable and unique. For instance, a one dollar bill is fungible, which means I can replace the dollar bill you gave me with any other one dollar bill.

The Bugatti La Voiture Noire on the other hand is an NFT as there is only one built in the entire world, hence it’s not interchangeable for any other version of the same name car.

NFT tokens are used to represent ownership of unique items. They allow the tokenization of items with high value due to their svcare nature. Items such as art, collectibles, real estate, music etc. can be considered NFTs. Ownership NFTs provide blockchain security and convenience, although with a specific asset of a distinct value.

Most NFT’s operate on the Ethereum Blockchain. In tandem this technology helps solve some of the most pressing problems on the internet today. Since most of our work has digitized, we require the same properties of physical items such as scarcity, uniqueness and proof of ownership. The NFTs market or the NFT internet differs vastly from how the internet operates today.

For example, a copy of a file like an mp3 or jpg would be the same as the original file, however on the NFT internet no two NFTs are the same. Further, ownership records of digital items such as songs are stored on servers controlled by institutions ( we must take their word for it), on the NFT internet, however every NFT must have an owner and this is of public record which makes it easy for anyone to verify (but not alter).

Ethereum makes it easy to trade NFTs. For example, a movie ticket for a specific date and show can be traded on the Ethereum marketplace for an entirely different NFT. You could trade your art for a ticket to watch Hamilton! This also makes it easier for artists to gain access to a global market and make the profit they deserve. They can also retain ownership rights over their own work, and claim resale loyalties directly. (That's the amount you earn after each time your item gets re-sold)

In the simplest terms, NFTs are anything but unique and have provable ownership. Some examples of NFTs that exist and thrive today are luxury limited edition sneakers, in-game collectables (such as new skins and characters) and essays. Digital art in the form of GIFs, music and videos, Real world items such as deeds to a car, Travis Scott concert tickets, legal documents and even signatures are considered NFTs .

If this fascinating world of NFTs interests you, I recommend you to try out Cryptokitties. CryptoKitties is a blockchain game on Ethereum developed by Canadian studio Dapper Labs that allows players to purchase, collect, breed and sell virtual cats ( sorry, I mean kitties). It’s a fun and safe way to understand and participate in the NFT market. But do remember, it’s real money, so use it wisely!