Non-fungible tokens are blockchain assets which are cryptographic and with unique identification codes and metadata that differentiate them from each other – Investopedia

Image: thissongissick.com

Without a doubt, NFTs are the new guys in town that are soaking up all the attention and getting invites to every party. And to make things worse for regular cryptocurrencies, they seem to be here to stay.

None fungible tokens have found their way into the art, financial and music world and they are pretty much shaking everything up.

What Exactly are NFTs?

Digital painting by artist Sara Ludy

Non-fundable tokens are cryptocurrencies through which the ownership of items are represented. Each item – no matter how similar it is to another – is entirely unique and cannot be duplicated. The ownership of such property is secured by the Etherum blockchain.

On the other hand, fundable items can be exchanged because they aren’t defined by their unique properties but their values. For example, 10 Bitcoins at a particular amount are fundable because they can be exchanged for another 10 Bitcoins valued at the same amount. Theoretically, NFTs work around anything that is unique and needs unique ownership.

How do NFTs Benefit Digital Creators and Artists?

‘The First Emoji’ Part of Beeple’s $69.3 million worth of crypto art.

One problem that has always existed in the digital art world is the problem of authenticity. It has always been difficult for buyers to be assured of the uniqueness of the pieces they are purchasing and even more tedious for artists to protect their works from duplication and intellectual property theft. But that’s what NFTs have come to solve so easily and that’s why many artists and digital creator are looking to hop on this beautiful NFT wagon.

By minting an NFT, buyers of digital assets are offered something unique and something whose ownership can be verified. NFTs and all of their properties are always independently guaranteed and secured on the blockchain such that even if an NFT were to change hands, the original creator could receive a certain commission.

By creating an NFT, you determine its scarcity and you can earn resale royalties every time it is sold. In other words, NFTs are:

Verifiable: If you own an NFT, you can easily prove that you own it since each token has a unique identifier that is available publically and can easily be verified. The transaction history and metadata are also available publically.

Unrestricted: With NFTs, you literally have access to a global market. NFTs live on Etherum and can be bought off any Etherum-based NFT market. That is, you’re not restricted to any platform to commercialise your token.

Indestructible: All NFT data are stored on the blockchain through smart contracts. By that, no NFT can be destroyed, replicated or lost.

Popular NTFs and Artists That Sold for Millions

Death of the Old | Grimes

If you use the internet even a little, then you must know this meme and most likely love it!

The Nyan Cat was 10 years last month and to celebrate that, a unique edition of the GIF was to be put up for auction. The brilliant mind behind this renowned etherum-based meme, Chris Torres, reworked the original animation and that’s what was to be auctioned through the crypto art platform Foundation.

Fast forward the 19^th of February, the digital art sold for about $590,000 and that marked a huge success for the meme economy in the crypto world.

CryptoPunks  | Larva Labs

On March 11, 2021, these two tradable CryptoPunk collectables broke into the top two spots for the most sales of all time for CryptoPunk tokens. These unique collectable characters with proof of ownership stored on the Ethereum blockchain sold at $7.6 million each. By that, they are the most expensive CryptoPunk collectables to date.

Not Forgotten, But Gone  | WhIsBe

On the 17^th of March, a 16-second clip of a spinning gold skeleton gummy bear was put up on Nifty Gateway, a top crypto NFT marketplace, and it sold for an astonishing $1 million. The artist WhIsBe has numerous distinct gummy bear-themed NFTs on the marketplace as well.

Top NFT Websites for Artists to Sell Their Work

Consensual Hallucinations, an NFT by Western Sydney artist Serwah Attafuah

Now that it’s clear that the NFT art surge is far from being over, you might want to know what the best marketplaces for artists to sell their works are.

Not to worry, here are a couple of the most popular crypto marketplaces in 2021:

1. Nifty Gateway
2. OpenSea:
3. Axie Marketplace
4. VIV3
5. SuperRare
6. Foundation
7. BakerySwap
8. NFT ShowRoom
9. Rarible

Conclusion

With the current explosion of NFT art, it’s no news that we’re in a transition that will bring the best collaboration yet between art and tech. According to  Time, above $200 million was spent last on NFT art, memes and GIFs alone. With such numbers, NFT art will clearly revolutionise the future. Are you coming?