NFT. WTF?

Something is hot and new when you start to read about it everywhere – and still every article on it seems to start with a simple explanation. In most cases one that raises even more questions. But sometimes more questions also mean a lot more potential. 

So what's a NFT? A non-fungible token is a special type of cryptographic token that represents something unique. Non-fungible tokens are thus not mutually interchangeable. This is key because this is what makes NFTs so different from cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin which are fungible by design. NFTs are furthermore managed by the Etherium blockchain and may lead to a new frontier of creativity, art, work and money. In lay man’s terms, NFTs are simply a new type of digital asset.

Recently, a lot of the conversation has been about if and how NFTs could be an evolution of fine art collecting – now only with digital art. Ownership of these assets is recorded on a blockchain which could be used in fields such as licensing, video games, digital identity and certificates, even granting these owners royalties many years in the future. 

A glance of that promising future even seems to be here already. In February 2021, Delphina Leucas paid a mouth-watering $6.6 million for an art/video piece made by Beeple. Not in a dodgy darknet corner, but at Christie's. Yes, that Christie’s. The Nyan Cat gif also sold for a $560,000 (300 Ethereum). And even bands like Kings of Leon and Grimes are on this new train of monetizing their art in such a unique way. In Germany, Fynn Kliemmann deserves a mention. The jack-of-all-trades recently made headlines with the sale of self composed jingle NFTs.  

With sites such as Opensea, rarible, niftygateway, Superrare, foundation.app and other digital marketplaces, artists have a new way to directly monetize off their hard work. 

Nifty.