NFTs - TRASH OR TECH
Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, sold his first tweet as NFTs for a whopping $2.9 million, the NFT was recently auctioned, and the highest bid it got was $250.
The question is, Is the NFT marketplace a place for the rich to splash money around or the real deal of the future?
“This article breaks down all of this and gives the reader perspective”
NFTs have become very popular, and many believe Crypto and NFTs are the future. While this might be true, many people are still confused about NFTs and why they are so popular.
Futurists have claimed that art creators and collectors can own their work, sell or mint it, which will soon be the key to the virtual world. Many hope this will open the door for everyone to own pieces of a digital asset.
This article will break down NFT and see if NFT is just overhyped or the future of Art and Tech.
What is NFT?
Non-fungible token.
Break it down.
I have a selfie picture, and I am selling a copy to you. Another image cannot replace my selfie image as the image is said to be Non-fungible.
Bitcoin is fungible, and I can replace one coin with another but not NFTs.
Non-fungible tokens are assets such as art, books, music, an old collection of coins, and many others whose value can not be quantified.
THE RISE OF NFT
Quantum was the first NFT created in 2014 by Kevin McCoy. Quantum is a pixelated image of an octagon filled with denoting circles with larger shapes surrounding smaller ones.
Quantum is currently selling for seven million dollars as of today. The art piece created in 2014 has developed a staggering reputation, and one we might ask if it is just overhyped or a thing you should put your money on.
MONEY HEIST
Before NFTs broke the internet in 2018, cyberpunk NFTs were created by John Watkinson and Matt Hall in 2017, and they were offered for free.
Ten thousand NFTs were created and offered to the public, and currently, they were all claimed.
Complete documentation. Find it here.
Today the cheapest cyberpunk NFTs cost USD 194,148.78
How can this pixelated picture cost so much a rational thinker will imagine, and why?
[picture of the most expensive cyberpunk]
THE FUTURE FOR WHO?
2018-2019 saw the rise of the NFTs marketplace for trading NFTs.
Many artists began creating their NFTs and selling them in different markets. The global volume of NFT has grown 200%, surpassing $50 billion.
While many think they can cash out with their photoshopped images, the reality on the ground proves the like of Jack Dorsey will be able to sell his first tweet for $3million, but I guess yours or mine. Would not.
The cost of minting an NFT and its purpose creates a new dimension to why NFTs are no longer the average man playing field.
Some of the highest selling NFTs are
- CryptoPunks - 889,784.68 ETH
- Bored Ape Yacht Club - 498,420.13 ETH
- Mutant Ape Yacht Club - 315,960.27 ETH
- Azuki - 184,372.32 ETH
- Clone X - 174,129.14 ETH
Is this a big ballon bloom soon to burst, or will it usher us into the future?
I found this recap from thepourquoipas very interesting.
"NFTs only makes sense if you see them as playthings for the wealthy. They are nothing but stores of value, toys that the children will get bored with soon."
Here are some of the top NFTs marketplace.
NFT Launchpad – For Traders and Creators
Magic Eden – For Solana NFT Marketplace
OpenSea – Best Platforms For NFT Trading and the oldest with 600,000 users and has processed over $10 billion worth of NFT
Nifty Gateway – Photographers and image trading platform, the Beeple's Crossroads sold for $69 million in 2021
Rarible – NFT Artists Platform has processed over $270 million worth of NFT.
Crypto.com – Best NFT Platform for Music
Axie Marketplace – Best NFT Gaming Platform
Binance Marketplace – All in one platform
With all of this large volume, what will the future hold for NFTs?
A real tricky biting question, but the answer is as heart-wrenching as the question, the future will focus on only the rich becoming richer as they will be the only ones with the funds to keep it going.
Will it become an entrance to some top-class inner circle? Yes, I think so. Clubs will only allow you access if you have one of the collections as a gate pass.
Will it circulates back to the rich as collections just like physical art?
Your guess is as good as mine.
THE MUDDY WATER
Apart from the show-off that you own an NFT, what else do you do with one?
While you might not know what to do with one, many other actors have, and here is what you might not know.
While there are legitimate traders, there are illegitimate traders with the sole aim to scam and run money laundering rackets through these platforms.
One scam is, blowing up the price of an NFT by the user and using another account to bid for such work, thereby legitimizing the proceed as blockchain adds a layer of security to the network.
While these platforms are decentralized and complex to track, the funds are sent to platforms like tornado cash, a mixing service that prevents blockchain tracing addresses.
Learn more about tornado cash.
THE FUTURE
The future of NFT is uncertain and hinges on a lot of probability and one that relies on if humanity will move into the metaverse.
While I do not believe humanity is ready for such a leap just yet, at its current state, NFT minting has skyrocketed, and the current trajectory shows a heavy push towards adoption.
Here is a chart of NFT trading from 2018, documentation from Statista here
I believe the marketplace will soon be taken over by the extremely rich who can afford to buy and mint NFTs, but this seems like an uphill journey for the everyday creator, and many will soon become bored when nobody bids for their NFTs in 100 years to come.
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