What is an NFT ?
A guide for beginners … like me.
NFTs have been around since 2014, but it was in 2021 that this novel technology broke through into the mainstream, taking steps to disrupt the art world and many industries beyond it. Over the past 12 months, the NFT scene has evolved rapidly and nowadays it seems as though many of us are asking the same question…. What is an NFT?
So what is an NFT?
NFTs(Non-fungible tokens) are digital assets, with unique identification codes and metadata.
The “Non-fungible” means that a certain good is not exchangeable. It has certain properties that make it unique. Similar to rare and precious stones, works of art, and luxury things. But they can also be virtual things, such as a trademark, digital tokens, or even digital works of art.
Tokenization is the process of converting something of value into a digital token that’s usable on a blockchain application.
Many things can be tokenised, including art and collectibles. The tokens can only have one official owner at a time, and they are secured by blockchains like Ethereum Blockchain and Elrond Blockchain. These blockchains keep a record of ownership of the NFTs. No one can ever modify the record of the ownership or copy a new NFT into existence. The only thing that can change is the ownership of the NFT, in the case it is sold.
What are NFTs used for?
NFTs have changed the way artists and content creators monetize their work. With smart contracts, they get a cut of any future sale of the tokens they’ve created, by programming in royalties. This is game changer for the creatives industry, as artists generally do not receive any future sales after their work is initially sold.
NFTs are revolutionizing the digital art ecosystem, and they have the potential to disrupt many other industries too.
Final thoughts
Art and other collectibles are the main use case for NFTs today, but in the future a wide array of unique items will be NFT-based and allow individuals to seamlessly buy or sell their digital possessions.
