Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) seem to have a boom this year, Although they’ve been around since 2014. NFTs are gaining notoriety now because they are becoming an increasingly popular way to buy and sell digital artwork. NFT is a digital asset that represents real-world objects like art, music, in-game items, and videos. They are bought and sold online, frequently cryptocurrencies with such as Bitcoin, on specialist sites. People interested in Crypto-trading and people who like to collect artwork often use NFTs. An NFT, or non-fungible token, essentially allows its buyer to say they own the original copy of a digital file, much like you might own the original copy of a physical work of art.
What are NFTs used for
- Digital Content
The greatest use of NFTs today is in the area of digital content. It is because this industry is broken today. Content creators are seeing their profits and earning potential gobbled up by platforms. An artist who publishes a work on a social network brings money to the platform, which sells advertisements to the artist’s followers. You get exposure in return, but the exposure doesn’t pay the bills. NFTs are fuelling a new creator economy, in which creators do not cede ownership of their content to the platforms they use to publish it. Ownership is etched into the content itself. When they sell their content, the money goes directly to them. If the new owner then sells the NFT, the original creator may even receive royalties automatically. This is guaranteed with every sale since the creator’s address is part of the token’s metadata – metadata that cannot be changed.
- Gaming Items
NFTs are attracting a lot of interest from game developers. NFTs can provide proof of ownership of in-game items, boost in-game economies, and provide a variety of player benefits. Many regular games allow you to purchase items to use in your game. But if that item was an NFT, you could get your money back by reselling it when you’re done playing the game. You might even make a profit if that item becomes more desirable. For game developers – as issuers of the NFT – they could earn a royalty each time an item is resold on the open market. This creates a more mutually beneficial business model where players and developers benefit from the NFT secondary market. It also means that when a game is no longer maintained by the developers, the items you collect remain your property. Ultimately, the items you seek in the game may survive the games themselves. Even if a game is no longer maintained, your items will still remain under your control. This means that in-game items become digital memories and have value outside the game.
- Physical items
The tokenization of physical objects is not as developed as their digital counterparts. But there are plenty of projects around real estate tokenization, unique fashion items, and more. Since NFTs are essentially deeds, you could one day buy a car or house with ETH and receive the deed as NFT in return (in the same transaction). With high technology, it’s not hard to imagine a world where your Ethereum wallet becomes the key to your car or your house – your door is unlocked by the cryptographic proof of ownership. With valuable assets like cars and real estate representable on Ethereum, you can use NFTs as collateral for decentralized loans. This is especially useful if you are not rich in silver or crypto, but have physical valuables.
- Domain Names
NFTs give your domain a name you can remember more easily. It works like a website domain name, which makes its IP address more memorable and valuable, usually based on its length and relevance. You can use an NFT domain name to receive cryptocurrencies from blockchain networks and quickly connect to apps that support them. NFT domains simplify the multiple wallet addresses you may have and replace them with one memorable name. NFT domains are mostly purchased by people who want to simplify their crypto transactions by offering a single name to replace multiple wallet addresses. They are also used as URLs when creating censorship-proof websites on IPFS.
- Collectibles
NFT technology has also proven successful for digital versions of other collectibles, such as trading cards. Sports leagues like the NFL, MLB, and NBA have all created digital collections that commemorate things like notable stats and notable games. NFT and DeFi (Decentralized Finance) share the same infrastructure. DeFi apps allow you to borrow money using collateral. Both NFT and DeFi are working together to explore using NFTs as collateral instead.
Are NFTs the future
Hopefully, you now have an understanding of what NFTs are and what are NFTs used for. People interested in Crypto-trading and people who like to collect artwork often use NFTs. It is difficult to say whether NFTs will be widespread in the coming years, but due to the rise in popularity, people are now willing to pay for NFTs. Like David Gerard, author of Attack of the 50-Foot Blockchain, many crypto industry experts claim that around 40% of new crypto users will use NFTs as an entry point. Due to its growing popularity, NFT could become a bigger part of the digital economy in the future. If you’re interested in learning more about NFTs, feel free to contact us