Another day, another cryptocurrency. In the past few weeks, stories about NFTs (non-fungible tokens) have infiltrated the news cycle. Grimes is making $ 6 million for something that no one understands, and was Nyan Cat … sold? It may seem that everyone knows what an NFT is, except you. You probably have doubts. We are here to answer them.
So, I’ll start with the big question: What is an NFT?
NFT stands for non-fungible token.
It looks like it has to do with mushrooms.
In truth. It has to do with cryptocurrencies.
Oh no.
Yes.
OK, I think I’m ready.
A non-fungible token is a single unit of cryptocurrency. It is a digital intellectual property certificate and is stored on the blockchain. Therefore, the owner of an NFT has an asset, whatever it may be, and proof of ownership of that asset.
If I can interrupt here, I never understood blockchain.
Nobody does. In fact, these Lego guys know, and they will explain it.
That was strangely useful.
Good. Do you want to return to the NFTs?
Yes. So, the other day, I had not heard of NFTs and now they are everywhere. Did I sleep during anything?
NFTs seem to have come out of nowhere, although they have been around for years. You have probably seen them in the news for the past few days because of Nyan Cat and Kings of Leon.
I can’t believe I’m asking this, but what happened to Nyan Cat and Kings of Leon?
Nyan Cat is about to turn 10, and its creator Chris Torres has decided to venture into the NFT world to celebrate. Torres put an autographed and remastered version of the popular GIF up for auction on Foundation, an art encryption platform. It was sold for 300 Ethereum (a type of cryptocurrency), which is about $ 560,000 for us Earthlings.
Kings of Leon is releasing their first album since 2016. It will be available on the YellowHeart platform, with a package of a vinyl album and a digital download for a token that costs US $ 50. And then there will be the auction of six golden tickets that essentially, they offer a lifetime luxury pass to any Kings of Leon show.
Does this mean that I cannot use Nyan Cat GIF? Or listen to the Kings of Leon album?
Not that. Buyers have what are considered to be single copies. Send a text message to whoever you want with Nyan Cat and if listening to Kings of Leon is something you feel compelled to do, the album will be available on streaming platforms on March 5th.
So, how long have NFTs been around?
The first major use of NFTs was in 2017 with the CryptoKitties game, where people buy and sell digital cats with Ethereum.
Seriously? Cats? Why are they always cats?
The internet is a cat everywhere.
In addition to digital cats, what can I buy with NFT?
NFT is used for art, games and collectibles. Art in particular is making headlines, with digital artist Beeple (real name: Mike Winkelmann) earning $ 6.6 million for his work “Crossroads”. Christie’s is having its first NFT auction with Beeple’s work, offering its “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” up for auction until March 11th.
How do I get NFT?
Well, first of all, don’t do this because of us. If you want to sell an NFT, like a work of art you created, the video and image editing company Kapwing has a complete guide. Note: You receive a share of all future sales of NFTs. If you are in the NFT market, you can search for markets. Two of the most popular are OpenSea and Rarible.
How much do you really understand about NFT?
[Stretches hands the length of this story.] About this.