If you’ve been anywhere near social media in the last month or so, you’ve probably heard the term NFT and heard about how much money people are making off of them. Accompanying that term, is the concept of a metaverse, which, whether you realize it or not, we’ve been interacting with for several years now. But more on that part later.
For now, let’s address the question of “what is an NFT any way?” To keep it simple, an NFT stands for a non-fungible token. The term “fungible” means interchangeable. So, when you think of a dollar bill, it’s fungible because you and I can trade dollar bills and they both still have the same value. With non-fungible tokens, however, these items are unique in that they are a one-of-one version of something digital, be it a video, image or even items in a video game.
Yes, essentially, these are simply files that are loaded onto the blockchain. But they are turning regular people who are living worst than paycheck-to-paycheck, into overnight millionaires. What makes them so valuable is the authentication and validity capability that blockchain technology provides. So let’s start there.
BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY
I want you to think of the blockchain like a huge database that can’t be changed. Every time someone does something on an application that uses this technology – like making a payment or sending a data file – a block of information is created. All of these blocks of information form a chain in chronological order. It’s that simple. The blockchain is just a collection of different events that have happened over time. But its value is in the fact that it is visible to anyone with internet access and the information collected on it is nearly impossible to change.
So, you know how your browser logs everything that you search for and every website you visit, but you can go back and change or delete your browsing history? Yea, you can’t do that with the blockchain. This helps to prevent scams, create transparency and provide people with more power than they’ve ever seen before, because it removes the ability for governmental authorities to dictate what occurs on the blockchain. That is why it’s called “decentralized technology,” because there’s no centralized authority controlling everything.
NFTs ON THE BLOCKCHAIN
So of course this technology attracted the attention of a lot of people who had been trying to make money the “hard” way. They’d been working for others, waiting on paychecks to be signed, begging for time off to engage in self-care or spend time with their families, dealing with the impending threat of being replaced for the slightest infraction…they were tired!
But many of these people had talents that they hadn’t actualized, because they were too busy running the rat race of corporate America. These same talents had the potential to make them into millionaires if the right opportunity presented itself. Enter the NFT craze where artists, designers, computer programmers and enthusiasts alike, could create and get directly paid for their creations without having to engage in the politics, trickery and forced control that they were used to.
HOW NFTs BENEFIT ART, FASHION & COMMODITY COLLECTORS
Not only that, but collectors could authenticate their items using blockchain technology in ways never heard of before. As Maurice Jackson, CEO of NFT & Blockchain Technology firm, NFiniT Digital Management explains, “imagine having a regular electric guitar that’s a couple thousand dollars. The guitar is valuable because of things like its utility, the quality of craftsmanship and even the reputation of the company that made it. But now imagine that you have that same version of guitar, but it’s signed by the late, great Prince,” he says. “That would significantly appreciate the value of that guitar for collectors who want to buy it, would it not? But let’s say that you have no way of validating that it’s Prince’s signature, as he’s obviously not with us any longer,” he continues.
The question then becomes, “how do we know it’s Prince’s guitar, without paying someone to authenticate it?” Well, that’s where NFTs come in. A picture of this guitar and the authentication number provided by the authenticating expert, can now be taken and loaded onto the blockchain with an immutable record that outlines the time and date of the transaction, as well as the wallet address of the owner of the guitar!
That’s not it though. Let’s say that this lucky owner wanted to sell his or her guitar. They could now do so and get top dollar for it, based on the level of authentication. What’s more, is that every time the item is resold, the original owner of the NFT gets a cut. This lasts FOREVER and can even be passed down to descendants!
This also allows recording artists a way to get their content directly to their fans, without the need for a record label or even a streaming platform that takes most of their revenue from sales. Instead, the platform that their content is uploaded to takes a small cut and these artists have direct access to their collectors. This is the quickest way for talented artists, with the proper branding and marketing teams necessary, to become millionaires from their own sweat equity.
TOP DOLLAR FOR THE STARVING ARTIST
Many may believe that the artist has to have a big name in order for the art to do well in sales, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. With the power of social media and social networking, previously no name artists have seen their work sell for hundreds of thousands even millions of dollars!
Take for instance artist Mike Winkelmann, who’s known as Beeple, selling a piece for $69 MILLION in October of 2020, to one lucky collector! Prior to this, he had never even sold a print for more than $100. He is now known as one of the “top three most valuable living artists,” according to the auction house, and reached millionaire status overnight.
PEOPLE PAY TOP DOLLAR FOR NFTs from NEW ARTISTS
Prior to this particular level of success seen by Beeple, he had several other high ticket auctions where he was able to sell his first series of NFTs for $66,666.66 each. The Verge reports that in December, he sold a series of works for $3.5 million total. In February of 2021, one of the NFTs that originally sold for $66,666.66 was resold for $6.6 million. That is a 9800% increase in less than three months!
According to Artnet News, many others have followed, including the Crypto Punks Collection, which originally sold for prices as low as $1,000 and now are reselling for as much as $11.5 Million out of art galleries like Christie’s and Sutherby’s, where collectors anxious for the next hot piece of are art known to frequent. Or Whisbie’s Not Forgotten, But Gone, piece that sold for $1 Million. Again, this is all completely digital art!
And yet there are still trailblazers, like LA-Based Clothing Boutique owner Mason Rothschild of Terminal 27, who just recently released a series of digital Birkin handbags on Opensea.io. The series is called MetaBirkins and is described as a100 unique Birkin NFTs created with faux fur in a range of contemporary color and graphic executions. All of this serving as examples of how one’s talent, forward-thinking, and support of a team can make them a millionaire without anyone else exploiting their talent.
So much can be said for the projected growth of the NFT market, which is currently valued at more than $7 Billion in the last year, according to an article done by Business Insider. However, it is important to note, that tighter regulation on the market could hinder its growth, so it’s important to have an advisory team of experts in the space, to help you with protecting your assets. The same goes for business owners and artists looking to capitalize off of turning their products into NFTs, as the proper advisory team knows exactly how to advise you on:
- Creating NFTs from your art and/or products
- Getting those items officially authenticated with a process that is meant to significantly increase the value of your NFTs more than those who fail to follow this process
- How to build a following for your project and brand
- Where and how to place them in front of customers looking for new NFT projects to invest in, and probably most importantly
- How to get you set up to accept both cryptocurrency and regular cash payments for your items
Now, you could always strive to do all of the above on your own. But as many creators who’ve tried to get into the NFT space will tell you, it is almost impossible to do without a solid team. So, for those business savvy creators who would like to have the support of a team with adequate experience in the space. NFiniT Digital Management may be a great choice for you. The company has combined experience of over 10 years in the blockchain technology space, teaches several classes on how to get paid to game and how to successfully and lucratively buy and sell NFTs. NFiniT is able to put your project directly in front of their curated list of collectors, who are looking for the next big drop. They also have an entire social media department that is dedicated exclusively to building the social media following of NFT projects and artists.
By Link Green the KryptoKhemist