What is an NFT? What does NFT stand for?
Non-fungible token.
Still, dont understand it? In this blog, we’ll break down just what this is. Non-fungible more or less means that it’s unique and cannot be replaced with something else. For example, a bitcoin is fungible, you can trade one bitcoin for another bitcoin, and you will end up with the same thing. However now imagine one-of-a-kind money, if you trade it for a different painting, you’d have something else completely different, that is non-fungible.
The trendy or the main benefit of NFTs is that they are made to represent ownership of unique items. They can only have one official owner at a time and they’re secured by the Ethereum blockchain – no one can modify the record of ownership or copy/paste a new NFT into existence.
How do NFTs work?
NFTs gives the ability to assign or claim ownership of any unique piece of digital data, trackable by using Ethereum’s blockchain as a public ledger. An NFT is made from digital objects as a representation of digital or non-digital assets. For example, an NFT could represent:
Digital Art:
- GIFs
- Virtual avatars and video game skins
- Designer sneakers
- Graphic Art
- Collectibles
- Music
- Videos
Real-World Items:
- Deeds to a car
- Tickets to a real-world event
- Tokenized invoices
- Legal documents
- Signatures
Also, when you buy an NFT you get exclusive ownership rights. NFTs can have only one owner at a time, and their use of blockchain technology makes it easy to verify ownership and transfer tokens between owners. The creator can also store specific information in an NFT’s metadata. For instance, artists can sign their artwork by including their signature in the file.
What Are NFTs Used For?
Blockchain technology and NFTs afford artists and content creators a unique opportunity to monetize their wares. For example, artists no longer have to rely on galleries or auction houses to sell their art. Instead, the artist can sell it directly to the consumer as an NFT, which also lets them keep more of the profits. In addition, artists can program in royalties so they’ll receive a percentage of sales whenever their art is sold to a new owner. This is an attractive feature as artists generally do not receive future proceeds after their art is first sold.
Art isn’t the only way to make money with NFTs. Brands like Charmin and Taco Bell have auctioned off themed NFT art to raise funds for charity. Charmin dubbed its offering “NFTP” (non-fungible toilet paper), and Taco Bell’s NFT art sold out in minutes, with the highest bids coming in at 1.5 wrapped ether (WETH)—equal to $3,723.83 at the time of writing.
Even celebrities like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan are jumping on the NFT bandwagon, releasing unique memories, artwork, and moments as securitized NFTs.
How to Buy NFTs
If you’re keen to start your NFT collection, you’ll need to acquire some key items:
First, you’ll need to get a digital wallet that allows you to store NFTs and cryptocurrencies. You’ll likely need to purchase some cryptocurrency, like Ether, depending on what currencies your NFT provider accepts. You can buy crypto using a credit card on platforms like Coinbase, Kraken, eToro, and even PayPal and Robinhood now. You’ll then be able to move it from the exchange to your wallet of choice.