Imagine buying a piece of digital art at a reasonable price on the internet and getting a unique digital token that proves that the purchased art is yours. Will it be great? With NFTs, it's now possible.

What is NFT?

NFT, simply put, can represent something unique in the digital world and help you confirm the rights to assets in the digital world. For example, if you write an article and use NFT to confirm the right, although it can be copied, only you are its actual owner. And every time someone cites it, they have to pay you, bringing you ongoing revenue.

NFTs refer to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and are often created using the same type of programming as cryptocurrencies. Simply put, these crypto assets are based on blockchain technology. They cannot be exchanged or traded on an equivalent basis like other crypto assets.

Like Bitcoin or Ethereum. The term NFT clearly means that it can neither be replaced nor interchangeable because it has unique properties. Physical currency and cryptocurrencies are fungible, which means they can be traded or exchanged for each other.

NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token, which means it can neither be replaced nor interchangeable due to its unique properties.

Main features of NFT -

01

Unique

NFTs include information on the properties of each token in their code, making them different from other tokens. Encrypted digital artwork may have encoded information embedded in each pixel, and encrypted game items may have many details at the bottom, allowing game clients to understand the items owned by the player and their properties. One of the key differences between cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens is that each NFT is unique and complete and is not directly interchangeable with any other asset through identity, value and/or utility.

02

Traceable

Every NFT has a transaction record on-chain, from creation to changing hands. Every token is verifiable, proven authenticity, and fraud prevention - critical for owners and potential buyers!

03

Scarcity

In order for NFTs to be attractive to buyers, NFTs should be scarce. This can not only ensure the long-term development of encrypted assets, but also will not have the hidden danger of short supply.

04

Indivisibility

NFTs cannot be cut into parts for trading. Just as half a concert ticket will not be sold in half, NFT cannot be divided into smaller denominations.

05

Programmability

Like all traditional digital assets and tokens built on smart contract blockchains, NFTs are fully programmable. Both the CryptoKitties and Axie Infinity projects have introduced breeding mechanisms to encode tokens. Every non-fungible token is composed of metadata that gives each token its personality, including size, owner name, scarcity, and more. The potential of NFTs is limitless.

06

Ownership

NFT combines the best features of decentralized blockchain technology with non-fungible assets. Unlike ordinary digital assets, which are issued and regulated by centralized entities, NFT encrypted assets can be used as needed, and can also give the owner real ownership. True ownership is one of the key components of any NFT, and as the digital economy continues to evolve, there is no doubt that NFTs will play a key role in bringing the digital and physical worlds closer than ever.

07

Transferability

Since NFTs are decentralized, there is no need for a central issuer, and there is no third-party intervention, making their transfer easier. For example, in the field of games, NFT solves the exclusivity problem in traditional games, because assets can be easily transferred between different blockchain games. Assets that users build or buy in NFT games are owned by the user personally, not the game company, so they can be transferred between worlds and can be carried from one game to another.

08

Standardization

Traditional digital assets do not have a unified expression, but by displaying non-fungible assets on the public chain, developers can build universal, reusable, and inheritable standards for all non-fungible tokens. This includes basic primitives such as ownership, transport, and simple access control.

09

Fluidity

The extremely fast tradability of non-fungible assets will bring about an increase in liquidity. The NFT marketplace can cater to a wide variety of audiences, from serious traders to less sophisticated traders, allowing assets to be more widely available to more buyers. Just as the ICO boom of 2017 spawned a new class of assets powered by instant liquid money, NFTs expand the unique marketplace of digital assets.

10

Interoperability

A non-fungible token standard allows NFTs to move easily across multiple ecosystems. When developers start new NFT projects, these NFTs are instantly viewable in dozens of different wallet providers, can be traded on the market, and can be displayed in the virtual world because the open standard is read and write Data provides a clear, consistent, reliable and permissioned API.

Cryptopunks are a well-known example of NFTs. It enables you to buy, sell and store 10,000 collectibles with proof of ownership.

How do NFTs work?

Now that you have an initial understanding of what NFTs are, you should move on to understanding how NFTs work.

How NFTs work

An NFT is the tokenization of a non-fungible underlying asset, which can be almost anything - art, music, video, in-game assets, a edition of a book, etc.

To sum up, NFT functional (Actionable NFTs) and non-functional (Non-actionable NFTs) correspond to game assets and collectible assets, respectively. The "interactivity" provided by the former to the owner is essentially a means of production that is "consumed" within the scope of the rules, while the latter maintains the mysterious integrity of a "work" and the corresponding value of the two. Properties are also different.

Most NFTs reside on the Ethereum cryptocurrency’s blockchain, a distributed public ledger that records transactions.

NFTs are individual tokens in which valuable information is stored.

Because their value is primarily determined by market and demand, they can be bought and sold like other physical art.

The unique data of an NFT makes it easy to verify and verify its ownership and the transfer of tokens between owners.

Examples of NFTs

The NFT world is relatively new to people. Here are some examples of NFTs that exist today:

A Digital Collectible

Domain Names

Games

Essays

Sneakers in fashion line

What are NFTs used for?

 NFTs are no longer uncommon. In particular, NFTs for art and collectibles have become mainstream at an alarming rate, beyond the scope of any cryptocurrency. The reason is clear. NFTs (especially those for art and collectibles) are interesting, visible, culturally relevant, and easy to understand. Unlike blockchain, people who are interested in crypto transactions and people who like to collect art often use NFTs. Apart from that, it has some other uses such as:

Digital Content - The most important use of NFTs today is digital content. Content creators see NFTs boosting their profits because NFTs drive the creator economy, where creators transfer ownership of their content to the platforms they use to promote their content.

Game Projects - NFTs have attracted a lot of interest from game developers. NFTs can provide players with many benefits. Usually, in online games, you can buy items for your character, but that's about it. With NFTs, you can get your money back by selling the item after you've used it.

Up to 2 million people play Axie Infinity's lovable characters every day, worth $3 billion.

Fashion

Luxury brands are entering NFTs. For example, Dolce & Gabbana's first NFT series "Collezione Genesi" won the bid at a price of about 5.65 million US dollars (about 640 million yen). DeFi (Decentralized Finance) NFT

Suppose you forget to pay and spend all your money on the popular NFT "cypherpunks". But no problem. With NFTfi (NFT Finance), you will be able to borrow money against cypherpunks.

Events and Tickets

Consider a hypothesis. There was a live performance by pop rapper Drake. Tickets are NFTs

NFT community

Suppose you own a luxurious NFT like the Dolce & Gabbana crown. Where is it stored? Physical crowns can be stored in safes and even displayed in luxury villas in the Aegean Sea. But what about digital NFTs?

Metaverse

"The Metaverse will be a game-changer for NFTs in the future," said Maxime Laglasse of Nonfungible.com. The Metaverse is a place to store and appreciate NFT art, a gaming hub, a new mission in Zuckerberg's life, and perhaps an evolution of how we consume online.

Virtual real estate

In the 2006 film "Superman Returns," his nemesis Lex Luthor said, "No one can create land."

Digital identity

Self-Sovereign Identity (SSID) has long been considered the most promising application of blockchain technology, and NFTs may be the key to unlocking this door. Lagras cites the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) as an example.

Affecting NFTs

"Think about the value created by social media platforms," ​​says Outlier Ventures' Burke. Currently, advertising is the only way to monetize their influence, and influencers only get a fraction of their income, he said. So what happens if we quantify the impact and convert it to NFT?

This "influenced NFT" goes beyond just assessing the number of followers on Twitter. "It enables digital content to assess and quantify community connections," Burke said, which will include online reputation and trustworthiness, as well as the ability to curate and create quality content. ..

Music

“The industry definitely needs to be destroyed creatively,” said Marty, who expects NFTs to affect music as well as art and collectibles. It can be said that it has already started. Some artists use NFTs as a means of balancing monetization and engagement with fans.

Medical insurance

"The impact on the healthcare industry is huge," Lagras said.

NFTs can be used to keep medical information private, such as medical history, and enhance drug supply chain tracking.

Advertise

"Advertising doesn't get much attention, but website operators should be able to use NFTs to sell ads,"

fantasy sports

Sorare is already developing NFT games where you can buy and trade virtual football teams using digital player cards. The move will soon expand to other popular sports such as American Football (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB).

NFT search

There is no good search service for NFTs yet. "NFTs are fun now, but they're in disarray. It's similar to what happened on the web in the 90s before Google came along,

The last one is the most important expectation.

Everything is digital

“Many people still don’t understand how big NFTs are going to be. NFTs will apply to everything. All forms of value will show up as NFTs,” Sfermion Stein said. Wald said. This is a bold statement. Why can we say so much?

"We spend most of our time online," he said. This trend will accelerate over the next 20 or 30 years, and eventually "you're going to get a lot of digital goods". In the future, when you buy a popular sneaker, you'll want an NFT too, and if you get it, you'll be able to show it off and use it in the Metaverse and on-ear games.

Investments and Collateral - NFTs and DeFi (Decentralized Finance) share the same infrastructure. DeFi applications allow you to borrow money using collateral. NFTs and DeFi jointly explore using NFTs as collateral.

Domain Name - NFTs give your domain name a more memorable name. This is like a website domain name, making its IP address easier to remember and more valuable, usually based on length and relevance.

Even celebrities like Snoop Dogg, Shawn Mendes, and Jack Dorsey have taken an interest in NFTs by posting unique memories and artwork and selling them as securitized NFTs.

A popular NFT use case - NBA Top Shot

One of the non-fungible tokens that have seen huge popularity in recent days is NBA Top Shot, a partnership between Dapper Labs (maker of the CryptoKitties game) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). The NBA licenses personal highlight video clips and other content to Dapper Labs, who digitize the footage and sell it to consumers. Each reel features a video clip, such as a basketball dunk by a famous player, some of which feature different angles and digital artwork that make them unique. Even if someone makes an exact copy of the video, it can be instantly identified as a fake. The venture has already generated $230 million in sales, and the company just secured $305 million in funding from a group that includes Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant.

These video reels sell for a lot. Among the most popular:

LeBron James “Cosmic” Dunk: $208,000

Zion Williamson “Holo MMXX” Block: $100,000

LeBron James “From the Top” Block: $100,000

LeBron James “Throwdowns” Dunk: $100,000

LeBron James “Holo MMXX” Dunk: $99,999

Steph Curry “Deck the Hoops” Handles: $85,000

Giannis Antetokounmpo “Holo MMXX” Dunk: $85,000

LeBron James “From the Top” Dunk: $80,000

These unique NBA moments are minted and released to the market via "pack drops." The most common price is just $9, but more exclusive packages go for more.

Now that you understand what NFTs are used for, and the various ways you can benefit from them, let's take a look at how it is particularly different from other forms of cryptocurrency.

Are NFTs Mainstream Now?

NFTs will permeate our lives

After a huge breakthrough in 2021, it is clear that NFT use cases are growing in consuming content and with applications (including digital photos, images, games, music, video) and possibly in other areas such as real estate.

The Block reports, “Pop music festival Coachella recently launched a series of NFTs in partnership with cryptocurrency exchange FTX US. Dubbed Coachella Collectibles, the NFTs will provide consumers with access to unlocked festival passes, art prints, photo albums, digital collectibles, festivals Opportunities for unique real-life experiences and physical merchandise.”

Likewise, the NFL announced that it will offer "virtual commemorative tickets in the form of NFTs" to fans attending Super Bowl LVI.

Therefore, we need to understand NFTs and find ways to invest in this subclass of digital assets.

So, with NFTs so hot, is it accurate to say they are mainstream now? This article is strong evidence that NFTs are now in the public consciousness. It doesn’t hurt that many well-known celebrities have ventured into the NFT space.

While it may be premature to say “yes, NFTs are definitely mainstream right now”, if they continue on this trajectory, 2022 could be the year we know NFTs are here to stay.

How are NFTs different from other cryptocurrencies?

While NFTs are created using the same programming language as other cryptocurrencies, the similarities end there.

Other cryptocurrencies NFT cryptocurrencies are "fungible"; they can be traded or exchanged with each other. Their values ​​are also equal. For example, one bitcoin is always equal to another bitcoin, or one dollar is always equal to one dollar. Each NFT acts as a digital signature, making them impossible to exchange or equal each other. For example, The Last Supper is a painting and cannot be exchanged for another painting.

Ethereum and NFTs

The Ethereum blockchain enables NFTs to work for several reasons:

Trading NFTs without the need for a peer-to-peer platform can significantly cut costs as compensation.

All Ethereum products share the same "backend", allowing NFTs to be easily purchased on one product and easily sold on another.

Once the transaction is confirmed, it is impossible to manipulate the data to fake ownership.

Ethereum will never fail, which means your tokens will always be available for sale.

How to buy NFTs?

After learning about the uses of NFTs and their specific advantages over other cryptocurrencies, you may want to buy NFTs. Once encrypted, you can transfer it from the exchange to your wallet.

The following is the whole process of purchasing NFT on Opensea through direct purchase.

Remember that many exchanges charge a small fee when you buy cryptocurrencies.

Step 1: Tanuki Wallet ETH Network

1. Choose to support the little fox plug-in, such as Google Chrome, Firefox and Edge's own browser, Edge as an example

2. Find the extended search metamask installation in the upper right corner to save the password and mnemonic.

3. After opening, the default Ethereum network (other networks need to be added by yourself, you can add tutorials to Baidu, you only need the relevant information of Baidu's public chain, and add it to your wallet)

Step 2: Recharge ETH to Little Fox Wallet

Buy ETH tokens on the exchange and transfer them to the wallet address (will not privately message me in the background of buying coins on the exchange)

Ps: Note that the transfer network is an ERC20 channel. At present, the transfer fee of Ethereum is high, and you can experience it yourself.

Step 3: Go to the opensea website to buy

Enter the opensea website: opensea.io/

Pick your favorite NFT

2. Click the floor price, and the NFT with the lowest price in the current series will appear

Select Buy now in the filter bar on the right to see the current spot price that can be traded

Confirm your purchase information and confirm the little fox wallet

Step 4: Enter your wallet to view your purchased items

Popular NFT marketplace

Once you have your wallet ready, all you need to do is buy NFTs. Currently, the largest NFT markets are:

Rarible - Rarible is a democratic marketplace that allows artists and creators to issue and sell NFTs. It enables holders to weigh features such as fees and community rules.

OpenSea - To get started, all you need to do is create an account on the official OpenSea website and browse the NFT collection and discover new artists. The platform is known for its huge collection of rare digital items and collectibles.

Foundation - On this platform, artists need to receive or send invitations from other creators to publish their work. Assuming demand for NFTs remains at current levels or even grows over time, the exclusivity of this community is known for higher quality artwork.

What is the future of NFTs?

NFTs increase media exposure and offer aspiring artists special perks on social media. Recently, Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey posted his first famous tweet "Just built my twttr", while the famous Vignes Sandare Sen (Vignesh Sundaresan), bought $69.3 million worth of NFT artwork on Beeple.

Due to its growing popularity, people are now willing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for NFTs.

Like David Gerard, author of Attack of the 50 ft Blockchain, many experts in the crypto industry say that around 40% of new crypto users will use NFT as their entry point. Due to their growing popularity, NFTs may represent a more important part of the future digital economy.