Cryptocurrency may have experienced a slow rise to prominence but its boom in the last few years have revolutionized the world around us. It has become one of the most lucrative industries in the world, with the price of digital currency reaching heights previously unimaginable. As of writing, one bitcoin is worth over $40,000 with experts predicting that number to sky rocket up to $1m by 2030. Whilst bitcoin is the original and so far, most profitable digital currency, we have now begun to see the inception of other coins as more people have come to understand the blockchain technology behind it. Now, in 2022 there are over 6000 digital coins available to buy and trade with. However, cryptocurrency is not the only way that blockchain technology has been utilized with the advent of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) in recent years.
They are proving to be particularly popular with sports fans, at the DraftKings NFT Marketplace, there are five drops scheduled each day and users must join the queue to purchase one. If you are successful in your bid, you can then view all of your tokens in the DraftKings Marketplace portfolio. It really is that easy. It is almost the natural progression for those who collected sports cards. Like other marketplaces, you can also sell your purchased NFTs to other DraftKings Marketplace customers. DraftKings is free to sign up for making it very easy to start browsing and building your portfolio.
I’m sure that most all of us have heard of NFTs, but some may still not quite understand just what they are. And honestly, it is not as confusing as it sounds. The token itself holds ‘totally unique and non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a digital ledger that uses blockchain technology to establish proof of ownership’. They are digital pieces of art that hold value, just like physical art. They could come in the form of an image, a gif, a video or even a piece of music. The term ‘Non-Fungible’ essentially means something that cannot be traded or replaced with something identical. They cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided for an identical token. This mean’s each and every NFT is completely unique. This is where they differ to Cryptocurrency, in that one Bitcoin for example can always be traded for another bitcoin. In simpler terms; they are Crypto-baseball cards that are made to be collected. A one-of-a-kind card is Non-Fungible as you cannot trade it for an identical card, just like an NFT.
In 2021 we saw some mega sales for NFTs. Top sales included CryptoPunk #7523 for $11,754,000, Beeple’s “Human One” for $28,985,000, and Pak’s NFT drop “Merge,” which set the record for largest sale by a living artist. We are now seeing upwards of $20m in sales per week, with over 40,000 buyers per month. However, with a solid year of pop culture phenomena under the belts of NFTs, it is wild to think that this is only the beginning.
The future of NFTs seems bright, especially for the artists. Gone will be the days where elitist gatekeepers decide what art is and who has access it. In their place will be the artists themselves, who can create and distribute art on their own using blockchain. We are also likely to see more art in the mainstream through NFTs, purely down to its accessibility. As long as you have an internet connection, you can purchase and view NFTs to your hearts content. And it doesn’t have to simply be through your iphone. The possibilities for Virtual Reality NFTs speak for themselves.
We can also hope to see a complete overhaul in the way artists make their living. Selling and purchasing art through blockchain tech eliminates the need for a third party. This means that artists can receive payment directly and collectors can directly support their favourite creators.
As the power is handed back to these creators, we can expect even more NFTs created in the coming years as they look to finally take control of their own careers.
Artistic independence can only be a good thing for the industry. This last year has proven beyond reasonable doubt that NFTs are not simply a fad and the freedom that artists have tasted since the boom will only persuade them to keep it chugging along.
By removing the hurdles that existed previously we are only likely to see even more creators and more tokens on the market. Artists finally have control over their work and can build their own connection with their fans and customers. The future of NFTs looks extremely bright and any doubters and purists may soon be left behind.