NFT or ‘non-fungible token’ is a cryptocurrency phenomenon that is hot right now.
If you are curious about cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and so on, you must know the blockchain technology used to record and store digital transactions.
The technology is secure and protects privacy because it is independent of third parties and we have absolute authority over all our transactions. An example is the fiat currency system managed by banks.
As a result, many are starting to turn to investing in cryptocurrencies because they believe the technology can replace the paper currency we use today.
Blockchain technology is also not just limited to financial systems. Based on the same technology, blockchain allows us to buy and sell digital artwork such as paintings, songs, videos and items in video games. This is called NFT.
NFT is a non -transferable digital token, unique and exclusive to its owner only. Christoe or his artist name, Beeple, managed to sell his NFT work, a photo collage known as Everydays: The First 5000 Days, for as high as US $ 69.3 million.
The event caused NFT to become popular around the world. Even Twitter's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jack Dorsey also sold a 'screenshot' of his first tweet in the form of NFT with a value of US $ 2.9 million to a Malaysian tycoon.
The Nyan Cat meme, which is often shared on social media by the public, also sold for US $ 580,000.
In the simplest terms, NFT transforms a work of art into an asset that can be verified for its authenticity and easily traded on the blockchain.
The idea has soared in popularity in recent times based on the rise of cryptocurrency technology as well as the desire of digital artists to have their own ownership and at the same time be profitable.
For example, memes. Everyone can ‘screenshot’ the same meme but NFT allows people to find out who the real owner of the meme is.
NFT also solves the problem of ‘plagiarism’. The NFT has a ‘coding’ system that is embedded in the blockchain ecosystem and makes it easy for others to check the ownership record for an NFT.
The artists will also get their art rights without going through a third party. Royalties can also be channeled to the artists involved. As we all know, there are many cases of novelists or celebrities who do not get their royalties so they have to demand help from the parties involved. NFT can solve that problem easily and artists can also work with pleasure.
Why can the price of an art reach up to millions of dollars? Like all assets in the world, something can be very valuable due to demand and supply factors. When many people want to buy something, then the more expensive the goods involved.
Maybe many people think, why want to have a picture, meme or work of NFT? The answer is the same as why people are willing to buy fighting fish or Supreme shirts up to thousands of Malaysian Ringgit. People are willing to buy at that price to show their status and sell it back as a form of investment.
NFT is not new. In 2017, a company called Dapper Labs sold a unique digital cat cartoon called CryptoKitties.
The game is traded on the Ethereum blockchain and became very popular in 2017. The game is like buying a Digimon in a Digivice some time ago. Various types of cats are also offered and you can resell the cats.
NFT is also being developed in the real world. Nike also uses patented technology that allows a blockchain system to validate genuine and genuine products. Nike uses an NFT system called CyptoKicks.
