The NFT Crypto Guide Crash Course 101

Stephen Alagbe
Coinmonks
4 min readJul 16, 2021

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What are Non-Fungible-Tokens?

Non-fungible tokens in the simplest form are crypto tokens representing something unique and cannot be replaced with something else. One NFT is not the same as the other, unlike bitcoin, where each Satoshi is precisely the same as the other Satoshi.

Each NFT is visually different, easily verifiable, and has a unique ID that separates them on the blockchain network. For example, an NFT hashmark with ID #6718 is entirely different from a hashmark with ID #9399.

They are part of the Ethereum blockchain. While Ethereum is a crypto asset like Bitcoin and Doge, its blockchain supports NFTs, storing extra information that makes them work differently. They can be bought and sold on any ethereum-based NFT market.

Instead of the ERC-20 tokens, NFTs are ERC-721 or ERC-1155 tokens. Other blockchains like Tezos and Flow, which is behind CryptoKitties and NBA TopShot, can implement their versions of NFTs too.

Oh! I get it! But What are NFTs used for?

NFTs are used to create verifiable digital scarcity and digital ownership. NFTs are made into digital art, collectibles, games, music, videos, and many more. They are designed to give owners a digital right and something uniquely different that others cannot copy. Although NFTs are a digital piece of art that people may not physically hang on the wall, they are undoubtedly easier to display to the world and seen by millions of people.

In addition, some of these works are made by well-known professional artists, which makes them more valuable. Forgeries are easily identified because the blockchain verifies every piece.

For example, in the gaming industry, NFTs could be a particular weapon or character that has specific attributes that may be better or worse than another NFT.

How does that make sense?

I tell you, there are people out there who would love to spend a fortune on something that gives them a unique extra in-game experience, whether something powerful or just cosmetics.

Everydays — The First 5000 Days by Beeple (Image: Christie’s)

According to data from nonfungible.com, over $300 million was spent on CryptoPunks alone. Famous digital artist Mike Winklemann is popularly known as “Beeple,” sold his “EVERYDAYS; The First 5000 Days” at Christie’s for a record-breaking $69.3 million. Also, Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey first tweet was sold as an NFT for millions of dollars.

What do I expect for the NFT space for 2021?

The entire NFT scene is quite bullish, and this is just a snippet of what is expected for 2021 and onwards. NFT projects are getting progressively more attention these few months.

More companies are developing notable initiatives and projects around NFTs. Projects like NBA TopShot, which sells NFTs of memorable moments in NBA history, are gaining a lot of traction recently, with Mark Cuban being one of the latest certified users of the platform. There is also NIFTEX, a start-up that allows users to buy fractions in ownership of NFTs instead of buying one outright.

Source: Bitdealer

According to Bitdealer, the NFT combined market cap has increased by 1,785%, and the current combined market cap of tokens listed within the NFT category is around $2 billion. It will not be surprising seeing it soar above the current cap this year.

Where do I buy NFT?

Like every other digital asset, NFTs can be stored in digital wallets that are NFT-compatible, and there are several NFT marketplaces to shop.

Rarible: an open marketplace that allows both artists and creators to buy and sell NFTs.

Opensea.io: is a peer-to-peer platform where users can purchase original NFT collections ranging from video game items to digital artwork.

Nifty Gateway: owned by Gemini, a popular cryptocurrency exchange. Nifty Gateway is an NFT marketplace for buyers and sellers, and also has a secondary marketplace that allows collectors to resell their artwork.

The NFT space is relatively small compared to the rest of the crypto market, but it is getting more attention day by day, and a lot of NFTs and projects working within the NFT space have a brighter future ahead. In fact, we have not seen the best of NFTs yet, but the present is a snippet of how massive the NFT space can be in few years to come.

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Stephen Alagbe
Coinmonks

A storyteller at the intersection of Web3 and Growth