The Slow Violence of NFTs

Like cryptocurrency, NFTs work within a tragedy of the commons

Hashmask #15753 created by Suum Cuique Labs GmbH. The artist released the copyright for this image to the NFT token owner, who then released the image into the public domain. (Crop of original image)

Anyone remember “I Am Rich”? This essentially featureless “app” sold for $999.99 on Apple’s app store in 2008 and consisted merely of an image of a glowing red gem, which someone could easily screen cap to replicate it.

Screencap of the I Am Rich app — Wikipedia

Your purchase also included the following mantra, which appeared when you clicked on an “i” tooltip:

“I am rich

I deserv [sic] it

I am good,

healthy & successful”

Apple removed “I Am Rich” from the store the day after its release.

Despite their potential benefits for artists of various types, so far, NFTs remind me of these early apps, which did, well, nothing but sold for obscene amounts of money due to their perceived value of trumpeting one’s wealth — until Apple essentially banned them by tightening up their review process.

BTW, WTF is an NFT?

If you’re a new to the concept of NFTs, these are “non-fungible tokens,” which are unique digital assets tied to the Ethereum blockchain to…