Non-fungible Token (NFT) What you need to know

Max Neuhaus
Crypto Elite Club
Published in
7 min readJun 15, 2021

Non-fungible tokens were all the rage in 2021, and the market has expanded rapidly in recent months. From March 7 to March 13th, 2021, the word “NFT” was checked on Google in the United States at an all-time peak, hitting 100 on Google Trends (GT). According to today’s GT results, queries for NFTs fell to 92 the following week and 95 the week before that in the United States.

On Google, worldwide searches for the word “NFT” dropped from 100 to 95. China is the largest subregion in the world looking for “NFT” on Google. Uganda, Canada, Singapore, and the United States proceed in that order. According to GT results, the whole word “non-fungible token” recently fell from a 100 to an 89.

According to evaluate.market figures on April 3, 2021, the NFT marketplace NBA Top Shot witnessed a fall in revenue and fell to its lowest percentages so far. According to today’s nonfungible.com reports, sales figures, sales in USD, and successful retail wallets for NFTs have all decreased in recent days. According to nonfungible.com’s industry history, NFT revenues have fallen by more than 80% in the last 30 days.

When we speak of tokens, we use a number of words. Tokenizing, utility tokens, equity tokens, and non-fungible tokens are all accessible. In this post, we will discuss the above. What, after all, is a non-fungible token?

It is important to first grasp what the word “non-fungible” entails. This is accomplished by distinguishing between fungible and non-fungible tokens. Then we’ll go into how to use non-fungible tokens.

What exactly is a non-fungible token?

A non-fungible token (NFT) is a token that reflects something special. When anything is fungible, that implies that it can be quickly replaced. As a consequence, it is not inherently special and equivalent. As an example, take a five-dollar bill. Alternatively, a glass of Heineken. These aren’t one-of-a-kind items; there are a number of them.

If something is non-fungible, that implies that it is the inverse of fungible. It is one-of-a-kind and identical; there is just one of them. Consider the cost of a football match ticket. Of course, there are many football tickets for the same match, but your ticket has a code, name, and seat number that renders it exclusive. You couldn’t, for example, join with someone else’s ticket.

It is now much simpler to define a non-fungible token. A non-fungible token, then, is one that reflects something special. Assume you tokenize the same football ticket; it is a non-fungible token. Specifically, the token reflects a one-of-a-kind commodity.

The distinction of regular tokens

The key differentiation between special tokens and regular tokens is the item’s uniqueness. Assume you deliver 1 Ethereum to somebody, and he returns 1 Ethereum a week later. You will therefore be indifferent to whether or not you have earned the same Ethereum. It’s possible that you received a new Ethereum back. As a result, this is the same as the case of the $5 bill.

The ERC-20 protocol is used for these regular tokens. This is still, by far, the most used token protocol. Non-fungible tokens, on the other side, operate on the ERC-721 or ERC-1155 protocols.

This protocol guarantees all tokens are one-of-a-kind. To put it clearly, this protocol assigns a distinct number to each token.

The unique number helps you to determine if you have already owned the token you get. This is not possible for a fungible coin.

Furthermore, a non-fungible token cannot be exchanged. It is not necessary, for example, to give half of a non-fungible token. As a consequence, you must purchase or sell the token in its entirety.

What is the disparity between ERC-20, ERC-721, and ERC-1155?

The distinction between NFTs and regular tokens is therefore mostly due to the protocol used. ERC-20 is used for normal tokens, while ERC-721 and ERC-1155 are used for NFTs.

ERC-20

ERC-20 is the most well-known token protocol. This protocol is used on the Ethereum network by Uniswap, yearn.finance, and $ LEND, among others.

This procedure means that tokens have no differences. After all, the tokens aren’t attached to something specific. This helps you to split the tokens and resell the different pieces.

ERC-721

The most well-known protocol for non-fungible tokens is ERC-721. It guarantees the tokens remain distinct and differentiated from one another. ERC-721 is included in a variety of basic games (CryptoKitties and Sorare, more on this later).

ERC-1155

ERC-1155 is a younger and less well-known protocol. As a result, this protocol can be applied to more complicated cases. World of Warcraft is one such example. Players are given different things when they begin playing, such as a sword or money.

Players can acquire special objects that can only be used by one person by utilizing non-fungible tokens.

The benefits and drawbacks of non-fungible tokens

Since a non-fungible token is special, details regarding the token may be obtained. For example, you will discover who the token’s former owner is.

This is specifically stored in the metadata. As a consequence, a non-fungible token will be even more useful. The root may be tracked back, which gives the new owner more hope.

Non-fungible coins, on the other hand, have a drawback. These tokens aren’t quite as widely embraced as fungible tokens. This is attributed in part to the fact that ERC-721 and ERC-1155 are both relatively recent strategies, and therefore there are fewer developers who can construct dApps (decentralized applications) with non-fungible tokens.

Given the strength of the technology, it is possible that non-fungible tokens could be used even more often in the future. Time, on the other hand, would have to show us.

Use cases of non-fungible tokens

Non-fungible tokens may be found in a variety of cases. It is helpful in the game business, but it may also be seen in more extreme cases.

Consider storing birth records, diplomas, or identification cards. They are all one-of-a-kind objects that can be tokenized to create a non-fungible token.

Gaming tokens that are not fungible

Non-fungible tokens are now found in a variety of sports. CryptoKitties is a game that has been utilizing non-fungible tokens for a variety of years. People will take care of a digital cat here.

A true cat is, of course, one-of-a-kind. It has its own tag, personality characteristics, and date of birth. This is also valid with these crypto cats. Ethereum may be used to buy these wireless cats. In 2017, alone, $ 12 million in crypto cats were offered. Non-fungible tokens, on the other hand, are found in other tournaments.

There’s even Sorare, a game where you can save football tickets. There are 10,000 special football tickets, all of which are stored on the Ethereum network. Since each ticket is special, this is an outstanding illustration of a game that utilizes non-fungible tokens.

Tokenizing and NFTs

You may have heard about tokenizing. This is the process of converting properties to tokens. Consider the field of painting. Assume an individual wish to sell a Van Gogh drawing. The owner calculates the worth to be € 1,200,000.

Still, the owner wants assurance, because he tokenizes the art. He will do this by selling 1000 € 1,200 tokens. Since the owner of the tokens and the artwork are also unique, each of these tokens has a unique amount. As a result, they are non-fungible tokens.

When all tokens have been sold, the painting’s owner will collect the approximate worth. The purchasers of the tokens would then possess a portion of the artwork.

If the artwork was sold at sale for € 1,600,000, the token owners will have earned a profit of € 400. As a consequence, the original owner of the artwork incurred a €400,000 deficit.

Non-fungible tokens, in addition to being able to tokenize with NFTs, may also be used to fund decentralized finance. This is advantageous since Defi is one of the most promising developments for 2020.

How NFTs Will Help DeFi

DeFi is another subject that has gained traction in the field of blockchain and cryptocurrency in recent years. Non-fungible tokens may be useful and helpful in this situation.

DeFi (decentralized finance) is all about transforming existing centralized financial structures to a decentralized structure. Consider the computers of insurance providers and corporations, for example.

When anyone hits a vehicle, you must then notify the insurance agencies, which must then communicate with one another. This is due to the fact that they are unable to access data from those outside of their culture.

Insurance plans could be processed as NFTs if it runs on a blockchain. An insurance program is different in that it still has a distinct policy figure.

What are the benefits of NFTs in this situation? Under any scenario, harm processing may be completed even more quickly. Since DeFi employs smart contracts, only approved individuals may request details. As a result, there is no longer a reason to keep calling back and forth.

This is only one of the ways non-fungible tokens may be used for DeFi. As a consequence, NFTs encourage the growth of decentralized finance!

As a result, non-fungible tokens are increasingly common, and the amount of cases in which they are used is by the day. This is attributed to the fact that NFTs have more choices than regular tokens; objects may be rendered special with NFTs. This is comparable to a driver’s license, visa, or certificate. They are just the same.

This is also the case for standard tokens. These popular tokens are comparable to a $5 bill. This is not a one-of-a-kind note. As a result, normal tokens may be separated.

The many scenarios in which NFTs may be used carry a lot of hope for the future. When combined with the evolving DeFi, there is a lot of potential for decentralizing various processes.

Originally published at https://eliteclubsignals.com on June 15, 2021.

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