What are NFTs?

It’s taken over 11 years for people to become comfortable with the Bitcoin conversation. Even today, the “can you easily explain this to me?” question is still largely unanswered and renders a divide between crypto-enthusiasts and…well…everyone else.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are not cryptocurrency; they are a one-of-a-kind asset owned by one individual.

While NFTs are relatively simple instruments, it’s their unique technology that continues to open a myriad of doors in art, gaming, tech, and other digital and physical spaces — even real estate and people! But what drives their intrinsic value?

Let’s say you love unicorns. Maybe so much that you want to create unicorns.com! Would it blow your mind that it’s not yet a website? This one-of-a-kind, unused domain has one owner — Go Daddy. And they’re willing to sell this scarce, desirable name for…probably a few hundred Gs.

Even unicorn.com was taken. And despite having a very un-unicorn look to it, you’d have to get ahold of the owner to see if they’re willing to part with it.

These domains are like NFTs: Single owner, Desirable, Scarce, Expensive.

It’s why this digital cat sold for well over $100k in 2017 and why other Cryptokitties since then have more than tripled that value. This innovative pioneer brought the NFT market’s first well-known bit of value in the digital, collective space.

It’s why a digital art piece, like Picasso’s Crypto Bull, was specifically made by the artist for the NFT market and sold for a clever $55,555.55. And why it’s been easily sold multiple times since without the need of packaging, armed guards, or moving trucks. Just a jpg file.

And it’s why the mythical planet Avastus recently sold for over 14,444 ICX ($7.4k at purchase) in Project Nebula’s presale following 999 other unique planets purchased in just 10 weeks prior. Since then, the Nebula’s open marketplace has seen multiple sales with increasing value from their initial buy-ins.

Remember when Bitcoin was at $20k? No, not in 2017. Refer back to December 2020 before it hit $40k. The NFT market was pumping right alongside it, with reports that it’s growth month-to-month was rapidly increasing. In December, the market gained 115% more traction from November and we even saw the sale of a $800k digital art collection — the most expensive art buy in blockchain history by hundreds of thousands of Dollars.

Owning an NFT means you own something absolutely irreplaceable.