The weirdest ways NFTs have been used
Sometimes just because you can, doesn’t mean you should
NFTs are making a big splash in the tech world. Most of the hubbub has been about the sale of digital art. However, while researching an article I wrote on how NFTs work, I found loads of more ‘out-there’ uses for the tech.
Exchanged at a wedding
Two employees of the Cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase exchanged NFTs at their wedding ceremony. The couple minted two tokens called ‘Tabaat’, the Hebrew word for ‘ring’, and commissioned a symbolic animation to the NFT. Only two tokens have been minted and no more can be made. The exchange is immortalized on the blockchain for anyone to see.
To Trade William Shatners
The blockchain is being leveraged so that you can own a piece of digital William Shatner memorabilia. TV’s Captain Kirk has made about 90,000 unique trading cards for his fans to buy and trade. Like physical trading cards, some will be rarer than others and therefore, worth more to collectors. In a break from NFT convention, some of the cards will be redeemable for real-life autographed memorabilia.
To generate other NFTs
Digital artist Beeple has been NFT’s wunderkind. The artist made headlines when they sold an NFT of a collage of their artwork for $70 million. Inspired by the artist, BeepleGenerator.com is a website that generates art in his signature style. The website is also available as an NFT. The site was last bought by Chris Martz who paid 69 tokens of the ‘Friends with Benefits' crypto-currency (🤦).
Owning the Action Replay
NBA Top Shot is a marketplace for digital basketball collectibles. ‘Moments’ (short clips from games) are minted in NFTs sold in blind packs like traditional (or Shatner) trading cards. Unlike many other NFT exchanges, Top Shot doesn’t mention the word blockchain or elaborate much on the underlying tech. The idea is that don’t alienate non-techy sports fans. Top Shot also runs on the Flow blockchain which is designed specifically for NFTs and uses ‘proof-of-stake’ instead of ‘proof-of-work’ to reduce the amount of energy needed.
All gone up in smoke
An NFT representing an original Banksy was sold for $380,000. The catch? The painting had been set on fire and destroyed prior to the sale. The piece was chosen because of the incident where Banksy shredded another piece of his art. The stunt itself was coordinated by a blockchain firm hoping to build interest in NFTs.
All Hot Air
Film director Alex Ramírez-Mallis decided to both mock and cash in on the NFT hype by minting audio clips of his farts. Individual recordings are available for $85 and a 52 minute ‘Master Collection’ is up for auction.
