NFT? What is it? and where is this going?

Definition

What is an NFT? First off, why does It seem like people invent new unnecessary terminology to keep people out of the loop? Ok, so NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token.

Let's break down the terms, tackling "Non-Fungible" first. "Non," which pretty much means "not," and fungible, which means "able to replace." So with both words together, Non-Fungible pretty much means "not able to replace.

Ok, easy enough, now the second part of the term is "token." This term's only purpose is to state that a Non-Fungible Token is a part of a blockchain similar to a cryptocurrency token.

Now notice that used token after both "Non-Fungible" and "cryptocurrency." So we don't need to know how cryptocurrencies work. We only need to realize that a cryptocurrency token is fungible, meaning another token can replace it. An example of this is that you can easily replace a quarter with another quarter.

Back to NFT

If an NFT is a token, just as the cryptocurrency, then what makes it non-fungible?

Art.

More specifically, digital art, which can be anything that has digital code. Digital art includes digital photography, illustrations, 3d digital objects, and even tweets.

The worth of a cryptocurrency token is currency, just as the value of a quarter is currency. But an NFT gets its value by being unique or rare, similar to why the Mona Lisa is valuable.

NFTs is modern-day art collecting where the goal is to own original pieces of art or the rare pieces of a limited collection.

An example would be if a person owned the actual US Constitution versus those who own the gift store replicas. Which has more value?

An example with NFTs is the CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, selling his first tweet as an NFT for $2.9 million.

What are people buying?

For the person who purchased the $2.9 million tweet, what exactly did they buy?

This thought is probably the most challenging part to wrap your head around, but it's sort of like this.

Imagine a free museum that has enough space to display art from anyone in the world. It makes sense that some artwork would be more valuable than others.

What if artists could sell their art in this museum. The art is still up for display, but someone else owns the original piece and can re-sell it later.

That is how the NFT works.

Jack Dorsey minted his first tweet as an NFT, thus giving that NFT value due to his social status.

What does someone do with the NFT?

The easy answer right now is that people invest in NFTs, hoping that it will be worth more money in the future.

Tomorrow's answer to this question is harder to visualize because the world's technology to host the future of NFTs is not mainstream yet.

The best way to visualize this is to think about virtual reality, VR, and augmented reality, AR. These technologies are getting closer and closer to being a part of everyday life.

Augmented Reality

Technology such as Google Lens allows people to see digital content in the real world, augmented technology. This technology will improve where people will regularly interact with digital objects in the real world.

This technology will also mean that people will show off their digital assets, NFTs, for other people to see, whether for fashion or individuality.

What about the filters for camera apps? They are magical when it comes to altering the way we look digitally. Now imagine a filter that's an NFT that makes a person look different whenever they are in the range of a digital lens.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality is getting closer to home as well. You couldn't experience VR without being in a facility that hosted this technology, like Disney Quest or an arcade. Now with technology like the Oculus, you can experience VR at home. However, this is only the beginning because VR suits and treadmills are becoming mainstream and will later be affordable for use at home.

Digital currency + NFTs + VR could equal a future where everyday social interactions are in the digital world. People will customize their avatars with NFT clothing, objects, and accessories; and own NFT digital homes with their curated NFT collection.

Did you ever watch the movie Ready Player One? What if a platform comes to exist, just like the movie, where everyone can access and use their NFTs at any time. In Ready Player One, players can change their avatar to any character, like Batman, for example.

While watching the movie, I always wondered how only one person could look like a popular character such as Batman. Wouldn't millions of people want to look like Batman, too? Well, if a Batman avatar was an NFT, then only one person, the owner of the NFT, could be Batman.

Of course, this example is from a movie, but this could be a glimpse of the future.

Be a part of the NFT community.

How can you participate in this future? Well, there are two main ways: You could purchase NFTs, or you can create and sell NFTs.

Purchasing NFTs:

You can purchase NFTs in marketplaces that host the NFT, and you can only purchase them with cryptocurrency. You can buy cryptocurrencies on platforms such as:

• Crypto.com
• Coinbase.com
• Binance.us
• Robinhood

Ethereum is the primary cryptocurrency used to purchase NFTs.

Here are a few of the online marketplaces:

• OpenSea
• Rarible
• SuperRare
• Axie Marketplace
• CryptoPunks/Larva Labs
• NBA Top Shot Marketplace

The marketplaces will also guide you to purchase tokens.

Creating or minting NFTs

To mint an NFT means to take your digital artwork and put it on a token that can store it. Ethereum is the leading crypto that can store NFTs.

So all you do to mint your NFT is purchase some Ethereum and go to a platform or website that can mint NFTs. Then upload your digital art by paying the necessary fees using Ethereum. Now your artwork will be in the Marketplace for you to sell.

Here are some places where you can create your NFT:

• Crypto.com
• OpenSea.io
• Mintable.com

It is worth mentioning that because NFTs are unique when you mint an NFT, these marketplaces will allow you to choose how limited your art is. Will you mint your artwork as one NFT or a limited number of NFTs.