What Is A NFT

Anytime I start talking about cryptocurrency, which most people just refer to as Crypto, I inevitably end up getting asked, what is a NFT? First off it stands for something that doesen’t make sense anyways, but since I would not be giving you a good definition without telling you what the acronym stands for, we will start off with it’s a non-fungible token. Which is saying that it’s one of a kind, don’t worry about the fancy words, it’s a uniquely identifiable pass that is protected by the blockchain which is currently the world’s cutting edge online security protocol.

Although most believe a NFT is simply digital artwork, most of the time the artwork is just the book cover to give people an idea of what is inside. To better explain I am going to use three common types of NFTs to break down what the uniquely identifiable pass can be used for.

The first and easiest to explain is a jpg. That is right there are in fact people out there that will pay top dollar to collect internet-based art, some of which is as simple as a jpg. This art can range from hand drawn art from a known artist which sometimes comes with real world art but not always, all the way to fully immersive 3d metaversal experiences. These are left to the imagination of the artist and just like the real world have value based on what people decide they want to collect.

Currently the most common use for a NFT is a profile picture, PFP, on different platforms such as Twitter and Discord. Although this sounds initially like a silly thing to do, when the angry looking monkey with a pinwheel hat is talking to the diamond clad Lion with a sword on its back, suddenly racism, sexism, ageism, and all the other isms in the world fall away so two random people can have an honest discussion about whatever they want to talk about in a room where no one is at a disadvantage. The NFT you purchase gets you access to the online social club and as the club grows in popularity the NFTs raise in value. Every sale adds a cut, typically 10%, to the NFTs coffers giving the community funds for other endeavors which are typically metaverse related, however, there are clubs that own Yachts to party on and horse racing teams that compete at the Kentucky Derby for which being a holder of can get you admittance to the winner's circle!

The final type of popular NFT is used to fund a project like a choose your own adventure storyline mini-series, I know this is oddly specific but it’s currently my favorite project, or a metaversal video game where your NFT will turn into your fully 3d rendered in-game avatar. These projects generally come with a road map and proof of concept to convince buyers that the project is not only possible but realistic and going to be fun to be involved in, paid entertainment.

The reality of it is that because a NFT is “just a pass” it can be any, all the above, or whatever you can imagine. I myself am partnering with a 3d rendered robot to author a book to help autistic children learn to better process emotion while fostering joint attention, and am trying to convince the provost at my local university that NFT degrees are going to be the way of the future.