The Rise of Non-fungible Tokens: A New Era of Digital Ownership
If you love cryptocurrencies, then you probably love NFTs too. NFT stands for Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), and this concept is pretty popular topic in recent years. According to many enthusiasts, NFTs will change the whole perception people have of digital ownership. The question is, do you exactly know what are NFTs and why are they popular at all? NFTs are unique digital assets that are one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable. Usually, they exist on the blockchain, even though they are much different than cryptocurrencies. Even though both are digital assets representing some value, NFTs aren’t interchangeable, as cryptocurrencies are. To understand this one better, you can’t change one valuable NFT for five less valuable, ones because it has a pre-determined price the seller prefers. Sometimes the price is negotiable, and other times it may rise due to the demand.
The existence of NFTs opens up a range of new opportunities for creators, artists, and musicians to monetize their work in a way that was not possible before. For example, an artist can sell a unique piece of digital art as an NFT, and the buyer can be assured that they are the only one in the world who owns that specific piece.
Should we worry about some NFT aspects?
Using NFTs, you can sell your work directly to buyers without the need for intermediaries. That’s great because you have more control over who is interested to buy your piece of art, and which way they want to pay for it. The best thing is that many NFT options are available through well-known trading and exchange services like bitcoinfuture.app, making them pretty accessible to everyone who wants to invest in it.
Still, things aren’t as shiny as they seem to talk about NFTs. There are some concerns such as the market is becoming overheated and that many NFTs are being purchased as speculative investments rather than as meaningful pieces of digital art. There are also concerns about the environmental impact of NFTs, as the energy consumption of blockchain networks can be high.
But, we still have a strong reason to believe that people will understand the market’s potential, and won’t mix it up with the known cryptocurrency markets and ways of trading. Keep in mind that NFT only confirms your digital ownership over some digital assets, which means things still have a potential for development in the future. We also hope that existing challenges will be resolved, and people will know how to exactly use NFTs.
Some believe that these tokens will disappear soon, the same way they gained instant popularity, but it’s not on us to predict such things.
Can I tokenize my art?
Sure, everyone can create a digital token that claims ownership over some real-life piece of art, including paintings, music compositions, collectibles, copyrights, etc. Tokenizing an asset means creating a unique digital representation of it on a blockchain network. There are a few main steps you will have to follow to accomplish this:
Choose a blockchain platform
Not many blockchain platforms support NFTs. Still, people are mostly used to Ethereum, because it makes NFT trading easy. Sure, you aren’t limited to Ethereum, since you can choose a platform that meets your requirements related to transaction speed, cost, and security.
Determine the NFT type
Here we are talking about the real-life asset you want to tokenize. NFTs can come in different forms, such as digital art, collectibles, and virtual real estate. At this point, you have to decide how much data you’ll share about your token in public, and what parts of that information are reserved for those who intend to buy it.
Creation and minting
You need to find a platform that lets you create a digital piece of art, known as NFT. That token contains all the needed information related to the real-life asset before you launch it for sale. There are various platforms to do that, but it’s up to you to research and find the right one for this purpose. And after you create the token, you’ll have to mint it.
Minting is the process of adding NFT to the blockchain network. This creates a unique, verified digital representation of your asset that can be bought, sold, and traded.
You are allowed to advertise your NFT
Once your NFT is minted, you can market and sell it through an NFT marketplace or directly to interested buyers. You are allowed to promote your token on social media profiles or offer it directly to the buyers you know appreciate that kind of art. Be sure to promote your NFT and make it appealing to potential buyers by providing high-quality images and descriptions.
What if I want to buy an NFT?
Claiming an NFT means acquiring ownership of a unique digital asset that has been tokenized on a blockchain network. It’s the same as trading or buying, but you claim that specific piece as yours, during the process of ownership passing.
You will need a blockchain wallet compatible with the network your NFT of interest exist. Again, you will have to research it yourself, because the choice depends on many factors, as well as personal preferences. Then you will have to fund your wallet in order to pay for the NFT you want to claim. The amount you need will depend on the price of the NFT.
You can now browse the NFT marketplaces and sellers, and make an offer.
But, it doesn’t mean you already own that token. You will have to wait for confirmation that the offer is accepted and then pay for the NFT. The next step is to verify your ownership, which is probably the easiest stage of buying i.e. claiming the token.
Keep in mind that steps may differ depending on different types of tokens and networks.
In conclusion, we can say that NFTs are still popular, even though the excitement around them is not the same as it was a year ago. But, the market still exists and many people are interested in owning at least one NFT, and being part of the vast community.
