What is an NFT?
What is an NFT? Are they similar to Cryptos? What does NFT stand for?
We will answer all of your questions in this article and have a deep look at one of the latest trends to hit the market in recent years!
What is an NFT– What does NFT stand for?
NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token.
What does Non-Fungible Mean?
Well, fungible means something that is easy to exchange, swap or trade for another thing of the same value/type.
Non-Fungible (Shocker), means the opposite. It effectively means that we are talking about something that is unique.
What is an NFT?
Using the definition above and applying it to an actual NFT – An NFT is a token, represented by a unit of data that gets stowed within a digital ledger.
The digital ledger in question is called Blockchain – which I’m sure you know about by now if you are familiar with the world of cryptos.
This ledger entry ensures and actually certifies that the digital asset in question will remain unique and not interchangeable.
What digital assets are being sold as NFTs?
NFTs are extremely popular in the world of Art. But we are also seeing NFTs being sold in other areas such as music, sport, pornography and videography.
When did NFTs become so popular?
It was during 2020 when NFTs started accumulating more interest, followers and most importantly, buyers! According to sources – the NFT market tripled in value in 2020, increasing to a $250 million dollar valuation.
In 2021, NFTs popularity has again, gone through the roof – and the market has been predicted to explode – Up to 10x its current valuation depending on which source you look at!
What is an NFT: How can I buy NFTs?
There are a fair few places you can now purchase your very own NFTs. These platforms are known as ‘marketplaces’ and there is an increasing amount you can choose from.
You may have heard of the first on our list and it certainly seems to be one of the most popular marketplaces we’ve come across so far.
Here’s our top 3 places to buy NFTs:
Lets now take a look at some of the most notable NFTs sales of the last year or so – we are confident that you will already be aware of a few of these!
What is an NFT: Notable Releases
Beeple’s Digital Art Collection
Beeple – Otherwise known as Mike Winkelmann is a digital artist who advertised some of his digital artwork for sale on the social media platform – Twitter. The auction for the work was held by Nifty Gateway and all 21 pieces of artwork were sold for 3.5m USD.
This however was eclipsed by his ‘Everydays: The First 5000 Days’ – which recently sold for over 69 million USD! This made an NFT become the 3rd most expensive artwork by a living artist!
Rick and Morty NFT
Everyone’s favourite cartoon show! Rick and Morty’s Creator jumped on the NFT train recently selling 16 Rick and Morty based NFT works. These sold for around 2.5m USD!
Some of the profits from the auction were given to homeless charities in L.A – which the creator (Justin Roiland) said would ‘Test the limits of crypto art’.
Kings of Leon Album NFT
Sex isn’t the only thing on fire for the Kings of Leon – They recently became the world’s first band to release a new album as an NFT. They released the album in 3 separate sections/packages.
The name of the series was ‘NFT yourself’ and the 3 sections were broken down into a live show, an audio-visual and a special album package. It’s said that the band made in excess of 2m USD from the release.
Grimes NFT
Elon Musks other half – Grimes, has shown that she is multi-talented of late, turning her hand to crypto-based digital artwork.
She released her collection, and according to reports, it sold in 20 minutes for around 7m USD!
Musk almost joined her on the NFT front, announcing he would sell his first ever Twitter tweet! He received offers in excess of 1m USD but later announced that it didn’t feel right auctioning off his first ever tweet!
Crypto Kitty NFT
Ever played the blockchain game CryptoKitties? No? me neither… However, the popularity of the game was shown when the cat – Dragon, was sold for 600 Ethereum. 600 Ethereum using the current rate of exchange is around 1.6m USD!
Apparently, each cat his unique DNA (much like a real cat) and earlier generations of the cats are more valuable…? I think I’ll stick to my real cat for now!
Nyan Cat NFT
From one cat NFT to another now! And this cat I most definitely remember!
How could you possibly forget seeing a grey cat, inside a jelly sandwich, flying through space leaving a trail of rainbow behind it?!
This popular video clip was recently released as an NFT and sold for well over 500k USD! Crazy!
So now you should have a slightly better understanding of what an NFT is, where you can go and buy your own and you now know about a few of the more popular sales of NFT artwork that have gone down recently.
What is an NFT: Interviews
We’d like to end this piece with a couple of interviews that we took with a couple of NFT Experts/Artists:
Louis Jensen – Creative Director, Artist Liaison & Management, Producer, Curator and Founder of Spraying Bricks:
Louis, Thanks for sitting down with us – How did you first hear about NFTs?
I’ve been working on various NFT concepts over the course of the last few months with various animators and artists. I first heard of NFT’s just before Christmas as I was following the renowned Beeples. My interest then increased earlier in the year when I was approached by Ed Zipco from Superchief Gallery to participate in the launch of the World’s first physical NFT gallery.
How have you been marketing NFTs and Do you have collectors who are purchasing multiple pieces?
There is of course a new audience of collectors. These collectors are not so much your conventional art collectors that would necessarily purchase from a gallery but more that are on the pulse of cryptocurrencies, crypto art and all things digital. I do have patrons that have been purchasing my NFT’s as an extension of the physical pieces they require but I feel we need to be aware of a new growing community. This can be done through various Discord channels and Clubhouse, to really gauge the market growth and interest.
Do you find the current model efficient? – uploading work, minting, etc.
There are various different reports on the inefficiency of the minting and that is what has been the challenge in finding the right platform. It is the reason I decided to hold out and work with a new platform launching in May, DoinGud. DoinGud have created a platform to offset the as well as donating 5% of the revenue from sales to put back into the arts itself. I like this model as it defers the hype of flipping art for profit.
Please check out Louis’ Instagram Page here!
Hoxxoh – Miami based Artist
Hoxxoh – Thanks for taking the time to speak with us today – Were big fans of your artwork!
Would you be interested in exhibiting at an NFT fair?
Sure…but I would be selective with who I partner with to make sure that there are ethical intentions behind it all and not a money-grabbing scheme that essentially devalues the artist as a whole in tangible goods.
I felt that my work has lent itself well to the format with my iconic Vortex paintings, creating a modern-day lava lamp experience.
Have you been successful selling NFTs?
How do we merit success? Is it financial or is it being able to adapt to a new artistic format and being accepted by your peers and the community. Am I Beeple successful…the short answer is no. But I am enjoying developing my work in a new and exciting digital space.
How has your experience been with selling NFTs?
The experience for selling NFT doesn’t feel to me that much different to selling physical and tangible artworks. I mean this in the fact that platforms such as Superchief NFT Gallery take control of most of the marketing, minting and sales.
Thank you so much for speaking with us!
Please check out Hoxxohs’ Instagram page here and please be sure to check out his website here!
