What are NFTs – From an NFTer

May 4, 2022 | BY YOUTH FOR YOUTH, Youth Partners

2021-2022 has been crazy. Our lives all changed in huge ways but that wasn’t the only thing that was changing. Throughout the past three years, the cryptocurrency buzz has been picking up, and with it came an ominous three-letter space, the NFT space.

When I first looked into the NFT space I thought it was a joke. People paying ridiculous amounts of money for seemingly useless photos, and I could just right-click save it for free. But the more I sunk my teeth into it the more I began to understand it. So, what are we about to talk about here? In this blog we are going to go into: what are NFTs and what does NFT stand for, what’s the point of them, and what makes them important in our lives? Without further ado, let’s jump in!

 

What does the term NFT stand for?

NFT stands for Non-Fungible-Tokens.  So, what does that even mean!? The term nonfungible basically means unique, something that can’t be replicated, think of it like a pair of game-worn MJ sneakers. You can’t fake them and depending on the game there is only one pair. The simplest way to understand them is the digital equivalent of trading cards and collectibles.

 

What are NFTs though?

NFTs can be almost anything! They can be drawings, music, sneakers, DLCs, texts, and more. But currently, the top two uses are photos/drawings and music.

 

What’s the point of photo/music NFTs?

The point of photo NFTs mostly comes from community/team aspects. For example, the BAYC which all trade at well over 200-300k has a huge community aspect. A ton of celebrities and well-known people have these and because of this people see this as an in with this group of people, think of it as an expensive ticket to an event with all your favorite people. On top of this, you get to be in the same group, and you get the social clout, as well as the rights to the image.

As for music NFTs by owning them you directly support the artist, and you own the music yourself. Musicians and artists get ripped off extremely hard by platforms most artists get paid fractions of a cent per stream but with NFTs, they can sell their music directly to their supporters at a fixed price meaning almost 100% of the revenue from selling their music goes to the artists.

 

Why are NFTs important for our lives?

NFTs are important because they bring ownership of digital assets to users which have been stripped away by big corporations. This is primarily big for creators because now they can finally get what their work is worth, be it photos, communities, experiences, or music.

Whether or not NFTs are here to stay, for the moment they are making some people money and they’re creating new frontiers for digital art. I suggest that anyone looking to learn about them or using platforms exercise some caution as new spaces are full of bad actors. As far as learning more I highly suggest searching all your questions n YouTube and Google! As always if you have any questions feel free to contact the Future North team! See you next time.

 

By: Charles Nyabeze