NFT ART

We had hardly got our minds around the working of cryptocurrency, and the internet exploded with NFTs. What are they anyway? A non-fungible token. 

It simply means something of unique value. Something irreplaceable like art? Umm…yes. NFT art.

The word on the web is: a rendition of the Nyan cat meme from 2011 sells for $600,000 as NFT art. What?!

Who would pay this much money for something that can be easily copied or downloaded for free? And why? How is that art…or NFT art?

 

What is NFT, after all?

It is a unique, non-replaceable, non-reproducible item; only it is backed by the ethereum blockchain technology. NFT art, like its physical counterpart, is considered unique because they have special signature code in their metadata. This code defines the authenticity of the content and its owner. 

Imagine having a signed painting by Da Vinci, sure it can be produced in copies and sold, but the original is original. 

And like that, there can be only one owner at a time, which is easily verifiable.

Users can use NFT to ID just about anything. No matter the format (borderline digital), it can be sold as NFT Art. An image, an animation, or even a sound file, it’s all art. Even your tweets would sell.

Tap here to learn more!

How do they work?

• Each NFT Art has a unique token. 
• Each token has an owner (the creator or the buyer), which is verifiable.
• They are not interchangeable, well, not directly. They have unique value, like real art.
• They live and breathe on Ethereum (more on that ahead).
• The creator determines the scarcity (more on that later, too)
• The creator earns royalties every time it sells, a guarantee for royalties.
• No middlemen, no intermediary; a peer-to-peer market

Why is the cat meme popular/why was it sold for such amount (A brief study)

It is because someone placed a value on them.

Think, you created a creative-witty meme, only to see it trending. But with NFT, you can put a price on that. 

It’s not new for people to associate emotional attachment, value, and significance to physical artwork, pieces, and memorabilia. That is a bond challenging to replicate with digital items as they are prone to be copied or are easily accessible. 

Digital artists have long struggled to control the spreading of their art. This creates a strain on maintaining standards and determining their value. It is often vulnerable to creative theft and plagiarism.

However, the growing popularity of blockchain technology’s cryptocurrency has birthed this new segment of digital collectibles, now gaining fame as NFT art.

NFT art products are digital assets that are sold and bought as collectibles, just like tangible arts. There have been instances where people sold these artworks at millions apiece. This newfound niche constitutes a $100 million market.

While the owner of the Non-fungible art can hardly reserve the copyrights or keep the material from being shared across the platforms, the mere enjoyment and thrill lie in the bragging rights of owning the original “authentic” design. 

As for the Nyan cat meme, it first surfaced in 2011 and was an immediate sensation. Chris Torres, the animator of this meme, applied some changes to the original artwork and put it up for auction on Foundation, a reasonably new marketplace for NFT Art. 

With minor touch-ups and a cat with a pop tart for a body, the bid closed at $590,000.

It is not for the first time that crypto art sold for a massive sum of money. NFT Arts like RarePepe, Beanie Babies, and Kryptokitties have been making money since the beginning of this niche.

Like the connoisseurs of tangible arts, it seems the digital art has found its place amongst its admirers too.

NFT Development

Are you persuaded enough to create your very own NFT art?

Like other arts, just about anyone can create it. Anyone can sell it, but with ethereum security. 

Creating personal works and finding expression is always a good thing, and with NFT Art, you don’t have to rely on galleries to showcase what you build. The world is your market.

( You can visit our NFT Development section to learn more!)

Let’s see how to get started.

Creating the art

You create an artwork, anything, from a meme to a trading card or an MP3. Get your creative juices flowing, find expression and create something that inspires you and you think it could inspire others. 

The monetary aspect

The NFT art lives and breathes on its etheruem platform. The selling and buying take place with a unique cryptocurrency called Ether. You create the crypto wallet, and like you buy chips in a casino, you accept the currency. Once you profit from your art, you can keep the Ether forever or exchange it for any currency you want.

Creating the ethereum wallet

These wallets let you communicate with blockchain networks like ethereum. Before signing for a marketplace, you need to set up a crypto wallet and attach it to your account. To sell or buy art, you need a source of funding to withdraw or deposit. 

Minting

Minting is a process to tokenize your NFT art to be able to go on the blockchain. This is what gives it that exceptional security to be traced and tracked throughout its origin and existence. It has a small fee requirement called “gas fee,”; all for the computing energy charge to secure your art. So, yes, you need to have money to sell your art.

Scarcity of your NFT Art

As a creator, you control pieces of your work that you mint as count as the original. You can create multiple pieces as a part of the original publishing. Once that number is determined and minted, it is unchangeable. The listing of the identical art is stagnated and can be verified to have originated from the creator. Even if people produce identical art, its edition will be immutable. This works much like early editions of books, trading cards, which hold more value to be a part of the original set.

The marketplace

After it’s all said and done, this is where you take your art live. It is a close-knit community, and there are many walled societies. They let you sell or buy with invite-only. However, there’s OpenSea, the largest platform for anyone to mint and sell. Or you can set up your marketplace.

Takeaway

NFT art is taking industries and communities with shockwaves. They are a new way to invest, admire and collect, a new way to think. It’s like our old tangible art but better in terms of reachability and security. It creates a sense of independence for creators and buyers; everything is out in the open to know, buy and sell. Ultimately, it’s an art form, while new but, art has as much value as can someone find in it. There’s nothing to lose which makes it worth trying out.