The NFT Marketplace is Unfamiliar Territory, is the World Ready to Enter?

It was after the digital artist Mike Winkelmann, known as Beeple, made history on March 21, selling his NFT titled "Everydays: The First 5000 Days" for over $69 million at auction at Christie's, the social media went gaga over the unbelievable growth of NFT as a unique digital asset. No doubt it was not the first NFT, as Winkelmann's NFT of a  digital collage with 5,000 daily futuristic images has already made him a wealthy man in 2007. But after that, the trading and transferring ownership of NFTs remained quite tricky for a few years. Only after the collections began to be launched on the Ethereum blockchain did they come into more limelight as it eased the whole process. 

So, what is NFT all about?

Imagine you are an artist and having an online exhibition. Won't it be challenging to maintain the authenticity and right of all the images? Now, if you have a chance where you can buy digital tokens for all your images having the sole authority over your artwork, wouldn't it be great? Well, that is now possible with the help of NFTs. NFTs are easily transferable and trustworthy and give the artist ownership rights of the artwork. 

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are cryptographic assets on a blockchain that can be distinguished from one another by their distinctive identifying codes and metadata. NFTs are turning your digital assets into one of a kind by generating a unique digital signature that defines the ownership of the asset and which can be sold for money or cryptocurrencies. 

How does it work?

NFTs are discrete tokens that contain priceless information. They can be purchased and sold similarly to other physical art forms because the market and demand mainly determine their worth. It is simple to confirm and validate the ownership of NFTs and transfer tokens between owners thanks to their unique data. 

Though NFTs are built using the same programming as cryptocurrencies, there is a vast difference between them. Cryptocurrencies are fungible, and NFTs are non-fungible. Being Fungible, cryptocurrencies can be exchanged for one another, but an NFT is not interchangeable. 

The process of converting your digital asset into an NFT

Decide which art you want to convert- You can convert any unique artwork, like a video, image, or song, into an NFT. 

Choose a Blockchain- Many blockchain platforms have their own NFT tokens, compatible wallets, and a marketplace. Selecting a specific blockchain platform allows you to use only those wallets and marketplaces for buying and selling your artwork. There are various blockchain platforms, including Tezos, Binance Smart Chain, Cosmos, WAX, Etherium, etc., where Etherium's the most used platform. 

Connect the wallet to your marketplace- If you selected the Etherium platform, next you have to buy a few Etherium and choose a marketplace such as Rarible. Then, setting it up and integrating it with a wallet is an easy process.

Create an NFT- Once the wallet is connected, click on the button and upload your art with your name and description. After it is uploaded, add a banner and complete your NFT account creation process. The users can now upload the digital art they want to turn into NFT by clicking the Add New Item button. 

How is the future of NFT?

Now, when you must be clear about the concept of NFT and how it works, the next question must be about its future and whether it is the right decision to invest in NFTs. NFTs are not only there for big sharks but will undoubtedly benefit the small artists, enabling them to save on intermediaries grabbing money for their labels. 

According to new market research published by blockchain data firm Nansen, crypto users spent 963,227 Ether, worth $2.7 billion, minting non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum blockchain in the first half of 2022. In the last two years only, there has been impressive growth in the NFT market, and even if this goes ahead at a slow pace, the future of NFTs is still likely to be bright. Non-fungible tokens can be challenging to value, but various factors affect pricing, including originality, tradeability, skill, and the person selling them. Moreover, as Non-fungible tokens use blockchain technology just like cryptocurrency, they are generally secure and less prone to hacking. The only risk you can have is if the platform hosting NFT goes down and you lose your NFTs. No doubt it is pretty early to comment about the future of NFTs; we need to wait and watch until its mainstream adoption is confirmed.