Crypto currency

The second big run of the year has just fizzled out the last couple of days. It's a big area which has taken off this year. The first section that moved was generative art- the big players being Art Blocks- people are able to mint their own artwork generated by known artists by paying Eth plus the gas fee in limited runs.

The next big wave was pfps- basically profile avatars, often of animals- you probably heard of crypto punks and bored apes that go for insane amounts. But it's got to the point where 10+ are launching everyday and people are just looking to pump and dump.

 

These guys, the Defiant, make superb content generally- I can recommend them!

 

The biggest secondary market is called opensea. https://opensea.io/

You connect your metamask and usually use Eth if you want to buy one. Then you can view your nfts on the gallery there. The next biggest is rarible.

Primary sites are where you can mint your own when an nft 'drops'. It's a rabbit hole, I'm warning you now

 

The first time you get one its a weird feeling though. It makes you question what 'ownership' is. You've paid real money for a digital artwork that only shows up on your profile platform when you log in somewhere. Now it feels totally normal to me but it's a shift in perception. There are also countless use cases from publishing , ticketing, finance etc.

 

What's the difference between owing an NFT artwork and a screenshot of an NFT artwork?

 

It's like the difference between owning the mona lisa or taking a photo of the mona lisa

 

I missed it - and this is the problem now, as you say there is daily garbage and it’s become the new ICO of 2017 or De-Fi of 2020. I feel like I’ve missed the boat and am too late, so am generally avoiding, but that’s partly because I’m also too stupid and lazy to understand how to mint my pen stuff.

 

Except the Mona Lisa is the actual created work and an exact copy can't be created. I guess you'd say the same about the NFT but to me it's just data and I can have something on my computer which is, to all intents and purposes, identical. I can't have something identical to the original Mona Lisa hanging in my living room.

I see the use cases for crypto to a large degree, but NFTs seem a bit like tulip bulbs.

 

Maybe it wasn't the best comparison, but if you own the NFT, you can sell it, it can appreciate or depreciate in value etc.

You could technically hang your photo of the mona lisa up in your living room. But it's not 'real'. You don't own the original.

 

I guess I just don't understand the "value" of an NFT other than as a speculative investment.

 

Honestly I think NFTs are just a new toy for rich people to 'own' something. The same way art has been in the past. Probably also used for money laundering in the same way art is.

I don't own any NFT's because it's just not my thing, but I can sort of see the appeal I think.

I'm considering getting rid of my crypto in general to be honest. I'm just not comfortable with the whole ecosystem of the majority of coins and the fact that Bitcoin alone produces more CO2 emissions than most countries. I just need to figure out how best to do it for tax purposes. My crypto portfolio has grown significantly from my initial investment, so I need to talk to my accountant I think and see what the best way forward is.

 

Just the same principle as investing in art really …. I Think!

However I think the concept is very interesting for land / property ownership in virtual worlds / gaming etc …

 

That only applies to photographs of physical art. Most art is produced in the act of minting it, on the blockchain. That- is the art itself.

There is a reason that people are using it- bands like Kings of Leon for instance. You can mint your album as an nft, and people have to pay for it rather than pirate it. And not only that- you get royalties if they then sell it to someone else, in perpetuity..you can augment it with other media, bonus unlocks, future features... You don't need a record company, and you actually get paid for your music. It's one example of how nfts are already a game changer for artists for just one case.

 

If you're also struggling to see NFTs as nothing more than a tulip boom, an easy way is to think of Fortnite. How much money do young people spend on digital items, avatars and clothes to dress their identity online? They don't exist anywhere else physically, but in this metaverse. It's a central part of many young people's social identity growing up. NFTs that work like avatars or aspects of clothing or identity work like this with the added incentive that they are unique and so even more valuable.

 

If you're comparing someone owning an NFT to a kid buying a glider skin in Fortnite then I have zero interest in owning an NFT. You've essentially said it's a gimmick.

 

If you read even my other posts on here in which I've offered just a few fundamental ways in which they have real world use cases, then it's clear that I'm not saying they're a gimmick.

In terms of Fortnite, I'm trying to give an established multimillion pound industry analogy for the increasing appeal to many people in forming digital identities that only have a social and aesthetic function. Disappointed in that response mate, at least read the messages if you want to comment on them.