All the talk these days is about blockchain. How exactly it works, though, and what spheres it can be utilized in is not entirely clear to everyone. Is blockchain the same as crypto? And if not, what is the difference between them? How are people making money in this area?
One of the primary means by which blockchain operations are conducted is through the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). And this is not equivalent to crypto. Let’s take a look at what the primary differences are and how NFTs are developing.
What are NFTs?
NFTs are digital assets that contain information specific to the individual who is using them. They cannot be changed, copied, or divided, and this is why they are considered “non-fungible.” NFTs can be distinguished from forms of cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, which do not contain and one person’s data and therefore can be exchanged in commercial transactions.
So, why would we need these kinds of tokens? What purpose do they serve that can’t be served by other types of currencies? Well, believe it or not, there are actually a wide range of uses for NFTs already, and they continue to grow in popularity. Let’s take a look at a few of them.
Art
One of the biggest uses for NFTs now is in the art world. NFTs for art are digitized pieces of art that contain all the information unique to those pieces. Just as with non-digitized art, there can be imitations, but there is still only one unique original of any given piece.
NFT art is becoming popular for many reasons, including the fact that artists no longer need to find agents or other intermediaries to help them sell their work. They also appreciate the transparency of NFT usage, and will be able to receive royalties with subsequent sales as tokens can have percentages encoded into them.
Sports cards and memorabilia
Another popular type of NFT is in sports cards. Leagues create official digitized cards just as they would physical ones, and these cards are bought and sold among enthusiasts. In addition to trading cards, sports memorabilia and other related items also have their own NFTs.
There are now a wide variety of forums for sports enthusiasts to trade on. As of now, a statue of LeBron James is the highest-valued sports NFT with a value of $21.6 million.
And beyond sports stars, other celebrities are launching collectors’ items in NFT form, as well. Buidlbee reports about these new editions regularly.
Gaming
In their use in the gaming world, NFTs can represent avatars that play other avatars in games. As a given player racks up points by beating the other players, his NFT value increases accordingly. In addition, players can increase the value of their tokens by purchasing “lands” or world’s within the game’s they play. Tokens can be bought and sold just as regular currency can.
There are a growing number of games that are based on the use of NFTs and they are sure to become even more widespread in the future. As people see the prospect of being able to earn this way, much like in gambling, the gaming world is expanding to include more serious and different types of players than before.
Real Estate
Real estate initially seemed like a less likely candidate for the use of NFTs as real estate assets are complicatedand subject to frequent change, However, it too is starting to take off in different forms. NFTs can represent anything from a workplace to a building site, and they are becoming more widely appreciated because their usage reduces the risk of fraud.
Real estate NFTs exist in two forms: Entire asset (EA) and fractional ownership (FO). The existence of FOs allows multiple investors to obtain pieces of assets, just as stock market shares would.
The NFT world will grow
These are just a few examples of the uses of NFTs in different spheres. The number and types of tokens is sure to grow rapidly in the near future, though. Keep your eyes out for new developments and where you can make the best choices for buying in the future.