Have you ever wondered what an NFT is or how you or your organization may profit from it? The foundations of NFTs are explained here, but the main point is that NFTs allow for the ownership and profit of digital assets, which is why we should all be interested.
Prior to NFTs, the internet allowed for the quick spread of data, but most people had no idea who developed it. NFTs enable digital assets to circulate widely and develop popularity while keeping information about the original inventor, allowing the firm or individual who created it to profit in the long run.
And while there are numerous advantages for businesses creating NFTs, such as reaching a younger audience, diversification of revenue streams, improving brand relevance, developing innovative advertisements and collaborations, and generating earned media and social media engagement… it’s all about the money in the end (or Ethereum in the case of most NFTs).
What are NFTs and What is their Prominence as Digital Assets?
NFT is an abbreviation for non-fungible tokens and is maybe the most prominent of the digital assets. Money and bitcoin are fungible in the sense that they may be exchanged for one another, but NFTs are ‘non-fungible’ in the sense that they are one-of-a-kind. Each NFT has a unique digital signature and cryptographic technique, which allows people to verify ownership of NFTs.
Shanti Escalante-de Mattei defines an NFT as “a unique unit of data that employs technology that permits digital content—from films to songs to images—to become registered and validated on cryptocurrency blockchains, especially Ethereum.” As content is added to the blockchain, every transaction, from transfers to sales, is recorded on-chain, resulting in a searchable ledger of provenance and price history. This is what makes NFTs digital assets.
The fundamental impact of NFTs is that they make it simple to own and sell digital assets. Before, digital artists could amass enormous social media followings, attract freelance commercial work, and perhaps sell prints and other products with their designs, but they struggled to monetize digital art directly, as customers wondered, “Why should I purchase something I can screenshot for free?”
Of course, this is still a valid subject and argument. But, in 2021, NFTs had produced $40B USD, up from around $90M USD in 2020. NFTs are not limited to digital assets; they may also be linked to actual, real-world assets. Here are some successful NFT examples to help you envision what your organization may achieve in the NFT space:
“Everydays: The First 5000 Days” by Beeple.
Beeple‘s all-NFT digital artwork was the first to be auctioned off at a major auction house. This item was auctioned off by Christie’s for a whopping $69 million.
Memorabilia from William Shatner
Actor William Shatner has produced an NFT collection of personal artifacts from his 60-year career. He sold 125,000 copies of his early photos, a photo of Shatner embracing Star Trek co-star Leonard Nimoy, and an X-ray of Shatner’s teeth in 9 minutes.
WarNymph of Grimes
Grimes gained $5.8 million on the sale of a collection of ten NFTs. The most valuable item was a one-of-a-kind film called “Death of the Old,” which sold for $389,000.
Nyan Cat
A crypto art recreation of the popular GIF Nyan Cat meme sold for $590,000 in an online auction, marking designer Chris Torres’ first entry into NFTs. “I’m quite shocked by the success, but I guess what I’m most happy about is that I’ve essentially opened the door to a whole other meme economy in the crypto realm,” Torres said.
Glenfiddich Whisky
Distillers William Grant and Son managed to sell 15 bottles of 46-year-old Glenfiddich whiskey for $18,000 apiece, each with its unique NFT artistic representation of the bottle. The NFT lets the owner display their purchase and serves as a counterfeit-proof document of ownership.
Jack Dorsey’s first Tweet
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey sold his first Tweet on Twitter’s debut day in March 2006. The NFT of the tweet sold for approximately $3 million. Dorsey said the money would be transformed into bitcoin and donated to a charity named GiveDirectly.
Furniture NFTs
Andrés Reisinger, an Argentine designer, sells furniture NFTs that may be used in open environments such as Decentraland or Minecraft. Reisinger’s most costly work sold for a little around $70,000 dollars. Five of Reisinger’s digital assets and creations were converted into real, tangible things and sent to NFT purchasers.
Collectibles of NBA Shots Sports
Top Shot is an NFT platform for buying, selling, and trading NBA video clips; its tagline is “Own the NBA‘s Greatest Plays.” LeBron James’ dunking against the Houston Rockets is their highest-earning asset with $387,000.
Digital Sneakers by RTFKT
RTFKT virtual shoes, designed for online gaming avatars, sell for much to $10,000 per pair. RTFKT made $3.1 million in only a few minutes in March 2021 by selling a line of sneakers he co-created with another artist dubbed Fewocious.
GIFs of Taco Bell
Taco Bell commissioned a series of GIFs based on its menu items, which they subsequently marketed online as NFTs. The tokens sold out within minutes of their release, and Taco Bell donated 100% of the revenues to the Taco Bell Foundation, the company’s charitable arm.