NFT's are taking the young investment population by storm. Whether they are worth it or not might still be up for discussion, but they are certainly the most recent investing trend. So what is an NFT? An NFT is a non-fungible token, and they exist as a type of online blockchain cryptographic creation in which people can buy and sell as an investment opportunity. They differ from cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, because those are fungible which means their values are equal and can be used for commercial transactions. For NFT's, each token is a unique creation and cannot be replicated. They are created in the form of digital artwork or any other form of digital creative expression.
With a basic understanding of what they are, it seems like a basic investment opportunity. However, NFTs can be such a wide variety of things and ideas that there really seems to be no end to their full understanding. I am hesitant to invest in something so ludacris, but our future really might be headed in that direction. The possibilities of what NFTs can be in the future are monumental. There are ideas floating around about how NFTs will soon be a major market factor because of their endless uses. An article from Investopedia says this about NFTs:
"Perhaps, the most obvious benefit of NFTs is market efficiency. The conversion of a physical asset into a digital one streamlines processes and removes intermediaries. NFTs representing digital or physical artwork on a blockchain remove the need for agents and allow artists to connect directly with their audiences. They can also improve business processes. For example, an NFT for a wine bottle will make it easier for different actors in a supply chain to interact with it and help track its provenance, production, and sale through the entire process. Consulting firm Ernst & Young has already developed such a solution for one of its clients."
We once saw cryptocurrencies as a wild possibility that would never reach anything big. Naysayers at the time, had they invested in Bitcoin, would now be enjoying a nice return on their initial investment. NFTs could be the next Bitcoin, and it might be smart to hop on the train now. With how digital everything is becoming in today's world (like a personalized Covid-19 vaccination QR code) it is not out of the question for these cryptographic creations to be market movers. It's especially a reality because even real estate is being digitalized, and people can buy this digitized property just as of they were buying real life real estate as an investment. The metaverse is real, and it is coming fast, so the world better be ready.
I have done a decent amount of research earlier this semester to see if NFTs were a good opportunity to make money. I ended up not investing in the projects I researched and regretted it because they ended up skyrocketing in value. There is definitely a ton of money to be had in this market if you play your cards right, however, just like with real art, the piece is only worth what you would pay for it since the value is arbitrary. I think that the market is soon headed for a crash because it is super inflated by people trying to make money in the short-term or clean their dirty cash through NFTs just like with real art.…
Great article! NFTs are a great tool for the future of our world. Rather than having contracts that can be manipulated and changed with a basic photoshop tool or paper contracts that can be reprinted (though illegal on both fronts, is still possible) with NFTs the main potential I see is contractually. Individuals could send each other a contract via NFT, sign and agree and it is all backed by the blockchain - encrypted, safe, and 100% authentic.
As far as I understand it this seems like a Ponzi scheme where the entire value of NFTs is determined by their resale value, prompting people to make quick cash by buying and selling them before it invariably collapses in on itself. Because the art itself is easily replicated and is low quality as far as art goes anyway, its only use is to sell to someone before the value tanks. Aside from that I've heard that like Bitcoin, there's an environmental cost to generating the blockchain codes that isn't being mentioned enough in my opinion, especially if its only a way for already wealthy-enough-to-invest people to make a quick buck. I do hope I'm wrong since it's always sad…
I remember reading from somewhere a while back regarding how the real estate agent's job may look very different in the future when virtual tours can be accessible to many clients online. Though this is a slightly different topic from what you mentioned regarding selling a meta-verse piece of land, your closing remarks on how the meta-verse is coming are very real. Especially how in the future the physical house being listed can be digitized via virtual tour, removing not only the client's need to visit a physical house but also the real estate agent's labor as well. So in a way, as you mentioned, we are already heading in that digitizing direction whether we like it or not, an…