NFTs: what are they?
Have you ever thought there would be a time when you would be able to buy ownership certificates for digital art, music, or even for a meme, a gif, or a tweet!? Nobody could have imagined this years ago, but here we are: fine art collectors (even of memes) moving their passion online.
Today, you can actually invest money in order to get online ownership over someone’s digital work that you appreciate. Basically, the artwork is “tokenized” in order to create a certificate of ownership, and this certificate is what you actually buy or sell.
Ownership by one person is currently managed through a unique ID and metadata. No other token can replicate the information because it is stored in the blockchain where the NFT is managed.
NFT stands for non-fungible tokens and they are pieces of digital content linked to the blockchain. They are not interchangeable — like money for example, where a particular $100 bill is just as valuable as all the others — because NFTs are completely unique, there can’t be two identical NFTs, so their value isn’t measured collectively.
How it all started
The first NFT artwork, consisting of a collage of images, was created by the digital artist Beeple (Mike Winkelmann) and it was sold for the astonishing price of $69.3 million. That was the moment when this new trend caught worldwide attention.
This was not actually the beginning for NFTs. CryptoKitties, a digital trading game on the cryptocurrency platform, Ethereum, was actually the first one. This trading game allowed people to buy and sell virtual unique kitties, which were stored on the blockchain in order to maintain their authenticity.
Can you become a successful digital artist?
Anyone can create an NFT. All you have to do is create your own work, have a digital wallet with a small purchase of Ethereum, upload your work and follow the instructions on the platform to turn it into an NFT.
Two types of marketplaces to upload NFTs
The first type is curated platforms, but they are more likely to be suitable for authorized artists. They accept only high-quality art tokens and you may be able to join the platform only by invitation. The advantage is that your work can be listed for higher prices and you get attention from some sort of the elite.
The second type is self-service platforms. They are open for any kind of artist, even for beginners, and you can create and upload anything you like (even a photo, a gif, or a meme). You have the freedom to set a percentage of your choice of royalty to charge for each token sale. Be aware that this type of platform doesn’t benefit from as much security as the first one, so there can be many imitators or fraudsters.
What is next?
You need to choose your blockchain technology for your NFT. The most popular is Ethereum, but there are also other options such as Tezos, Polkadot, Cosmos, and Binance Smart Chain.
You need to purchase Ethereum at the beginning because you need to pay a gas fee that you use to mint your NFT. The cost can vary from $13 to $265 worth of ETH. It is important to mention that you cannot mint your NFT on different platforms at the same time, as you risk having your NFT deleted, and even having your account blocked on the platform(s).
A good platform to start might be OpenSea or Rarible as they let you upload your work without paying anything because the work is not being written to the blockchain, so there aren’t any fees charged. If your artwork is bought, then the fee for it to be written to the blockchain will be paired with the fee to transfer it to the buyer.
Good news for your income
We have some good news for you. NFTs have a feature that, if enabled, will bring you a percentage every time your work is bought by someone else. So, if your work becomes really popular, you can earn a continuous passive income from it.
Can other people copy your digital work after you have bought it?
Yes, because there is nothing stopping them. Although, you have a certificate, under the form of a token, who proves the original work is now yours, and the others are just copies. It is the same situation as it is for paintings, some people have a copy of a specific known painting like Picasso, Monet, etc., but only one person possesses the original one. You can have a ‘Picasso’ in your house, but everyone will know it is just a copy because you do not have the specific authorization as for the original one. The same goes with NFTs.
It is ironic that people who think taking screenshots of the image gets them the product for free, by actually doing so, they spread the word and increase its popularity, helping the NFT become more valuable and therefore the person who actually bought the rights for it, is even more enriched. So, keep screenshotting, as you help others by doing so.
Sometimes, digital artists do not retain the copyright of their work in order to be able to produce and sell copies of the original. They can choose how many original copies there are of their artwork, or even make each copy slightly different. They also have the ability to list their artwork as something totally unique, a rare collectible.
Where can you buy or sell NFTs?
If you want to purchase an NFT, you need to pay attention to the marketplace you choose to buy from, the type of digital wallet required, and the kind of cryptocurrency you need.
The largest NFT marketplace is OpenSea. Other safe options are Axie Marketplace, Larva Labs/CryptoPunks, Rarible, SuperRare, Foundation, Nifty Gateway.
Be aware that some marketplaces also charge a little fee, consisting of the necessary energy to complete the transaction on the blockchain.
Your trusty platform, IXFI, is a good place to trade your NFTs
With the latest advancements in the Blockchain, new possibilities were created for trading platforms. By virtue of this, we bring you our innovative feature, the NFT 2.0 (IXFI Barter Exchange), where IXFI users are now able to list their NFT’s on our platform and trade NFTs with other users, by mutual agreement. This allows you to manage your NFT collections more freely and easily. Not only that, but you can also buy or sell using Fiat, making this an unparalleled experience that will also create a secondary market for NFT exchange.
So? What do you think?
Are you going to be the next famous digital artist?
The next successful digital fine art collector?
Or will you start a rare and unique collection of memes or tweets?
And will you trade them with us?
The choice is all yours, with a world of possibilities at your fingertips.
