The other day I got the confirmation from USPTO regarding one of my trademark registration. And I said to myself – ‘Now that’s my Non Fungible Asset!”
Strictly speaking, a non-fungible token (NFT) is a unit of data on a digital ledger called a blockchain, where each NFT can represent a unique digital item, and thus they are not interchangeable. As with any new technology and process, a few evolving NFT token standards are currently linked to blockchains– such as Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, etc.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as a digital asset have gained vast momentum as we have seen blockbuster sale of NFT artworks selling for mega million dollars and music groups like Kings of Leon offering their latest album via NFT. These tokens are used to represent ownership of unique, digital items by assigning tokens for art, collectibles, music, gaming etc. It is unique, as there can be only one owner at a time, and they’re secured by the various blockchains like Ethereum– and no one can modify the record of ownership or copy/paste a new NFT into existence.
The jury is still out on whether NFTs will turn out to be a winning trend or just a fad- as we are talking about ‘owning’ digital assets that anyone else can view for free! Nevertheless, the uses of NFTs are diverse – they can represent digital files such as music, video, creative art, digital assets, and so much more. While the digital files themselves are infinitely reproducible, the NFTs representing them are tracked on their underlying blockchains and provide buyers with proof of ownership.
There is definitely a paradigm shift happening as we deal with alternate, augmented reality, replete with digital assets, blockchain, cryptocurrency and a group of savvy buyers in the marketplace.
LATEST NFT FACTS: SALES & TRENDS
- CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey’s first tweet, got sold as an NFT for $2.92 million at an auction on Mar 22, 2021. The tweet is in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT). The tweet – “just setting up my twttr” – was Dorsey’s first tweet, made on March 21, 2006.
just setting up my twttr— jack (@jack) March 21, 2006
- Everydays: the First 5000 Days is an image created by Beeple (Mike Winkelmann) which is a collage of 5000 images for his “Everydays” series. This digital artwork got sold for $69 million at Christie’s in 2021 to MetaKovan – which is the record setting price ever paid for an NFT.
- GUCCI Digital Sneakers: Gucci Sneaker Garage includes an augmented reality feature that allows users to try on its sneakers virtually. More recently, using Non-fungible Token (NFT), GUCCI has started selling virtual sneakers.
GUCCI’s version of NFT comes with the key distinction that their digital, virtual, luxury
Sneakers are available in unlimited numbers as compared to the limited count of the NFTs. Their virtual, augmented reality sneakers were created in partnership with Wanna (virtual sneaker app) which are available for as low as $9.
- NBA‘s Top Shot platform is available for people to buy as NFTs and get to own ‘moments’ from the game. Anyone can access those, but the one with token gets to be the ‘Owner,’ and it can be a rewarding investment in the long run!
- Mars House, the world’s first digital NFT home, has recently sold for more than $514,000. This 3D virtual home was sold to the buyer, who will receive digital files to upload to the Metaverse (virtual world/land)