NFTs are collectible digital assets that have value, just as physical art has value, so do NFTs. And now NFTs are becoming fashionable because Ethereum is becoming fashionable because Bitcoin is becoming fashionable. It is to be expected that the works of well-known artists have great value as NFTs, something that an anonymous group of "art enthusiasts" relied on when they burned a Banksy original to increase the value of an NFT. Canadian conceptual artist Kimberly Parker started hearing about NFTs a couple of years ago when an artist she follows started selling her work.
Because NFTs use the same blockchain technology as some energy-intensive cryptocurrencies, they also end up consuming a lot of electricity. The distinguishing feature of NFTs is that their underlying technology certifies and guarantees the authenticity of a tied item, increasing its value. CryptoPunks have dominated the NFT artwork market in recent months, and four of them are among the ten most expensive NFTs ever sold. Instead, you're basically buying metadata that grants you bragging rights or, more often, the opportunity to sell that NFT later for even more money.
If you want to buy NFTs, you can do so on a variety of platforms, depending on what you want to buy (for example, if you want to buy baseball cards, you might want to go to a site like digitaltradingcards, while other marketplaces sell more general pieces). NFTs have attracted the attention of tech investors (Mark Cuban), the high-end art world (Christie's auction house) and big business (Nike). Ethereum is a cryptocurrency, like bitcoin or dogecoin, but its blockchain also supports these NFTs, which store additional information that makes them work differently from, say, an ETH coin. There is also a show called Stoner Cats (yes, it's about cats getting stoned, and yes it stars Mila Kunis, Chris Rock and Jane Fonda), which uses NFTs as a kind of ticketing system.
There have been a few cases where artists have decided not to sell NFTs or to cancel future releases after learning of the effects they could have on climate change. Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park (who also sold some NFTs that included a song) talked about this. Technologists, meanwhile, say NFTs are the latest step towards a long-promised blockchain revolution that could radically transform consumer capitalism, with major implications for everything from mortgage lending to healthcare. The show's website says it will be an episodic series launched on the blockchain (the first short video is on OpenSea), and there are already hundreds of NFTs associated with the show.
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