Many of you might remember the Bitcoin (BTC) hype end of 2017. At its peak, BTC rose to $19,783.06 and many people couldn’t understand how a digital coin is worth a little fortune. A digital coin consisting of 0’s and 1’s. And the same is happening again. This time it’s mainly digital art, so-called non-fungible tokens (NFTs). To give you an impression, here are some examples:
Everydays: the First 5000 Days
“Everydays: the First 5000 Days” is a digital work of art created by Mike Winkelmann, known professionally as Beeple. The work is a collage of 5000 digital images created by Winkelmann for his Everydays series. Its associated NFT was sold for a whopping $69.3 million at Christie’s in 2021, the most expensive NFT and among the most expensive works by a living artist (Forbes, 2021).
CryptoPunk 7804
This low-resolution pixel art was generated by an algorithm showing a blue alien wearing a hat and puffing on a pipe. Many people laughed when Dylan Field said he owned the “digital Mona Lisa”, but he wasn’t totally wrong. Earlier this year it was sold for 4,200 Ethereum, worth about $7.5 million (Protocol, 2021).
Etherrock
You might think the crypto and NFT scene is completely nuts, but the most hilarious art was sold in August. A JPEG of a rock was sold for $608,000 (CNBC, 2021) which is now worth $1.3 million.
As the examples show, we are in the midst of a new mania which not only shows its good sites. The Financial Times sees also fraudulent activities during this hype. “NFTs are just the latest way that what we might call the cryptosphere has found to make a quick buck.”, says Kelly. Frances Coppola, a finance and economics commentator, agrees that it’s solely about getting rich that drives everything as it is with all the crypto projects right now (Financial Times, 2021).
Despite all the criticism, the underlying idea is actually good. While physical art is by nature scarce and not (or hardly) replicable, and ownership is typically clear, digital art and digital artists have historically suffered from a more limited ability to profit from digital artwork. NFTs are a gamechanger for the digital art scene, increasingly allowing digital artists to make a living off their work as the examples show (Forbes, 2021). Thus, I am sure that NFTs are not only hype but here to stay. Most likely prices will come down as it was with BTC, but it’s a huge opportunity for artists to protect their work.
What do you think about NFTs? Have you heard of it before? To all the people who own an NFT artwork. Please comment below on what you have created or bought!
References
https://www.protocol.com/figma-ceo-cryptopunk-nft
https://www.ft.com/content/2757d760-c29e-4834-8636-7601adbacf47
