A few days ago, a news broke out in the currency circle, financial circle, literary circle and collection circle-a digital collage was auctioned at a sky-high price of 69.3 million US dollars (about 450 million yuan), and NFT also entered the public's field of vision, which aroused many people's interest. This paper summarizes some important events and knowledge points related to NFT. I believe it can answer many questions about NFT. Students who want to know, please continue reading.
The full name of NFT is irreplaceable token, which translates into "heterogeneous token". NFT is a digital cryptocurrency based on blockchain technology, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). However, NFT is different from cryptocurrencies such as BTC and ETH. Blockchain has two cryptocurrencies, namely coins and tokens. The former (such as BTC) has its own main chain, which is based on the original "coin" of the public chain; The latter (such as NFT) is attached to the existing blockchain and uses smart contracts for bookkeeping, which is essentially a proof of rights and interests. Tokens can be divided into homogeneous tokens and heterogeneous tokens (NFT).
Homogeneous tokens refer to tokens that can be substituted for each other and can be almost infinitely divided. For example, there is no difference between one bitcoin and another, or there is no difference between two RMB with the same version and the same face value. A bitcoin can be subdivided into 8 decimal places, 0.0000000 1 bitcoin, that is, 1 cluster. Heterogeneous tokens have the following characteristics:
Non-interchangeable: one NFT is not equal to another NFT, and their values are different. There will not be two identical nonfunctional tests, and each NFT is unique.
Indivisible: NFT cannot be divided into smaller denominations like Bitcoin. They can only exist as a whole project.
Verifiable: The advantage of storing historical ownership data in the blockchain is that digital works of art and other items can be traced back to the original creator, which enables the works to be authenticated without third-party verification.
At present, NFT's main application scenarios include games, digital assets, identity authentication, decentralized finance (DeFi) and souvenir collection.
Games: NFT is very popular in the game industry because it solves some inherent problems. For example, some games prohibit the sale of rare features and accessories, such as weapons and skins. However, with NFT, these functions can be easily transferred and used in different games. Therefore, NFT can help promote the development of game economy.
Digital assets: For example, the decentralized virtual reality platform "Decentralized Land" based on the Ethereum blockchain allows users to create, experience and monetize content and applications.
Identity authentication: Because of the uniqueness of NFT, it can be used as a proof to verify identity, including identity qualification, physical examination report, etc. Digital creators can also convert products into NFT for copyright marking to avoid theft and forgery.
DeFi: NFT has great application potential in the rapidly developing field of decentralized finance (DeFi). For example, they can be used to use artworks, real estate or other valuable assets as collateral for loans, or as financial contracts for insurance, stock options or bonds, and can be traded as products in the secondary market. Although NFT has existed for several years, it may be the development of DeFi that makes it more attractive as a digital asset with a series of applications.
Collecting souvenirs: NFT has brought new ways to the collection industry, and traditional professionals are now paying attention to digital assets. NFT is the same as other cryptocurrencies. Records of who owns what are stored in the general ledger of the blockchain. These records cannot be forged because ledgers are maintained by thousands of computers all over the world. Therefore, in addition to scarcity, NFT also adds a layer of protection to the collected assets. NFT can also include smart contracts, which can provide artists with a share of future sales.
Value of NFT: Like all assets, supply and demand are the key market factors driving prices. Due to the scarcity of NFT and the high demand of gamers, collectors and investors, there will always be people in the market who are willing to pay a big price for it. If an item is very popular, its value will go up. The less the number of items, the more exclusive they are, which is likely to enhance their value.
Traditional works of art, such as paintings, are valuable because of their uniqueness. You can take a picture of a painting or buy a copy, but there is always only one original painting.
But digital files can be easily copied endlessly. Virtual digital art has an embarrassing place. Because it can be a picture or a video, it may be downloaded, copied and shared with countless people. For digital works of art, there seems to be no difference between the replica and the original, so how can we ensure its value and scarcity? What is the significance of people buying it?
Then there is NFT, which is a "unique" asset in the digital world. With NFT, works of art can be "marked" to create a digital ownership certificate that can be bought and sold. Therefore, NFT can be regarded as the ownership certificate of virtual assets.
NFT aims to provide something that cannot be copied: the ownership of works (although artists can still retain copyright and reproduction rights, just like physical works of art). From the point of view of physical art collection: anyone can buy Monet's prints. But only one person can own the original.
Therefore, the significance of buying NFT works of art depends on its target audience, and there are three main types: artists, pure buyers and collectors.
As artists, they are likely to be interested in NFT works themselves, and NFT can also provide artists with a way to sell their works, and NFT creators also have the opportunity to earn royalties when NFT works are sold or changed hands. And if the work is very popular, creators, buyers and collectors will benefit after the value expands.
For pure buyers or collectors, NFT can be a financial investment, an emotional purchase, a collection, or a way to make buyers feel closer to NFT creators (such as artists or brands), representing a unique and scarce status symbol.
In addition, some artists will let buyers enter the private channel of the chat platform, and only NFT buyers of the artist can enter, thus forming a private exclusive club.
Does anyone really spend millions of dollars on NFT art?
Yes, and the price is over several million dollars. Although it is not uncommon for works of art to sell at sky-high prices, some facial words that anyone can easily view, download, take screenshots, share and forward online, such as GIF, pictures, videos and even a tweet, can also sell for tens of millions or even tens of millions of yuan, which really refreshes many people's cognition.
/kloc-In February of 0/9, the animated GIF of the New Year's Eve cat, a flying rainbow kitten expression pack, sold for more than 500,000 dollars.
Subsequently, musician Grimes sold some of her digital art works for more than $6 million.
Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, also auctioned a tweet that made its debut in the NFT for $2.5 million.
But even after the auction, the post will still be made public on Twitter. The buyer will receive a certificate signed and verified by Doce Digital, as well as the metadata of the original Twitter. These data will include information such as the release time and text content of Twitter.
The most shocking thing is the digital collage auctioned at Christie's on March 1 1, and finally sold for $69.3 million. It is the most expensive NFT artwork in history, which is14 million higher than Monet's painting Nymphéas.
Sell NFT art at sky-high prices
On March 1 1, a mysterious buyer bought a digital collage for $69.3 million. This auction is called a historic moment in the art world, and it is also the third highest transaction price for the works of living artists. The artwork being auctioned is a digital collage created by the artist Mike Winkelmann, better known as Beeple, which contains 5,000 digital illustrations in his Everydays series-Beeple has created a painting every day for the past 13 years.
It is worth noting that before 10 last year, Beeple rarely sold more than 100 dollars, but today's works can sell at sky-high prices. As soon as this news came out, it immediately detonated the art collection circle and the financial technology circle. Last year 10, Bishop's works were bought by collector pablo rodriguez-Freile for $66,666.60. At the end of February this year, they were resold for $6.6 million, and their value increased by 100 times in just a few months.
Beeple is a digital artist and graphic designer. Because digital art can be copied infinitely, making his works worthless, he has been looking for better ways to sell his works. When a friend told him that there was a way to change this situation and marked his illustrations as unique works of art, Pipper listened and began to study NFT. Because of this, more and more artists flock to the NFT market because they want to seek greater success outside the traditional art world.
There are also many controversies about whether Beeple's sky-high works have artistic value matching its price. Apart from the value of NFT itself, different people have different views on its artistic value, just like a sentence in Art Story, "There is no art in the world, only artists".
By the way, Beep's works have a straightforward attraction, full of absurd "wonders" and metaphors. Many famous politicians are the protagonists in his works (usually naked and with mutated robot bodies), and the images of classic cartoon characters such as Buzz Lightyear, Mickey Mouse and Pikachu in his works are also very shocking, which can be said to be "destroying childhood" for some people.
The explosion of sky-high NFT artworks has attracted more and more people to discuss or participate in it. According to CryptoArt, an analysis platform focusing on cryptocurrency artistry, in the last month of 2020, the total turnover of NFT artworks reached 8.2 million US dollars. Compared with the turnover of only $2.6 million last month, this is a significant increase. At present, the market value of the whole collection exceeds $654.38+30 million. With the continuous improvement of market value and people's understanding of NFT, people regard collectibles as simple hobbies and turn them into large-scale financial investment behaviors.
Many famous artists began to pay attention to NFT and use it in their works, indicating that NFT is entering the mainstream. Of course, some people think that these are all hype and gimmicks, and some puzzling "artistic expressions" have been derived. At the beginning of March, after an original work by the famous British street graffiti artist Banks was sold as NFT, the original work was burned by a group of people who claimed to be encrypted fans in the live broadcast.
"Burning paintings is also" burning money "."
This artwork named "Idiot" was created in 2006, satirizing the sales record set by Van Gogh's Sunflower in 1987. The content of the work is as follows:
"I can't believe you idiots would buy such a thing. I can't believe you idiots would buy such a thing. )"
Idiot is worth $95,000. It was originally bought from Taglialatella Gallery in new york, but now its value is up in the air.
"bank idiot"
Before burning works of art, encryption enthusiasts use blockchain technology to digitize their works on SuperFarm and save them in digital form. One of them said that they chose Banks' work because he tore up one of his works of art at the auction. They regard this burning event as an expression of art itself and are creating this unique NFT to produce a new art form.
Ossian Ward, author of The Way to Appreciate: How to Experience Contemporary Art, thinks this is a stunt. He said: "You can say that everything is a work of art, but if you burn the works of the bank and then spend money to buy them, it is very low-level for me."
Everything can be NFT, so is NFT a bubble?
At present, a series of events about NFT must contain speculation, but this speculation will soon show signs of fading, because most of them are artificially priced. In addition, some people are worried about the existence of dishwashing transactions. For example, a virtual cat of CryptoKitties can sell for 600ETH, but there is no reason to prove that it is worth so much money.
"Virtual cats sold on CryptoKitties"
Nevertheless, even if you are not interested in NFT now, don't completely ignore it, because the ecosystem is changing, just like DeFi, NFT may become the next big event in the field of encryption.
What is the future prospect of NFT?
Although NFT is or will soon bring subversive changes to all walks of life, it is not without its shortcomings. Its problems stem from the blockchain it relies on. Decentralized networks are not completely user-friendly. For example, verifying authenticity, selling, purchasing and storing NFT all require at least a basic understanding of blockchain technology. When most target audiences are only interested in products but not in the underlying technology, problems will arise, and the consumption of products must depend on the understanding of the underlying technology.
In other words, the hope of the future is that blockchain can become mainstream like smart phones or the Internet. Although most people don't know how they work technically, billions of people use them every day. If NFT can do the same, it may create more and greater value.
Selected previous issues
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Why is this painting the most mysterious painting in history?