An introduction to the world of NFT art

Since the beginning of 2021, NFTs become increasingly popular due to high-priced sales.

Some notable NFT sales in 2021, such as LeBron James' NBA Top Shot video (see explanation in the video below), which sold for $208,000 on February 22, 3LAU's album, which generated $11.7 million in sales on February 28, and digital artist Beeple , which sold for $69.3 million on March 11, have made NFTs a particularly topical subject in pop culture.

$71,455 LEBRON JAMES NFT SOLD!! NFT Market and NBA Top Shot Explained

In March 2021 alone, NFT sales exceeded $220 million, accounting for almost half of all NFT sales ever.

This renewed interest in NFTs, particularly in the fields of art, music and sports, has found its way into mainstream awareness, especially among the younger generation.

In an episode of Saturday Night Live on March 27, 2021, the performers parodied this growing niche with a comedy sketch about NFTs, which was later sold as an NFT for $365,000 on April 6, 2021.

'Saturday Night Live' Explains NFTs in Eminem Style

The story of CryptoKitties and Ethereum

CryptoKitties is a blockchain game on the underlying Ethereum where players can buy, collect, breed, and sell virtual cats. The game became so popular that it led to an Ethereum network congestion in December 2017. Each CryptoKitty is a unique, non-fungible token (NFT) that can be bought and sold.

On December 2, 2017, Genesis, the first cat, was sold for ETH 246.9255 (approximately US$117,712). On March 20, 2018, it was announced that CryptoKitties would be spun off into its own company, Dapper Labs, and had received US$12 million in funding from several top venture capital firms and angel investors.

The investment round was led by Union Square Ventures of New York and Andreessen Horowitz of San Francisco. In October 2018, CryptoKitties reached the milestone of 1 million bred kittens with a volume of 3.2 million transactions on its smart contracts. In November 2018, Dapper Labs, the developer of CryptoKitties spun out from Axiom Zen, raised an additional $15 million in a venture capital round led by Venrock.

The company doubled its valuation in this round. In 2018, CryptoKitties was used by the German museum ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe to present blockchain technology.

What are NFTs?

A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unit of data stored on a digital ledger, also known as a blockchain . Ethereum is one example of such a blockchain. It represents the uniqueness of a digital asset and is therefore not exchangeable or fungible.

The term implies that things like furniture, computers, and the like can be described. Due to their unique properties, they are not interchangeable. In contrast, ETH and the US dollar are fungible, as 1 ETH or 1 USD can be exchanged for 1 ETH or 1 USD.

A NFT can be linked to a digital or physical asset (e.g., a file or a physical object) and a license to use that asset for a specific purpose. Trading of NFTs, along with the associated license to use, copy, or display the asset, takes place on digital marketplaces. The functionality of NFTs can be compared to that of cryptographic tokens.

What are gas fees?

The term "gas fee" simply refers to the transaction fee charged by the Ethereum blockchain, on which most NFTs are based. The gas price is set in ETH and is charged upon each transaction. The higher the blockchain's utilization, the higher the gas price.

The same applies to the Ethereum price ; a higher price means a correspondingly higher fee. Miners therefore prefer transactions with high gas prices, as these receive the fee as a reward. Unconfirmed transactions essentially compete with each other.

What can NFTs be used for?

NFTs are used to represent objects such as photos, videos, audio files, and other types of digital files. Because blockchain technology ensures a unique signature and ownership of NFTs, they are often used as digital art.

One example of this is the digital artwork “Everydays – The First 5000 Days” by artist Mike Winkelmann sold 69.3 million US dollars in 2021

Access is not restricted to the buyer and is therefore possible from outside. By tracking the NFTs on blockchains, the owner can be uniquely identified.

Creating and selling NFTs

To start your own NFT collection , you'll need a few things. First, you'll need a digital wallet to store your NFTs and cryptocurrencies. Since NFTs are purchased with cryptocurrencies, you should check which cryptocurrencies are accepted and buy them.

Reputable cryptocurrency exchanges include Kraken , Coinbase , and Bison . Next, you need to choose a marketplace for your NFT project. Most of these include features that allow you to connect your wallet.

Creating NFTs involves uploading your work to the trading platform in a suitable file format. The next step involves configuring the sales settings, such as auction or fixed-price sale with the option of royalties.

Royalties are a percentage you receive from each sale of your artwork. Once the specifications are complete, click “Create” and your artwork will be uploaded.

Joachim Rodriguez y Romero

Owner and Managing Director of Kunstplaza . Publicist, editor, and passionate blogger in the fields of art, design, and creativity since 2011. Graduated with a degree in web design from university (2008). Further developed creative techniques through courses in freehand drawing, expressive painting, and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market gained through years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with key players and institutions in the arts and culture sector.

www.kunstplaza.de