The hype around blockchain technology has been growing since 2017. However, the market is still nascent, and there are many questions about how it will affect the future of the industry. In 2018, we saw some high-profile projects fail due to poor marketing and lack of interest. Some of those failures include Filecoin, 0x, Golem, Augur, and others. But while the hype machine continues to spin, there are real companies building products based on blockchain technology. One of the most interesting projects out there is called Bored Ape. Founded in 2016, Bored Ape is creating a marketplace where artists can sell unique pieces of digital art. These pieces are known as “NFTs,” short for “nonfungible tokens.” Unlike traditional collectibles like baseball cards, comic books, or stamps, NFTs cannot be duplicated. This makes each piece unique, and very rare. As the project matures, it is expected to become a destination site for both collectors and artists.
In terms of the value of NFTs, there are three major categories. First, there are pieces of art that are being used as part of a gallery. Second, some pieces are being used as a display item in someone’s
The death of the physical object known as the “NFT,” or “nonfungible token,” continues to be greatly exaggerated. Sure, fewer NFTs are being created and traded on secondary markets like EtherDelta, but that doesn’t mean we’re about to see the end of the world. It might be worse than you think.
In the past few months, the price of NFTs has skyrocketed as the hype around blockchain technology grows. But while the market is booming, many of the most expensive pieces of art are pretty boring.
For example, here are examples of NFTs that went for over $100,000 during 2018:
- Bored Ape #5688 – $110,000
- Bored A Pe #4587 – $107,500
- Bored APe #6555 – $106,250
- Bored APE #6658 – $105,000
So….. Is NFT Dead?
Yes and no.
Yes. As we know them today, NFTs (nonfungible tokens) are dead. Prices were inflated way beyond their real worth. Unfortunately, the use case was limited to “creating fun profiles for social media sites.” We’re not saying there is anything inherently wrong with that. However, if you’re paying $500,000 for something like this…
Then we have a big fat scam waiting to happen. Of course, this hype attracts all sorts of scammers and rug-pulling con artists. For example, in October 2019, the developer of “Evolved apes NFTs” stole $2.7 million worth of ether (ETH) from his community. Sadly, such horror stories have become all too commonplace. This combination of overinflated prices and shady practices has eroded much of the shine off this market.
Gaming seems to be the perfect application for nonfungible tokens (NFTs), and everyone knows the gaming industry, whether it’s the PC or the console market, is a growing market, but this is more geared toward the Web 3 gamer and not traditional gaming so much.
EA has called NFTs an important aspect of “the future of our gaming business.” However, in an investor call earlier this month, EA CEO Andrew Wilson compared NFTs to previous gaming trends, such as 3D and augmented reality (AR). He described NFTs as “not something [we] drive[d] hard on,” likening them to past gaming trends such as 3D and AR.
Conclusion
NFTs are here to stay. They are one of the most exciting trends in blockchain technology today. This article looks at how NFTs work, what problems they solve, and how they could potentially change our lives. We take a look at some of the challenges facing the industry, and conclude with thoughts about where we might go next.
