NFT this, NFT that... nowadays everyone seems to be buzzing about all things NFT. 🐒 Whether you’ve been feeling a bit of FOMO, or perhaps you’ve been eyeing them for a while now, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s get into the basics of NFTs and why they have been all the rage recently!

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What is an NFT?

An NFT or a non-fungible token is a unique asset on the blockchain that can represent anything from drawings to videos, and can even be used to represent the ownership of a unique asset as a digital certificate representing a physical item.

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What did I just read?

In layman’s terms, an NFT is a contract that represents your ownership of something. Think of it like this: You can take a photo of a painting, but you don’t actually own it. Meanwhile, the owner of the painting can wait for its value to go up, then sell it at a higher price. 📈

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Can’t I just take a screenshot?

Some argue that they can simply screenshot NFTs, so what’s the point? Like real art its value lies in the original. Screenshots are also lacking many other things that the original has such as the piece’s history of ownership along with the descriptive data that puts the image into context. 📸 So you would be claiming to own a one-of-a-kind piece of art with no way of proving it.

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Minty Fresh Fun Fact:

The Philippines ranks top 1 out of 20 countries for NFT ownership and is considered one of the biggest global hotspot for NFTs in the world! 😎 When joining NFT project communities, no doubt you’ll run into a couple kababayans along the way!

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How do I get into NFTs?

Buying NFTs has been easier than ever, so let’s take a crack at it. Bear with us here you’re in for quite the ride. First, you would need the currency that you would be using to purchase the NFT. You would also have to choose the blockchain that you want to take part in.

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A Block What?

The term blockchain might also scare you because its name doesn’t quite give away what it is. Blockchain also isn’t a cryptocurrency or a programming language. Essentially, a blockchain is a ledger; with groups of transactions called “blocks” that link to each other providing a verifiable and immutable source of truth. This ledger is stored on every single participant in the network for everyone to verify. Before anyone gets to maliciously alter balances or proofs of payment, they would have to control a majority of the network!

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After that, you set up your wallet (check out: Metamask, Phantom, Kukai), check choose your market (check out: OpenSea, MagicEden, Objkt), and begin browsing. After finding one to your liking, make an offer for it, and with just the right luck you’ll be gleaming at your first NFT.

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Others take it to the next level and participate in events that get you access to a whitelist, allowing you to buy NFTs first after they release, but that’s a whole different story and a more complicated how-to.

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Then What?

Once you own an NFT, you can do whatever you want with it. Some choose to hold on to it until they increase in value, while others keep it because they are more of the art-appreciating type of enthusiast. People also opt to flip, where they sell or list their NFTs right after buying them to profit.

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NFTricky

While there are a lot of cool and exciting things about NFTs, there are a couple of things to look out for as well! 👀 Make sure to be careful when buying an NFT whether it be your first or 100th NFT because you could get scammed. Fake marketplaces, malicious websites, and sellers that try to sell you something that is nowhere close to the real deal. Look for the verified and the trustworthy, and you won’t regret it. ✅

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Don’t Be Shy

Joining and interacting with the various NFT communities is a great way to get yourself accustomed to this new environment, and who knows, you might make a few connections that could help you down the road! 🙋🏻‍♂️ People have made partnerships that have blossomed into friendships, and people are able to share their own stories in the NFT world. So don’t be shy to wade in these waters.

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...But aren’t they bad for the environment?

Perhaps one of the biggest controversies that surround NFTs is the impact it has on the environment. While, blockchains are known for being energy intensive, how much of that can NFTs be blamed for?

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Why does blockchain consume so much energy?

The energy that blockchain consumers comes from a consensus mechanism called Proof of Work used by miners in order to validate transactions within the network. This becomes competitive, and miners use more powerful equipment that draws more energy in order to compete for the generation of a blockchains native cryptocurrency.

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Does this mean that every NFT transaction consumes energy?

No. Minting (creating a digital version of an artwork and uploading it to a platform), purchasing, and trading NFTs does not increase the energy and carbon emissions that blockchains already use.

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A few key concepts to remember is that blockchains have a linear energy consumption, and that every interaction within the network is a transaction. Because blockchains run constantly whether or not transactions are being made at any given time, these transactions actually don’t increase, nor affect the energy being used by the network.

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Think of it this way: Blockchain is a bus that runs at the same speed, and uses the same amount of energy all day. The seats would be the amount of transactions that run in the network. Whether the bus is full, half-occupied, or completely free from passengers, in this case, transactions; the bust would still be using the same amount of gas and energy, regardless of how many seats are filled.

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Even if every person in the NFT community stops interacting with the network for a whole day, carbon emissions of the network would still essentially stay the same.

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+1!

A +1 for all the environment advocates out there is that blockchains are actively being developed to be more eco-friendly by slowly switching from using Proof of Work to Proof of Stake! 🚀 This calls for less expensive operations, low energy consumption, and faster transaction speed. Aside from this, there are already existing cryptocurrencies that follow the eco-friendly train such as Cardano, Nano, BitGreen, and IOTA that are worth checking out.

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Final Verdict: Should I Invest in NFTs?

Investing in NFTs has its pros and cons so it’s really up to your own discretion if you want to take part in this lucrative new trend. Perhaps if you’re interested in supporting the artists or looking for a high-risk high-reward way to make a profit, then they might just be right for you!

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