What are NFTs and Why You Should Buy One?

 

Chances are that you have heard the word ‘NFT’ on a birthday or at the coffee machine at work. Last year there was a hype around these digital objects. Images, videos, songs, and even the first tweet were sold for bizarre amounts.

But what exactly are these NFTs? And how can you possibly earn money with it yourself or do you need an NFT marketing agency to help you out?

Everything you want to know about NFTs

In this article, we’ll discuss everything you want (and need) to know about NFTs. From why someone would put down 69.3 million dollars for a JPG collage to how you can possibly get started with it yourself. And moreover: buying and selling NFTs is not without dangers.

What is an NFT?

Tech expert Jarno Duursma explains that a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is a digital certificate of ownership. “You can link this certificate to a digital object, such as an image, and then register it in a public database, the blockchain,” he explains. “Then you store the NFT in your own digital crypto wallet, of which only you have the digital key.”

According to him, you can compare the principle with a glass safe, where your certificate of ownership lies. “Everyone can see through the glass (the blockchain) that you are the owner,” he says. “You are also the only one with the key and you can resell it.”

 

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Why are some so valuable?

Even though you have that certificate of ownership, that doesn’t mean that others can’t find the image on the internet. Many people find that strange about the NFT trend: why are millions being deposited for images that you can also just download from the internet?

“The answer to that is twofold,” says Duursma. “NFTs are worth something because we have all determined that it is worth something. Value is actually a social construct. A Picasso actually only consists of paint and canvas, but we have all decided that it is worth a fortune. A note of ten is also just a piece of paper and a little ink.”

The NFT can sometimes also have extra features that make it more valuable. “An NFT is sometimes more than you initially think,” he explains. “As a creator, you can also program an NFT in such a way that your NFT gives the buyer access to a special portal of your website, or a special video channel. This way you create an interesting form of memberships or smart customer loyalty.”

NFTs are often laughed at. “But actually, what we do in the physical world now translates to the digital world,” he continues his story. “You spend more on a Patagonia sweater than on a sweater from the H&M. You pay for the brand and thus to show that you belong to a group.”

According to the tech expert, that’s not the only reason NFTs are so booming these days. It’s really just an expression of our human motivations. Not only belonging but also Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), greed, materialism and status play a role. “But also our identity: we buy something because we like it or because something appeals to us.”

Buying an NFT

Well, we now know why NFTs sometimes yield thousands or even millions of euros. How can you take advantage of this yourself? There are two ways you can make money with NFTs: by making and selling an NFT yourself or by purchasing an existing NFT in the hope that you can resell it later for more money.

According to Duursma, making NFTs is mainly interesting for the creatives, whether you are an artist or a vlogger. The average person will look at the second way: buying existing NFTs in hopes of selling them again for more money.

With the emphasis on ‘hope’, although there are plenty of success stories on the internet, there are just as many NFTs that do not yield anything at all. In fact, the largest marketplace OpenSea is even taking measures because more than 80 percent of the NFTs that were made with their free NFT tool turn out to be fraud, fake art, or plagiarism.

How do you find out which ones are going to make your money and which ones are not? By doing good research and investing a lot of time in it. “On OpenSea, for example, you can see all kinds of statistics,” says Duursma. “Which NFTs are rising in price, which are falling, and how much is being traded. In addition, you can keep an eye on Twitter and Discord what is talked about a lot. Buy the rumor, sell the news, they call it. Buy when there are rumors and sell when the NFTs are in the news.”