Have you ever wanted to own a piece of art? You could go to an art exhibit and purchase an item from there, and you could commission an artist to create something for you, or you could buy a token. If you asked someone a few years ago how you could buy an art piece as a token, they would probably have no idea what you were talking about. In this article we will talk about NFT and potential risks.
Today, almost everyone has heard of non-fungible tokens (NFT-s), even though many people do not understand what is going on with them. You could say they sound like more modern (and abstract) versions of stocks or cryptocurrency or even the general process of commissioning a digital artist over the internet. Still, things do not seem to be as simple as that.
As mentioned just before, since the rise of the internet, people have been commissioning artists online to make art for them. They would pay for it too, but unless they were planning to use it for their job or something like that, there would not be too much worry about the ownership of the art. There might happen an agreement regarding the copyrights, but that was about it. However, with NFTs, things have been a bit different.
Buying an NFT art token
When you buy a non-fungible art token, it means that you own the unique and original version of the art piece in question. While that same art piece might be available to view and be downloaded online for free, you would be considered the owner. Like if you somehow managed to buy Mona Lisa.
Other people would still have copies and prints, but you would have the original. Except not really. When it comes to NFTs, the more accurate comparison might be that you owned the original; you had a paper that says that you own it, even though it would still be hanging in Louvre. It might seem like there is no point in buying it then, but that is when human nature comes into play.
There are multiple reasons why people might be buying NFTs. Some people might want to support an artist that created the art piece. Others might be collectors, wanting to have something unique and different. Others might be joining the NFT craze, hoping that they might sell it later and earn more money if they buy something now.
Additionally, people might be realizing that the digital, online type of art is as valuable as the traditional, physical art is. Therefore they might be willing to pay more for it and pay for the ‘original.’ Whatever the reason is, the fact stands that NFTs are becoming a huge deal right now.
Many artists have joined selling their art as NFTs because they feel like they are finally paid appropriately paid their time, effort, and skills. In the era of social media, many artists make accounts that they post their art for free, in hopes of becoming popular enough that they can earn some money from their art, either through commissions, something like Patreon, or maybe even getting some ‘real life’ art job. NFTs give them the possibility to earn money even on the art pieces they had posted before and publicly available. Some artists even refuse to sell the NFTs of the art they have gotten particularly attached to, as they feel like it would be selling a part of themselves.
You could say that buying an NFT is similar to purchasing a star. You go to a site, spend some money, and now… you own a star? That’s about it. Who knows, one faraway day, your descendants might have an opportunity to visit their new property (although, in that case, it might be better to buy a planet), but, right now, all you can do is look at the sky and be like ‘Hey, I own a tiny little part of that.’ This is quite a cute thought. But not the one for everyone. Neither are NFTs, though. They are currently extremely popular, but are they going to keep going strong, or will they be forgotten in a few short years? Only the time will show.
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