On March 11, 2021, the digital world took a brand new path. Mike Winkelmann, better known as Beeple, a digital artist, has sold his The first 5000 days for $69 million worth in NFT. His work was sold in Christie’s auction house and it is the first digital work to have cost this much. This has put him in the third place of the most profitable living artists, being behind Jeff Koons and David Hockney.
But first, what is an NFT?
NFT stands for non-fungible token. That means that NFT is unique and cannot be replaced by something else. In other words, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are fungible; you can trade one for another one and the value stays the same. But NFT is a distinctive currency that carries proof of ownership and authenticity.
How is NFT changing the digital world?
NFT has opened up a door to a new digital world. Anything that can be translated or made into a digital form can be sold at NFT markets. But the latest fuss has been around digital art. In the past months, digital art collectors have spent more than $200 million on NFT-based digital artworks. This is a huge step up considering that digital art can be easily duplicated and the artists were not making much money if any.
Having this in mind, the NFT craze has been described as the byproduct of living in quarantine without having much to do, and the tides will turn once the world goes back into its ‘normal’ routine. But on the other hand, it has changed the way we perceive the digital world, and art of any form – books, music, films, paintings. For many years, digital artists have been getting only likes and shares on platforms, such as Instagram, ArtStation, Behance, and Facebook, but now, their creative process and labor will be recognized.
Also, what makes us think that NFTs are here to stay, is the fact that there could never be a dispute about the ownership of any piece as it is backed up by blockchain technology.
So if you are looking to spend thousands or millions on art, while you are not able to do so in real life, there are many NFT markets that will satisfy your needs.
