What are NFTs?
September 14, 2022
NFT, Non-Fungible Tokens, are a unique type of cryptocurrency bought and sold by approximately 60,000 people monthly across the internet, with prices ranging from the low 100s to millions of dollars, depending on the current cryptocurrency market, utility, and valuation.
On May 3, 2014, Kevin McCoy created the first NFT. It was a short video of his wife. At first, the NFT business was small, but it grew over time to the multi-billion market it is today. NFTs allow people to support artists they like. When an NFT is purchased, the owner gains fundamental usage rights, so they can do things such as setting it as their profile picture or posting the image on social media.
Mr. Conrad Bridges, CEO of Personality Pups, plans to release some NFTs for his company. He explains NFTs like this, “Think of an NFT as a digital version of a baseball trading card. Suppose you have someone coming into Major League Baseball as a rookie. They usually print up these trading cards, baseball cards for them, and as their career goes on, and they’re very good, they become an all-star. That baseball card becomes valuable over time, so think of NFTs like a digital baseball card.” The difference between NFTs and baseball cards is that baseball cards are traded and sold for money; however, NFTs are bought and sold with cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is an encrypted data string that represents money. It’s a lot like the stock market. Generally, people purchase cryptocurrency when the market is low and sell it when the market is high. The most commonly used cryptocurrencies are Etherium and Bitcoin.
Three attributes make NFTs valuable. “The first thing that makes NFTs valuable is cryptocurrency itself. If the cryptocurrency market is high, the NFT value will go up. If the cryptocurrency market is low, the NFT value will go down.” Mr. Bridges stated. The utility of an NFT is the second attribute that can affect its price. An example of utility is when someone creates an NFT, and someone else purchases its usage rights. They can then put the NFT on a video game. As that game makes money, the NFT creator will make money too. Valuation is the third attribute that can change and affect an NFT’s value. Valuation is when the NFT’s value rises due to the company it originally belonged to. The value of Mr. Bridge’s NFTs for his company will increase as his company grows and generates revenue.
Previous owners can also make NFTs more valuable. For example, NBA player Stephen Curry purchased an NFT for about 180,000 US dollars. He set that NFT as his profile picture on Twitter. Because he owned that NFT if he tries to sell it, it will be worth much more. This example shows how utility and valuation work hand in hand.
Though he could never have guessed that a brief video of his wife would start something so big, Kevin McCoy built the foundation for a market that will grow and prosper for many generations.
Gabe H • Mar 7, 2023 at 11:16 am
The article, What are NFTs, showed me something that I didn’t expect/ know.
I never knew how NFTs were ever made, I just thought that they were made as a joke that turned into a big company. But reading “Kevin McCoy created the first NFT. It was a short video of his wife.” This taught me that it was just a small video of a guys wife that turned into a big crypto market.
Cameron Lee • Mar 1, 2023 at 11:17 am
The article, What Are NFTs, by Marlee R., helped me understand the basics of NFTs.
As before I had no real knowledge of NFTs or Non-Fungible Tokens, now I have at least a basis of what they are. As the author said in the very first paragraph, “NFT, Non-Fungible Tokens, are a unique type of cryptocurrency bought and sold by approximately 60,000 people monthly across the internet.” This was the one sentence that really helped me understand what NFTs were. They are just cryptocurrencies.
The second thing that I wanted to know was why people wanted these in the first place. The author explained they were like digital baseball cards, just people just want them just to have them, like paintings. These two things really helped set a basis for NFTs and saved me a lot of time in just looking it up. This article quickly explained to me what NFTs are and why people want them. Although, it didn’t explain why people just don’t screenshot NFTs instead of spending money. I would like some help explaining that.
Cameron Lee • Jan 13, 2023 at 11:34 am
The article, What Are NFTs? By Marlee Rafter is a brief summary of the history of NFTs, & an intricate explanation of how it works. This is really helpful for someone who knows nothing about it (me)
I have tried looking up information about NFTs & it basically says “NFTs are non-fungible tokens,” something that would always make me think, Ok….? This really helped, With the author putting a quote from Mr. Conrab Bridges (Second line of the second paragraph) “‘Suppose you have someone coming into Major League Baseball as a rookie,'” and once that player becomes the best player of all time, “‘That baseball card becomes valuable over time, so think of NFTs like a digital baseball card.'” That is exactly what I needed to hear, I only understood about 30% of what I thought I knew & you concisely explained it/ proved me wrong. Thank You.
Daniel Gaddis • Nov 8, 2022 at 12:24 pm
The article, What Are NFTs, By News Showcase Marlee R. Editor and Chief on the boothwarriortimes.com taught me new things I didn’t know.
I learned how The Warrior News or the author said, “If the cryptocurrency market is high, the NFT value will go up. If the cryptocurrency market is low, the NFT value will go down.” Was a quote that Marlee R. and I also excerpted from Mr. Bridges. The price of cryptocurrency could fall or rise and the price of NFT could fall or rise. The price of crypto currencies has dived and that has harmed the price of the cryptocurrency and hurt the price of the NFT. “Since their peak in 2021, NFT sales have dropped about 46%” stated Potente. Marlee R has explained in this article that the price of an NFT is related to the utility and cost of the cryptocurrency.
Leah S. • Nov 8, 2022 at 12:10 pm
The article ‘What are NFTs?’ by Marlee Rafter on boothwarriortimes.com was really fascinating.
I always just assumed that NFTs were released by big technology companies, but this article showed me that they can be released by small businesses too. I find this very interesting because most companies aren’t as advanced as others like Amazon or Apple.
It’s really amazing how just one short video could transform into a massive market in a matter of a few years. Many people have profited from NFTs, therefore helping our economy and benefiting our country, ultimately positively impacting all of us too. I do wonder why we can’t just use regular paper currency to purchase these digital artworks.