I am reserving a spot in our Guest Post Blog for a more formal introduction to NFT (Non-fungible Tokens). Same time I can not fight the temptation to write a few lines referring to mentioned above subject. But before I dive a bit into the NFTs idea I would like to reveal a bit of a personal introduction.
I have been always collecting something, I am a born collector you can say.In the beginning, it was rather a small hobby than collecting. My first serious collection exploded with Donald Bubble gum wrappers – collectable comics 1 (Donald Wrappers eBay).
Understandably, it may sound bonkers now, but many years ago small pictures were highly collectable, and even traded. They frequently changed owners with hand-to-hand trading between collectors. Some of the pictures were unique but the majority were multiple copies and common. Each time you bought a new Donald bubble gum, it was a moment of super excitement about what kind of picture is hidden inside the wrapping, the gum itself was fun but less important.
You can argue that the super unique Donalds were like non-fungible Ethereum ERC-721 standard of NFT tokens or ERC-1155 non-fungible ones. The more common, multiple wrappings with popular pictures were fungible ERC-1155 standard tokens or ERC-20 fungible tokens. Still in demand as collectables, but less in value.
Nowadays, you may even come across ERC-998 tokens. Which are composable and can be formed into a complex digital asset and sold as one digital body. It can also accommodate a mix of fungible and non-fungible tokens together in one collection creating an exclusive portfolio of assets 2 (Tarud, Koombea 2022)
We did not have in the 1980s blockchain technology and Web3-based markets, and could not mint or buy digital collectables, but we got the spirit to collect and trade on a hand-to-hand-based business model, or on our school or playground (analogue) exchange markets.
The collections were growing, changing hands, and sometimes building a small fortune for some lucky and passionate owners. Being Donald’s collector or Donald’s wrapping trader delivered prestige and a high level of genuine excitement.
You may compare it to today’s P-2-P crypto collectables exchanging or like OpenSee NTF marketplaces, where you can browse, create, buy, sell, or auction multiple NFT tokens. Almost like the old school Donald Bubble gum wrappers, but this time in the form of a digitally tokenised assets. The asset is based on a blockchain instead of being held in a traditional album or just in a pocket.
The analogy is obvious, and the difference is mainly in technicalities.
Collectors like me, and the next generation, are living in the era of Digital Assets, Web3, and Blockchain now. So, after some learning and familiarising ourselves with emerging technologies, we can enjoy collecting and/or rip rewards from trading NFT tokens.
Saying so, I soon as it was possible, I created and minted my first NFT BEP -721 standard Token on Refinable. Despite it being only an NFT 1.0 fancy but static jpg format, I am still proud of the minting fact. My digital art is sitting immutable for eternity on Binance Smart Chain (BSC) as a fact. I minted also two STAXX Invaders cos they look cool and make me happy.
The Token is a Token, and the utility, functions, purposes, and design may differ.
Generally, we talk about NFT Collectables, Digital Art NFTs, NFT Memes, NFT Blockchain Gaming, Metavers Parcels (Land), NFT Sports Memorabilia, Ethereum Name Service Domains (ENS), NFT Fashion, NFT Trash Art, Generative Art, Music, NFT Ticketing, Real World Assets, NFT Identity, NFT Tweets and Digital History tokens 3(The NFT Brief, 2022). By the time of writing the list is probably growing.
Recently more advanced NFT 2.0 came to live which combines multiple functionalities added to the token. Tokens combined with a smart contract (SC) may add value by enabling interactivity. It is all evolving on an almost a daily basis.The next generation of NFT 2.0 is no longer static and boring like the previous 1.0 “weird faces”. Multidimensional, Multifunctional, and Interactivity added to NFT digital body….., but this may be a topic for another conversation.
That is a very basic and informal introduction to the World of NFT collectables and tokens. I intend to break the ice and bridge the gap leading to a better understanding of blockchain. Blockchain and build on top of the Web3 non-fungible and fungible tokens. Whatever they look like, represent, or design for.
My goal in this short writing is to briefly introduce you to the facts of the existence of different types of NFT tokens. The native culture behind NFT tokens.You can freely move from here whatever you like and do your research (DYOR) about the subject. The more you learn and the more you know, the more you practice the more confident you may be. Also, always calculate the risk like the genuine collectors are. Maintaining the risk does apply as per traditional assets.
So, from Donald Bubble gum wrappers to ERC-721, ERC-998, and ERC-1115 standard NFT digital tokens.
You may ask the question, what next? ….. and that is a good question like the panellists said.
But to try to answer it, firstly learn and do some practice on Web3 and a blockchain.
Have fun and good luck from me 😊
References:
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Jonathan Tarud Updated Jan 3 et al. (2022) NFT standards explained, Koombea. Available at: https://www.koombea.com/blog/nft-standards/ (Accessed: March 11, 2023)
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Editor (2022) 15 types of nfts: An ultimate guide, The NFT Brief. Available at: https://thenftbrief.com/types-of-nfts/ (Accessed: March 11, 2023)
Originally published at https://spektrumlab.io on March 11, 2023.