What are NFTs, exactly? Non-fungible tokens explained

The smart contract of a non-fungible token immutably proves the identity of the recipient or owner and could be stored in a digital wallet for ease of access and representation. One day, our digital wallets could contain proof of every certificate, license, and asset, we own. Their potential, however, is much wider; possible applications include copyright and intellectual property rights, ticketing, and the sale and trading of video games, music and movies.

The Flower Girls NFT by Varvara Alay explores the artistic boundaries of non-fungible tokens and the artist uses money made from her art to fund children's art projects and support female artists. NFTs are also making waves as in-game purchases in video games (much to the delight of parents everywhere, we're sure). These assets can be bought and sold by players, and include playable assets like unique swords, skins or avatars. Critics would say yes, and there have been dodgy projects and schemes that have fallen apart and left buyers with nothing. But, many NFTs are fine and there are good artists creating in this space.

In a lot of regular games you can buy items for you to use in your game. But if that item was an NFT you could recoup your money by selling it on when you're done with the game. You might even make a profit if that item becomes more desirable.

For example, you can exchange a $1 bill for another $1 bill, and you'll still have $1 even though your new bill has a different serial number. NFTs have become increasingly popular and have sold for millions. They can come in the form of everything from memes to pet rocks. Many or all of the offers on this site are from companies from which Insider receives compensation .

An NFT ticket for an event can be traded on every Ethereum marketplace, for an entirely different NFT. Companies with digital items must build their own infrastructure. For example, you can use digital artwork as collateral in a decentralised loan. Even so, non-fungible tokens could be an important technological development. In a new digital era that blurs the lines between the physical and virtual worlds, a new way to track digital asset ownership and distribution online will be increasingly important. These blockchain-based tokens could also disrupt financial intermediaries and lower the cost of buying and selling big-ticket items such as autos and real estate.

Big money was accompanied by ever-bigger names, as artists and celebrities rode the wave of enthusiasm for NFTs. The game itself is a Pokémon-style affair that sees you collecting cute monsters called Axies, pitting them against each other in battles, and breeding them to create new Axies. The game's "play to earn" mechanic has seen players in countries like the Philippines making a living from breeding and trading Axies. However, the game itself has a steep learning curve, and with individual Axies trading for hundreds of dollars, assembling a team to get started isn't cheap.

In October 2015, the first NFT project, Etheria, was launched and demonstrated at DEVCON 1 in London, Ethereum's first developer conference, three months after the launch of the Ethereum blockchain. Most of Etheria's 457 purchasable and tradable hexagonal tiles went unsold for more than five years until March 13, 2021, when renewed interest in NFTs sparked a buying frenzy. Within 24 hours, all tiles of the current version and a prior version, each hardcoded to 1 ETH (US$0.43 at the time of launch), were sold for a total of US$1.4 million. Need to fill your video game, VR world, or project render with 3D chaff? Trained on 2D images, it can churn out customizable 3D objects ready to import and tweak.

Ultimately the items you grind for in-game can outlive the games themselves. Even if a game is no longer maintained, your items will always be under your control. This means in-game items become digital memorabilia and have a value outside of the game.

Some view non-fungible tokens as assets to collect and trade, they see them as investments. Others just love the art or the technology behind NFTs and like to experiment with how it can be used. More and more people are now seeing NFTs as a way to launch products, raise funding and give a voice to marginalised communities. Once you're clued up, you're ready to read the rest of our series of pieces on the world of NFTs. We have articles on the best NFT games and on the best NFT crypto for creatives. If you decide to venture into making NFTs of your own, see our guides to how to make and sell an NFT.

With NFTs, each token has unique properties and isn't worth the same amount as other similar tokens. A non-fungible token is a unique identifier that can cryptographically assign and prove ownership of digital goods. These unique NBA moments are minted and released into the marketplacevia “pack drops.”The most common sell for only nine dollars, but more exclusive packs can sell for much more. NFTs' unique data makes it easy to verify and validate their ownership and the transfer of tokens between owners. Block proposers add your NFT transaction to a block and broadcast it to the rest of the network.