What Are NFTs, How Can You Create Them, And How Are Artists Earning Cryptocurrency From Them?

NFT or Non-Fungible Tokens are cryptocurrency assets that represent a wide range of unique items, both physical and virtual like real estate or digital art. NFTs are unique - like a real artwork, an NFT uses the blockchain to identify its authenticity, so you can tell the difference between an original or a replica. They are essentially a blockchain entry and provide an opportunity for collectors to have a digital collection where each item can be traced to its original issuer. CryptoPunks and CryptoKitties are the two most popular NFTs.

NFTs provide a certificate of ownership of a digital object for the buyer, which also protects its value for future transactions. A report by Coindesk states artists can sell their art digitally to a global audience that not only allows them to get a greater cut of the profit but programme royalties as well. Gamers can also become owners of in-game items and even earn money from them. It adds that a majority of NFT tokens were built using two Ethereum token standards - ERC-721 and ERC-1155.

Elon Musk's partner Grimes recently sold digital art as NFTs, earning $6 million (roughly Rs. 43.76 crores) selling images and short videos, which has brought a lot of attention to the market.

You can now list your collection for sale on OpenSea but keep in mind, first time sellers will need to pay a gas fee – Ethereum blockchain transaction cost – before listing anything.

OpenSea is one of the most well known NFT marketplaces today, but other big ones include Rarible and SuperRare, and present an opportunity for artists to find a new audience, and earn some money from the cryptocurrency market.

Is Samsung Galaxy S21+ the perfect flagship for most Indians? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.