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Making your Own Non Fungible Token (NFT)
Making your Own Non Fungible Token (NFT)
The term “fungible” is used to describe anything that is not unique in itself. A bank note, the stocks of a company, a candy in a gift box, and so on. You can exchange one for another without any change in value.
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Non-fungible items, on the other hand, are the exact opposite. They’re unique or rare and cannot be replaced with other similar items. Say, an antique pocket watch gifted to you by your grandfather. It’s completely unique and represents information or emotion that cannot be fully replaced with anything else. It’s non-fungible.
The same goes for art pieces such as Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci or Starry Nights by Vincent van Gogh. There can be copied versions of every art piece, but the original is only one. And it’s non-fungible. Take any of these items and represent them using unique crypto tokens on a blockchain and you’ll have non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. See more detailed information about NFTs at Bankrate.
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These NFTs are stored on a blockchain and they act as proof-of-ownership of any real or virtual asset. Furthermore, being based on the blockchain makes NFTs secure and immutable, preventing anyone from changing their data.
This ability of NFTs to represent the uniqueness of items in a provably secure manner is poised to benefit a wide range of industries. NFTs can be used in gaming to represent unique in-game items, buy and sell unique artwork, own copyrights to music albums, represent property rights, and do much more.
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​Will Anyone Pay for NFTs?
With all the digitization around, there’s no way we’re not already spending on intangible stuff. The intangibility of items doesn’t stop gamers from buying new skin and in-game items of their favorite games. It doesn’t stop music lovers or movie buffs from buying a subscription to Spotify or Netflix.
So, there’s no reason why intangibility should stop art collectors from buying authentic artwork of digital artists such as Beeple and Lushsux turned to NFTs.
Art collectors are bound to pour their money where they find the work of the best artists. Even Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, put up his first tweet for sale as an NFT. Dorsey’s tweet that reads “just setting up my twttr” has summoned bids of two million dollars and above.
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But you may ask, why really pay heed to NFTs when the art they represent could be easily copied and pegged to a new NFT, or that the artworks as NFTs are extremely overpriced. And above all, why would anyone pay for intangible artwork?
Sure they can be copied and pegged to a new NFT… the same way copies of Louis Vuitton bags and Nike shoes are made in China and sold all over the world. But that doesn’t reduce the value of the original product. Besides, by virtue of blockchain tech, no two NFTs will ever represent the same information, and you can always identify the original one from the copied version by checking the timestamp of the two NFTs. Recently, Barbadian singer Shontelle recently deployed her own NFT which sold for USD70,000.00.
Should I Create NFTs?
You surely have your doubts whether or not NFTs are really worth a shot. But think about the traditional art world for a moment. You see art galleries, people paying hundreds of thousands or millions for artwork… and then you’re struck by reality. Only a countable few are able to earn consistent income out of it given the right circumstances. Even then, they have to share their income with multiple parties involved in the sale.
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The world of NFTs is very different. In it, you, the artist, control all strings of your artwork. NFT marketplaces are global marketplaces and they expose your artwork to the entire world. You don’t need to contact a gallery or an agency to sell your work. You don’t have to share your revenue with middlemen. In fact, NFT marketplaces keep you in the loop of your artwork’s sale all the time. Every time your artwork’s NFT is traded, you can get a fair commission from it. Also, you can, at any time, also prove the authenticity of your work and that at any given time only one person will be the true owner of your artwork.
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All in all, the whole NFT artwork ecosystem creates a more democratic landscape for everyone to buy and sell artwork. If you don't want to create your own NFT you can also purchase them in the traditional way utilising a credit card.
How to Create your NFT
Contrary to what you may assume, creating your NFTs takes little to no technical knowledge. There are many NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea, Rarible or Mintable where you can create NFTs for your artwork in a matter of minutes. However, before you start imagining how rich you are going to be after selling your NFTs take a look at 8 Pros and Cons of NFTs.
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To start creating your NFT, you will first need to connect your crypto wallet to an NFT marketplace of your choice. The wallet address will be your login info, so you will never need to share any other details. Once done, you can go to the “Create” section on the marketplace, upload your artwork and finalize the process by clicking the right buttons.
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That’s it! Before your spouse calls you again for dinner or the baby starts crying or your dog misses you, you will have your NFT artwork ready to sell.
How to Store and Secure your NFTs
The proof-of-ownership of your artwork stored in an NFT is inherently secure and immutable. But the token itself is only as safe against theft as a private lockbox with a million dollars placed on a table in the waiting hall of a train station. That’s why you need to ensure the safety of the token that safeguards your artwork’s authenticity.
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So, how do you store your NFTs safely? Hardware wallets, These are the best!
Hardware wallets such as the Ledger Nano S are flash drive-like devices that allow you to store your fungible and non-fungible crypto tokens with full security. Apart from supporting NFTs on Ethereum, Ledger wallets now also support Cardano native tokens.
With a Ledger Nano wallet, you get complete control over your NFTs as only you — the person who knows the private key and recovery phrase — can access them. It stores your token away from the internet not allowing any Crypto Pirate to lay eyes on your beloved NFTs.
