Glossary

NFT: Non-Fungible Token

What are NFTs?

The non-fungible token is referred to as NFT. These digital assets are based on blockchain technology. Like other cryptographic assets, they cannot be traded or exchanged on an equal basis. Physical money and cryptocurrencies, in contrast, can be traded or exchanged for one another because they are fungible. A digital signature on each NFT makes it distinct from the others. Photographs, videos, audio files, and other digital formats are examples of NFTs, which are digital assets. Illustrations, graphic novels, sports memorabilia, trading cards, games, and other items are examples of NFT.

Understanding the meaning of NFTs

The ERC-721 standard gave rise to NFTs. ERC-721 specifies the minimal interface ownership information, security, and metadata needed for the exchange and distribution of gaming tokens. It was created by some of the same individuals who created the ERC-20 smart contract. By lowering the transaction and storage costs necessary for NFTs and batching various non-fungible token types into a single contract, the ERC-1155 standard expands on the idea.

ERC -721

ERC-721 was released in 2017. It is a ground-breaking token standard that gave rise to the NFT phenomenon and established a foundation for NFT production within the Ethereum ecosystem. For NFTs worth billions of dollars, the ERC-721 token standard has served as the cornerstone. A standard interface for NFTs is provided by the token standard.

ERC-1155

ERC-1155 is a multi-token standard that was released in 2018. It offers a common interface for smart contracts managing various token types. ERC-1155 was initially designed with the goal of addressing the difficulties faced by game developers in the blockchain-based gaming industry. ERC-1155 enhances ERC-721’s functionality by boosting its effectiveness and fixing glaring implementation flaws.

How do NFTs work?

Non-fungible tokens, also known as NFTs, are digital assets that are stored on a blockchain, which is a distributed public ledger used to record transactions. Each NFT is distinguished from the others by having distinctive identification codes. Transferring tokens between owners and confirming ownership are made simple by this data.

Similar to physical assets, NFTs have a market-determined value that can be bought and sold. This value is determined by supply and demand. NFTs are digital representations of assets, and they can also represent things that exist in the real world, like art and real estate. Some users believe that by tokenizing tangible real-world assets in this way, the buying, selling, and trading of those assets will be more efficient, and there may even be less chance of fraud.

How to buy NFTs? 

NFT-trading

The NFT market is regarded as high risk, and even seasoned investors may choose to avoid it due to its erratic highs and lows. If users are considering purchasing NFTs, it’s critical that they comprehend the procedure completely. Let’s examine the procedures:

  • Open a crypto exchange account

The initial step is to create an account on a cryptocurrency platform or exchange. A cryptocurrency exchange is a website where you can buy and sell various kinds of cryptocurrencies.

  • Create a crypto wallet.

The keys that allow access to your digital assets are kept in a crypto wallet. To access their wallet, users are given a special seed phrase, also known as a recovery phrase. Users must safeguard their seed phrase in order to maintain access to their wallets.

  • Transfer Ethereum into a crypto wallet

After choosing an NFT exchange and purchasing ETH, users must transfer it to a wallet. This procedure will change based on the exchange users use to purchase ETH, the wallet they use, and the marketplace they intend to use to trade NFTs.

  • Buy NFTs

After connecting and funding their wallets, users can begin purchasing NFTs. Users acquire ownership of an NFT when they purchase one, making it their property. The NFT holder, however, has no additional rights to the work.

What exactly is an NFT market?

Although the NFT market landscape is changing, most NFT marketplaces typically fall into one of these three categories:

  • Open marketplace

Anyone is able to buy, sell, or mint NFTs. The act of uniquely publishing your token on the blockchain in order to make it tradeable is referred to as minting. Although creators can also mint their own works, open marketplaces typically mint NFTs for users.

  • Closed marketplace

The market typically handles the minting processes, and artists must apply to join. Trading and selling are more constrained.

  • Proprietary marketplace

A marketplace where NFTs are offered for sale that the platform’s owner has either trademarked or otherwise protected.

Examples of NFT Marketplaces

Numerous NFT marketplaces exist. Examples comprise

  • OpenSea

NFTs are available on OpenSea, one of the biggest NFT marketplaces, in a variety of categories, including art, music, fashion, sports, games, and collectibles. The website also provides users with a variety of educational resources.

  • Nifty Gateway

Famous multi- and mixed-media, video, fine art, and animation artists have collections available at Nifty Gateway. The website is designed for customers who want to buy or trade works of art with long-term value.

  • Rarible

An Ethereum-based system that makes it easier to create, exchange, and buy the ownership rights to digital works of art.

  • NBA Top Shot

An NFT marketplace where basketball video clips can be traded by sports fans. There is a sizable fan base for NBA Top Shot, and challenges and competitions add a social element.

Examples of NFTs

Collectibles are the most well-known forms of NFT art. A group of distinctive, randomly created characters makes up an NFT collectible. Each collectible can only be owned by one person at a time, and blockchain technology is used to verify its authenticity. No two collectibles are alike.

  1. NFT artwork
  2. NFT Communities
  3. Virtual Event Tickets
  4. Music, Videos, and Other Media
  5. Video Game Items

Why are NFTs important?

There is no doubt that NFTs are becoming more and more well-liked as a means of making investments. An NFT offers a way to store cryptocurrency (more specifically, Ethereum) as a digital asset. An NFT has investment potential in that its value may rise more quickly and significantly than an equivalent holding in cryptocurrency, similar to how money is used to purchase physical property (like real estate).

NFTs can also be used to represent more complex financial products that can be traded on secondary markets, such as insurance, bonds, or options. This is similar to how you might use your house as collateral when applying for a loan from a bank.

 NFTs in the Real and Virtual World

By dividing up tangible assets like real estate, NFTs can further democratize investing. In comparison to physical real estate, it is much simpler to divide a digital real estate asset among several owners. The tokenization ethic need not be limited to real estate; it can apply to other assets as well, such as works of art. Consequently, a painting does not always need to have a single owner. Multiple people could be in charge of different portions of its digital equivalent, which could have multiple owners. Its value and revenue might rise as a result of such agreements.

This idea has already been put into practice by Decentraland, a virtual reality platform running on the Ethereum blockchain. It might be possible to implement the idea of tokenized parcels of land (varying in value and location) in the real world as NFTs advance and integrate into the financial infrastructure.

What Is the Price to Sell an NFT?

After being listed, the NFT ought to have a special URL that investors can share with others. When a sale is made, sellers must pay a small fee to the NFT marketplace. For instance, Binance charges a 1% platform fee in addition to other fees, while OpenSea charges a flat 2.5% of the sale price.

However, you have the option to include a royalty fee when you create the NFT, which gives you a cut of each sale of your NFT. Creators can receive up to 10% off each sale.

Are NFTs Safe?

Non-fungible tokens, which operate on the same blockchain as cryptocurrencies, are typically secure. NFTs are challenging to hack due to the distributed nature of blockchains, though they are not impossible. If the platform hosting the NFT goes out of business, users could lose access to your non-fungible token, which poses a security risk for NFTs.

Definition of Non-Fungible

The interchangeability of some goods is referred to as fungibility. For instance, a barrel of crude oil is interchangeable with any other barrel of crude oil and is fungible. A dollar bill is equivalent to all other dollars. To make such items distinctive or distinguishable, they must be non-fungible. For instance, if a user had a dollar bill painted and signed by a well-known artist, it would stand out from other dollar bills and possibly be worth more than its face value.

Why invest In NFTs

NFTs are purchased by investors for a variety of reasons. While some people have a strong desire to own the underlying asset, others might find value in the asset being tokenized into an NFT. Others might buy NFTs to gain knowledge about blockchain technology.

Advantages of investing in NFTs

There are many reasons why investors would want to purchase tokenized assets in NFTs. The following are some benefits of investing in NFTs:

  • NFTs are open to all investors.

Everyone has access to making investments in tokenized assets. When assets are tokenized into an NFT, ownership can be transferred between individuals more effectively and easily from one place to another.

  • A blockchain protects NFT ownership.

An investor’s ownership of an asset can be made more secure by using blockchain technology to digitally represent ownership. The transparency of asset ownership can also be improved by blockchain technology.

  • Learn more about blockchain technology

By investing a small amount in tokenized assets, investors can diversify their portfolios and increase their understanding of blockchain technology.

Disadvantages of investing in NFTs

A lot of investors have good reasons to be hesitant about buying tokenized assets. The following are a few drawbacks of NFT investing:

  • Asset classes do not include NFTs.

NFTs are frequently and incorrectly thought of as a class of assets rather than a technological method of indicating ownership. The hype and general misinformation surrounding NFTs can lead to inflated and unstable tokenized asset values.

  • The production of NFT requires a lot of energy.

The Ethereum blockchain, which employs the energy-intensive operating protocol known as proof of work, currently supports the majority of NFTs. The amount of electricity used by one NFT transaction is equivalent to that used by the typical home for about two days.

  • Investors might have to own Ethereum (ETH).

Since the majority of NFT sales take place on the Ethereum network, having Ether (ETH) on hand is frequently required to buy an NFT. There may be few options available to investors who want to purchase NFTs using fiat currency like the dollar.

Most common NFT Scams

Scams involving NFTs are common. To be on the lookout for are, among others:

  1. Phishing scams: False links and pop-up ads on social media promoting new NFT projects and drops.
  2. Catfishing: Celebrity impersonators and fake marketplace websites, social media accounts, and accounts that promote NFT drops and collections.
  3. Counterfeit NFTs: Scammers who pass off someone else’s writing as their own.
  4. Pump-and-dump schemes: Scammers create a buzz around a non-financial transaction (NFT) to drive up the price, but they quickly cash out, leaving investors with worthless assets.
  5. Free mint scams: Scammers use high-pressure techniques to persuade participants to take part in a false mint. But instead of getting a fresh mint, the victim unintentionally gives up control of their wallet.

Difference Between NFT and Crypto (Bitcoin)

  • Fungibility

The main distinction between NFTs and crypto is that the latter is “fungible,” whereas the former is “non-fungible.”

  • Divisibility

Crypto tokens are easily split up into numerous smaller pieces. NFTs, on the other hand, cannot be divided. On a blockchain, each NFT is a unique token that tracks the ownership and authenticity of the asset.

  • Use Case

Payments, money transfers, and anonymous purchases can all be made using cryptocurrency tokens. The use of NFTs extends to virtual real estate, cosmetics, and digital goods.

  • Investment Cost

Purchasing cryptocurrency tokens is simple. Investors can trade tokens on a variety of cryptocurrency exchanges, both centralized and decentralized. Buying NFTs can be very expensive, unlike crypto. It cannot be traded freely because each piece is distinct and one of a kind. Additionally, prices frequently exceed tens of thousands of dollars.

How do store NFTs’ Assets?

  1. Step 1: Long-term offline storage of digital assets
  2. Step 2: Using a 12–24 word recovery key, also known as a seed phrase, you can access your digital wallet. Make sure to never give it to anyone or enter it online.
  3. Step 3: Utilize all available data security measures, such as two-factor authentication and complicated passcodes.
  4. Step 4: Make sure you don’t give anyone access to your login information.
  5. Step 5: Ensure that you never save passwords and seed phrases on your computer. Make sure to always lock them away and store them on paper in a physical form.
  6. Step 6: Steer clear of dangerous or unknown websites
  7. Step 7: Another option is to conceal your internet protocol using a virtual private network.

Methods for storing NFTs Assets

  • Software Wallets

Online software wallets are a quick and easy way for non-technical users and beginners to store NFTs. These wallets are the most widely used by regular people, and the user interface is relatively friendly. MetaMask is one of the most well-known software wallets that offers fundamental security for your non-fungible tokens.

  • Interplanetary Filing System

Users can store their non-fungible tokens off-chain using the peer-to-peer hypermedia protocol known as the Interplanetary Filing System. The global dissemination of information has changed.

  • Hardware Wallet

For storing non-fungible tokens, the most popular and secure option is a cold, offline, or hardware wallet. It signifies that a physical hardware wallet that is not online is where the private keys required to access a non-fungible token’s ownership are stored. It lessens wallet gadgets’ susceptibility.

How to gift an NFT to someone

If the user doesn’t already own an NFT collection to give, they must purchase one. This necessitates the purchase of a few essential items in advance for non-cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Users may need to buy some of the virtual currency Ethereum before placing a bid since the majority of NFT marketplaces only accept it. In addition, users require a digital wallet to keep both their NFTs and the cryptocurrency they used to buy them.

There are a number of NFT marketplaces available online, and they all operate somewhat differently, including how they trade different assets. Some businesses sell little of everything, while others focus on particular markets, like gaming or sports.

Users should create an account and begin purchasing once they have located a reliable marketplace and have acquired all necessary trading tools. NFT markets function in a similar way to eBay. Though some offer “buy now” options where NFTs are sold for a fixed price, most auctions are competitive bidding affairs.

Once a user has made a purchase, the next step is to transfer the NFT to the recipient. This option is now available on many NFT marketplaces, and it can typically be used by simply clicking a few buttons. Users typically need to choose the item they wish to gift, select the option to transfer it, and then enter the wallet address of the recipient.

What are NFT derivatives?

NFT derivatives are NFT projects developed using intellectual property and creative resources from already-existing projects. Derivative art NFTs frequently have names that honor the original collections in addition to sharing a similar visual aesthetic with the original NFTs.

Derivatives now primarily target well-known NFT collections like Bore Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, and Creature World. Some derivatives are issued by other parties involved in derivatives projects in addition to the officially issued NFT derivatives.

What is NFT Rarity and How Does it Work?

An NFT’s value can be affected by its rarity, for example. In a collection, an NFT’s rarity describes how common it is. NFT prices typically increase with rarity. Knowing that a newly minted NFT has a set of distinctive characteristics, known as traits, that cannot be altered is crucial to comprehending how NFT rarity functions. NFTs can have traits in common, but in a randomized collection, no two NFTs are ever the same.

Rarer features on NFTs have a higher chance of commanding a higher price on the open market than more widespread features. The rarity of NFTs tends to increase more in value as a collection’s floor price rises.

How to Check the Rarity of an NFT?

By using specialized software or platforms that determine and rank NFTs based on their rarity, investors can obtain an NFT’s rarity ranking. These tools give users a more thorough understanding of a specific asset and can access blockchain explorers and other data sources to estimate an NFT’s rarity. Additionally, these tools consider each NFT’s ownership history, trading volume, and popularity.

Top 5 Rarity Tools To Check Your NFT Rarity Score

  1. Rarity.tools
  2. Rarity Sniper
  3. Rarity Sniffer
  4. MoonRank
  5. Icy.tools

What is NFT Real Estate?

In a virtual world that users can explore using their 3D avatars, NFT real estate is a programmable piece of land. Users can purchase NFTs in the metaverse to represent their exclusive ownership of specific land parcels. The project determines what you can do with the land. Users can build on land plots, go to events, take part in social activities, and more in Decentraland, for instance.

What Are Physical NFTs?

Physical NFTs are virtual tokens connected to physical assets. These assets, also known as phygital NFTs, combine the physical and digital worlds and can be used to establish ownership over items such as works of art, clothing, real estate deeds, tickets, and more.

What Are CryptoPunks?

The CryptoPunks is a non-fungible token (NFT) image with a 2424-pixel, 8-bit style unique avatar. On the NFT market, they are regarded as works of art and a novel form of asset tokenization that can fetch millions of dollars at times.

These 10,000 images are pixelated, and punky-looking, and include both male and female characters as well as images that resemble zombies, apes, and aliens. Each punk is unique and is sold by individual owners as well as at prestigious auction houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s, occasionally for very high prices.

How Do You Buy CryptoPunk?

If you can afford their prices, purchasing a CryptoPunk is simple. These are the actions:

Step 1: To be able to purchase one, you must first convert your cash into ETH and send it to your online wallet.

Step 2: The user’s ether is then transferred to their blockchain wallet. Blockchain wallets include MetaMask, which CryptoPunk supports.

Step 3: Purchase a CryptoPunk from Coinbase or an owner now that has ETH.

Step 4: Make a bid for the punk you like best. On Twitter, users can discover those that are for sale. Check out @thecryptopunks, @thecryptopunksntfs, and @cryptoslamios as some of the Twitter handles to follow.

What Is a Fractional NFT?

An entire NFT that has been divided up into smaller pieces is called a fractional NFT (F-NFT), which enables multiple people to claim ownership of various pieces of the same NFT. Using a smart contract set up to produce a predetermined number of tokens linked to the original, indivisible NFT, NFTs are fractionalized. These fractional tokens represent a portion of each NFT holder’s ownership. On exchanges supported by NFT, the tokens can be traded or exchanged.

What are Music NFTs?

Users may interpret music NFTs as certificates of ownership for identifying the owners of a piece of musical work based on the definition of NFTs. Although they retain the right to edit the music’s content, artists are free to sell NFT to anyone. Additionally, the musician would have total control over how the customer used the song.

Additionally, NFTs imply that customers may own a variety of music NFTs with multiple copies that feature ownership and control rights from various parties. Only the owners will be granted access to the rights to the music, videos, album artwork, and other exclusive content thanks to the storage of NFTs on a blockchain. Therefore, music NFT projects can not only make sure that followers have the chance to enjoy special benefits while listening to music. Without any middlemen, artists could benefit from direct communication with their fans and revenue generation.

How can the music industry benefit from music NFTs?

  1. Build a loyal and engaged community
  2. Set up royalties on the secondary sales of your music NFTs
  3. Transform your community into music NFT DAOs
  4. Link your music NFTs with exclusive merchandise
  5. Sell NFT tickets for your concerts & live shows

What is NFT Staking?

NFT staking is the process of securing NFTs on a platform or protocol in order to gain rewards and other benefits. This enables owners of NFTs to utilize their idle assets without having to sell them. Users only need a Web3 wallet to stake an NFT, just like they would with a cryptocurrency. Not all NFTs, however, can be staked. Before making a purchase of digital collectibles with the intention of staking them, make sure your preferred staking service accepts the collection.

What Is an NFT Whitelist?

An NFT Whitelist is a list of individuals who are given priority access to mint NFTs at a specific time and date. Buyers who are on such a list are able to avoid paying exorbitant secondary prices and significant transaction costs for well-known NFTs. NFTs “drop” or launch on a particular, predetermined day. Users will have a limited amount of time to purchase a newly created token before it becomes available to outside buyers if they have been whitelisted for that NFT.

How Does an NFT Whitelist Work?

An NFT whitelist functions by compiling crypto addresses or digital wallets, and then granting those addresses early access to recently created NFTs. Since there are numerous NFT projects on the Ethereum blockchain, your ETH address will ultimately appear on the list.

Getting users’ addresses approved for whitelisting is the first step for a potential buyer. The majority of projects want their NFTs to be accessible to true fans and early backers. They seek to stay away from amateur investors and, in particular, spam accounts. The project will evaluate each user’s account during the approval stage and determine whether it should be added to the whitelist.

Users will be given a date and time for minting new tokens once their accounts have been added to the NFT whitelist. Each project has a different time slot length, but many whitelists offer a two-day window. Users only need to wait for the scheduled date to arrive because they are already on the list. Users will be able to access your account at the designated time and mint an NFT as promised.

What is an NFT Ticket? 

NFT-Ticket

NFT tickets are digital possessions that store your event access credentials. To further enhance the fan experience, they can also provide ticket holders with extra benefits like meet-and-greets, exclusive merchandise, and more. NFT tickets can give artists, event organizers, and other stakeholders ongoing royalties in addition to improving the relationship with fans.

How NFT Ticketing Works

NFT tickets are unique tokens that are kept on a particular blockchain, just like other NFTs, and can be moved from the issuer to the buyer’s wallet. The event’s organizers are free to print as many tickets as they require, including by employing batch printing protocols (which we’ll discuss in more detail later). These NFTs can be programmed to sell for a predetermined price, or they can be auctioned off using a custom platform or a current NFT marketplace like OpenSea. NFT tickets also give owners the option to resell their tickets on NFT marketplaces.

What is an NFT Avatar?

An NFT avatar is a digital image that is typically cartoonish and pixelated in design and is primarily used as the profile picture for web 2 and web 3 social media platforms. Users can buy them with any cryptocurrency in their digital wallet, including Ethereum or Binance.

These avatars are created using an algorithm, so each one is different in terms of design and may have different hairstyles, outfits, or accessories. They are very well-liked by blockchain enthusiasts who collect NFT avatars as digital assets and fashion symbols due to their uniqueness. Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Cryptopunks, CyberKongz, Cool Cats, and Doge are some of the most well-known NFT avatar projects to date.

What is NFT trading?

Every NFT is completely based on demand and has no fixed value. This implies that depending on whether someone else wants to purchase it, your gaming NFT could either be considered to be worthless or have value. The goal is to either acquire the most valuable NFT tokens or to purchase them cheaply with the intention of reselling them to others for profit. As a result, it is clear that NFTs are just digital assets that can be traded just like cryptocurrencies, stocks, or commodities.

How to start NFT trading

Almost anyone can start NFT trading because it is so simple to do. So, here is what you must do to begin your NFT trades:

  • Purchase a crypto wallet:

Users would keep the non-fungible tokens they acquire, purchase, or sell in a cryptocurrency wallet. Remember that since the majority of NFTs run on the Ethereum blockchain, it makes sense to get a cryptocurrency wallet that works with that platform, like Metamask.

  • Obtain NFTs:

The following users must procure some NFTs. Although there is an NFT marketplace where users can purchase these, it would probably be more fun to just earn them by playing NFT games.

  • Go to an NFT marketplace:

Users can then proceed to an NFT marketplace and create an account. This shouldn’t take long, after which users can create their profiles.

  • Start trading:

Finally, all that remains is for users to browse the NFTs they want to buy or list the NFTs they want to sell.

What are Soulbound tokens (SBTs)?

SBTs, also known as soulbound tokens, are digital identity tokens that represent a person’s or an entity’s traits, features, and accomplishments. It advances NFTs applications by utilizing blockchain technology. Soulbound tokens, which stand in for your identity, are thus non-transferable NFTs. They are connected to a blockchain network that stores a person’s or an entity’s unique identifying information, including personal data and histories like age, qualification, education, health records, and professional accomplishments.

How are Soulbound Tokens different from NFTs?

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and Soulbound Tokens (SBTs) only have minor differences.SBTs cannot be transferred, whereas NFTs can. SBTs are digital tokens that store non-transferable data about a specific entity, whereas NFTs are digital certificates that prove ownership. Since ownership can be sold and transferred to another individual within the ecosystem, NFTs have a monetary value. SBTs, on the other hand, have no monetary value. Instead, they are tools that make data management easier throughout the ecosystem and let users establish verifiable reputations with Web 3.0

 

 

 

Sunil is a serial entrepreneur and has been working in blockchain and cryptocurrency space for 2 years now. Previously he co-founded Govt. of India supported startup InThinks and is currently Chief Editor at Coingape and CEO at SquadX, a fintech startup. He has published more than 100 articles on cryptocurrency and blockchain and has assisted a number of ICO's in their success. He has co-designed blockchain development industrial training and has hosted many interviews in past. Follow him on Twitter at @sharmasunil8114 and reach out to him at sunil (at) coingape.com
The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.