The Past, Present And Future of NFT — All in one Guide about NFT.
The Non-Fungible Token has been on the lips of many in this last quarter of 2021.
A lot of activities going on in the community, NFT minting, NFT flipping, artists are creating new NFTs, and many more.
What about you? Where do you stand with all these!
Are you feeling left out? Perhaps, you’re yet to understand what NFT is all about, or you don’t know where to start from?
This article is all you’ll need to get the whole package about NFTs…
Just like every other beginner. I didn’t know where to start, or the social to join.
The whole concept got me excited but I felt lost.
So I decided to dig from the roots, I spent hours watching videos, surfing the net for answers.
I started studying successful projects like Bored Ape Yatch, CryptoKittens and other projects worth thousands of dollars.
Finally, I believe I’m getting a hang on it.
I’ll be sharing a lot of content about NFTs. How to scale your NFT project and build a long lasting community.
Clap this post and follow me for more NFT marketing contents.
Let’s get back to the main objective of this article.
This article serves as a guide to walk you through the history, current phase and future of Non-Fungible Tokens.
Fun to note that I’ve included a bonus tip right at the end.
Let's see how NFT works.
Meaning of NFT For Beginners
The full meaning of NFT is Non Fungible Tokens.
I don’t think that make sense enough.
NFTs are unalterable digital tokens—arts, music, video game cards, domain names, memes—that are legally owned by one person on a blockchain.
Non-Fungible means owning an irreplaceable asset. These digital assets can’t be reproduced by anyone else other than the owner.
I hope it makes sense to you now, don’t worry I’ll explain further
NFTs are a new way of proving ownership over digital stuff on a blockchain. More like an original digital receipt for the properties you own, on a blockchain.
You buy NFTs on NFT marketplaces with ethereum.
We'll see why ethereum is the widely used coin for NFT transactions later.
The NFT market spiked from an impressive $13.7 million in the early quarter of 2020 to an insane $7 billion market cap in the last quarter of 2021.
This is one of the fastest bullish runs in the digital world, and there's more to expect from this space.
But where and how did the whole nifty idea come from?
Let's take a brief look at the history of NFTs.
How NFT Started
Here's a brief rundown on the history of Non-Fungible Tokens.
The whole concept of NFTs started from coloured coins.
Coloured coins are crypto tokens used to represent real assets on the bitcoin blockchain. This idea was adopted from Bitcoin as altcoins.
The disadvantage with coloured coins was the need for groups to validate the worth of the coin.
In 2014, counterparty.io improved the whole concept of coloured coins. Counterparty Is an open-source actualisation of the bitcoin blockchain without any pricing model.
It allows users to create and sell their digital tokens with a legal validation known as smart
The creation of RarePepes in 2016 held the attention of the mainstream. People started collecting and trading memes—Pepe the frog— as non-fungible tokens on Counterparty.
With Bitcoin plunging into an all-time high of $19,783 and gaining huge followership in 2017, another underdog coin—Ethereum—gained traction that same year.
From here, the ERC721 was used as a standard to build decentralized Non-Fungible Tokens on the ethereum blockchain.
The invention of ERC721 opened doors for more possibilities with non-fungible tokens.
The early adopters of NFTs were Matt Hall and John Watkins, creators of Cryptopunks. These crypto punks are made up of 10,000 designed 24-by-24 pixel arts with distinctive features.
Currently, thousands of Non-Fungible tokens are created and sold on NFT marketplaces like Opensea, Raible, Nifty gateway, SuperRare to mention a few.
How Big is The NFT Market?
Currently, the NFT world is growing rapidly. New communities are taking shape in this space, new NFT projects are launched by the day and many investors are getting significant returns on their investments.
With the wide participation of the mainstream, the NFT market has been able to attract impressive statistics this year.
More artists, painters and illustrators are using the NFT marketplace as their online store this year. This change will increase more rapidly in the coming years.
The Collins Dictionary announced NFT as the word of the year, this 2021. Even though many people are yet to hear of it, this Is just a sneak peek at what NFT have in store for 2022.
According to Block crypto data, the NFT market volume as of August this year was $2.3 billion, with OpenSea contributing $2.23 billion from its marketplace. This shows the influence of the Opensea marketplace as the widely used marketplace.
Over $15 million worth of NFT is sold weekly.
NFT market is currently the fastest-growing market in the world.
The most expensive NFT ever sold is a digital collage of images created by Beeple. It was sold for a monstrous sum of $69.3 million in March 2021.
However, the NFT space is not without flaws. Digital token owners who wish to use their NFTs need to overcome the hassle of promoting their collections and building a community.
Buyers are getting scammed from fake websites and social media channels. The price of Blockchain gas fees for Non-fungible tokens transactions is getting high.
Now you know where NFTs came from, you know how big it is, let's see where NFTs are headed.
We'll be looking at the possible future of NFTs next.
The Future Of NFTs
The whole concept of the Non-Fungible Tokens has caught the eyes of artists, gamers, influencers and other people who are learning to partake from this large community.
These tokens represent moments, valuable arts that are appreciated by people. Creators in return gain huge profits for their outstanding works, with transaction records on the blockchain.
In the coming years, more creatives will join this community in their masses. By that time, the NFT marketplace will be known as the most recognized space for art trade in the world.
This space can empower artists and appreciate them for their works. Creators have never had a platform as big as the NFT space before. Hence, watch out for upcoming million-dollar artists from this space.
Other than creators, illustrators and other artists. Celebrities with huge fan bases are going to get richer and richer when they decide to jump on this train.
The key feature of the NFT space is decentralization. Where anyone from anywhere has the opportunity to own and create arts for themselves.
We can't talk about the future of NFTs without linking the future of web 3.0 and the metaverse. The world Is on the brink of unlocking a whole new experience for humans. And these guys are the portals to the new world.
The bottom line is… we can't be 100% sure about the trajectory of NFTs or even the metaverse, it could transform into something bigger within a minute, or it could disintegrate into nothing with the blink of an eye.
So I'd rather enjoy the experience, the community and the creative process than spend time thinking so much about something I can't control.
Are NFTs worth Investing in?
Yes, for risk-takers. Although there is a lot of hype around the NFT projects, NFT flipping and Minting. You should do your In-depth research, join social groups and understand this community before investing in the future of NFTs
The NFT space is no exemption from the prey of scammers, this is why you should patiently gather information before investing.
Also, Non- fungible tokens appeal to investors that are willing to handle risks. The stats and market value of the NFT space don't guarantee the success of your collection. Besides, the market here is not as liquid as the Forex exchange or stocks market.
If you can't handle huge risks in investments like cryptocurrencies and NFTs, I'd recommend you dive into index funds rather than buying low graphic pixels.
Bonus Tips: How to Build Your NFT Project
Since we've covered quite enough on the subject of NFTs for beginners, this part is for the people in the game already.
The most effective, yet overlooked factor to help grow an NFT project is marketing.
And this is understandable because artists create, they need more time creating unique digital arts to sell on NFT marketplaces. But they have to find a balance between the creative phase and the promotion phase of their arts.
This is why so many people struggle in this profiting space.
So like I promised at the beginning of his article, I'll share with you a few tips to build a strong community and promote your NFTs, here lies the hidden gold mine.
The three main determinants of a project's success or failure are
- Digital arts
- NFT Brand Story
- Community
Digital arts
Make no mistake! People don't just buy random arts with no backstory or mass appeal.
Why would anyone throw their money on stuff they don't like?
The art you create should resonate with people enough for them to jump on your project and become part of your community.
The NFT world is all about giving and taking. You have to give to the community first before asking for their penny.
NFT Brand Story
It isn't enough to create admirable digital arts. Right here, you need to build a connection with people. Your story should be personal. Your story explains the motive for creating your art.
Your story should be found on your webpage and NFT descriptions too.
Community
Lastly, you need to overcome Imposter syndrome to thrive in this fierce market of creators.
The success of an NFT project depends on the unity of their community.
You'll need to form a community with a sales funnel and grow the community. This is why most NFT projects are founded by a group, not an individual.
Make sure you understand the basics of how NFTs works, explain things in simple terms to the newbies in your groups
Hold interactions on social pages like discord, Twitter, clubhouse and telegram channel.
Other personal marketing snippets for your NFT projects include
Have a FAQ page on your discord server and website to give value and create relevance. People are more likely to join your project when you give them free valuable information.
Learn to share your arts and don't compare yourself to other creators in this space.
Lastly, building a marketing funnel for your project is a win-win game. You can attract more investors and beginners looking to get started from your social page and website.
I hope this article was helpful to you. Now you know the basics about Non Fungible tokens, what it means, where it came from and it's future.
You have to choose between becoming a part of the community or watching from the stands. Whichever it is, it's not going to stop the market from growing.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Westside_kopy is a website content writer and copy writer with 2 years of experience in the game. Currently, he is focused on serving the NFT community with secret marketing strategies on how to build an NFT community, and promote NFTs without appearing salesy or scamish…
If you’d love to know more about NFTs, or you need help with your NFT service, send a mail @ westsidekopy@gmail.com.
