What is an NFT?

If you know of Regency Wealth Management but you’re new to this site, you may be wondering just what an NFT is.

NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token – designed to give an individual something that cannot be copied, traded, or exchanged. However with the iNFT®, you the client, own the full intellectual property (IP) rights. Giving you an advantage over other NFT projects, plus the ability to commercialise your iNFT® purchase. This is due to NFTs being created (minted) on a blockchain i.e. Ethereum, where they are distinctly identifiable.

Common examples of NFTs are artwork, poems, apps, games and songs. NFTs are listed on a platform and they can be bought and sold using cryptocurrencies (depending on which blockchain the NFT has been minted on).

NFTs in Practice

In a practical sense, NFTs are essentially digital files which can be minted onto a blockchain on an NFT trading platform. The most popular NFT trading platforms are Opensea, Rarible, Objkt, and Foundation.

NFTs can be used as collector’s items but in the form of digital files i.e., videos and jpeg of a piece of art.

In most cases anything can become an NFT, which makes then unique as well as being a digital asset.

NFTs can also be used to indicate ownership of rare assets which represents real-world items like real estate and artwork.

It is important to note however, that purchasing an NFT that includes the copyright of the original artwork does not mean its copyright is automatically transferred to you. While you can sell the NFT itself, you are prohibited from reproducing or selling its content.

Why are NFTs Valuable?

The first is “subjective value,” which takes into account not only the moral or political message that the artwork conveys but also how it makes you feel. The artist’s presumed resale value and popularity determine the second value, or “market-driven value.”

Another factor that has an impact on the values of NFT arts is the “objective value.” This is because of the expertise and knowledge that went into making it. The “historical value” of the digital artwork comes in last.

All of these things have an effect on how much people value NFTs. The Merge” is the most expensive piece of art ever, fetching a staggering £76.3 million from an auction. Blockchain technology protects the unique ownership right to each and every NFT that is produced or minted.

NFTs sales increased to £8.9 billion in the third quarter of 2021, according to DappRadar, from £1 billion in the second quarter.

What are the Benefits of NFTs?

The benefits of NFTs depend on your perspective, from ours they are overwhelming in an awesome way.

NFTs:

Offer a whole new method of private ownership
Are constantly evolving and developing
Allow creatively minded individuals an entirely new decentralised space to be able to express their work (and potentially earn)
Offer almost endless possibilities technologically speaking
Can be used as collectibles and gain value over long periods of time
Cannot be copied due to their nature of being uniquely identifiable
Are unregulated (so can be traded on a peer to peer basis or through a platform).

What is a Blockchain?

A blockchain is an advanced database mechanism that allows transparent information sharing within a business network. All cryptocurrency transactions are recorded by contract numbers on a blockchain e.g. the purchase of Bitcoin or the purchase of an NFT. These numbers can be viewed through the transaction history of the wallet or platform the transaction was completed on.

Every transaction can be viewed by the use of a crypto wallet and transactions on a blockchain must be completed using a token which is recognised by the blockchain.

For example if you wish to buy an NFT from Opensea which has been minted on the Ethereum blockchain, you must pay for the NFT using Ethereum tokens.

Examples of other blockchains include Polygon, Solana and Tezos.

What is a Crypto Wallet?

A Crypto wallet is essentially a digital storage haven for any cryptocurrencies or NFTs you have purchased. Examples of crypto wallets include, Coinbase Wallet, Metamask, Trust, Temple amongst many more.

They can be downloaded as apps on mobile devices or as desktop extension apps.

Crypto wallets allow you to make peer to peer transactions as well as trading on NFT platforms and Crypto exchanges. If you have a crypto wallet – you will have wallets for each currency purchased within your larger crypto wallet.

Each individual currency wallet will have a separate wallet address and only that specific currency or an NFT from that specific blockchain can be sent to that wallet. For example, if a friend wants to send you bitcoin and you give them an Ethereum wallet address – that Bitcoin will exit your friend’s wallet and into a digital no man’s land. The worst part is – it can’t be recovered.

If you are being transferred or are transferring either crypto or an NFT – triple check the wallet addresses.

How do I buy an NFT?

If you see an NFT you fancy and you want to buy it the first thing you will need to do is find the platform and blockchain on the NFT you wish to buy.

Once you have found the blockchain and platform – install a wallet which supports both the platform and relevant crypto tokens on your desktop or mobile device.

Purchase enough of the relevant cryptocurrency in your newly installed wallet. Connect your wallet to the platform – and purchase the NFT at the price it is on sale for. The NFT will then be owned by you digitally as it belongs to the address of the wallet you have used.

If the NFT is not on sale you can make an offer to buy the NFT, you can also make an offer lower than the sale price it is on sale. However – it is completely up to the owner if they wish to sell in this situation, where if the whole purchase price is paid the NFT automatically transfers to your wallet.