There are increased cases of digital art and NFTs being combined by famous artists. Kings of Leon released an album in NFT form, becoming the first famous rock band to do so. Grimes made $6 million in digital art through NFTs. Steve Aoki had a music and art NFT release in collaboration with Antoni Tudisco, an illustrator. Even Wu-Tang Clan have plans to release photo books through NFTs.
What Are NFTs?
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are basically authenticity certificates that incorporate blockchain technology for proof of ownership of any digital asset. Fungible goods or commodities are ones whose individual units are the same. For example, one dollar bills are fungible commodities because every dollar bill is interchangeable and has the same value. On the other hand, non-fungible would mean that the digital asset is scarce or unique in some way. Even if artists are releasing the same picture as part of a limited-edition collection of 60, every picture would be unique either way.
The asset identity is minted on the token; the certificate of authenticity and ownership is then stored on a blockchain database. Since blockchain database is public, it is virtually impossible to forge any tokens, which can maintain the authenticity of the digital art.
The Current Problem with Digital Art and NFTs
The problem with digital art and NFTs is that the system used to store and process all this data, requires a lot of energy. The carbon footprint can often be quite huge, and with increasing environmental concerns, this aspect of blockchain needs to be addressed fast. The proof of work (PoW) protocol or system in play, requires so much energy, the carbon footprint levels even rival that of major cities. Proof of stake (PoS) helps reduce this growing concern but global adoption is still in its infancy, compared with the adoption of PoW. Bitcoin & Ethereum currently both use this PoW protocol and were the first two popular blockchain systems globally. Ethereum does plan to go to PoS in the future via Ethereum 2.0 which is a huge positive for scale, NFT demand and reducing the carbon footprint.
The Benefits of Blockchain Technology
Blockchain technology prevents forgeries or fraud from occurring. This is why it is increasingly used to store digital art. Unilever, Pfizer, and Walmart are also looking to incorporate the technology. Even Nike filed a patent for NFTs to confirm the authenticity of their CryptoKicks. Due to its nature, the technology allows much more innovation and scope to create new infrastructures such as DeFi, dApps etc. In the years and decades to come, it is very likely to replace our current archaic ways of working on the global scale. Early adopters could be seen as the pioneers of this new wave and are already cashing in on the technology from an investment perspective.
Ethereum Ecosystem
NFTs are stored mostly on the Ethereum blockchain system, where the value of the token is defined through the Ether cryptocurrency. Once any of the tokens are sold or resold, it is entered into the blockchain ledger. This makes it easier to verify the scarcity, authentication, and price of the digital art piece since the ledger is public.
Innovative Infrastructure
A decade ago, there was no infrastructure that could authenticate digital assets easily, which meant that duplicates were a serious threat. Blockchain systems and NFTs have ensured that you can quickly check the authentication and digital ownership of any digital asset through a formal system.
Digital artists from music, art, design to animation, can take advantage of the NFTs program. They can create digital assets that can be bought and sold. Having the ability to lock it into blockchain technology and create a finite amount with verified authentication/certificate of ownership. Proof that the buyer does indeed own a limited edition version of the digital art / asset that can’t be duplicated. This creates demand and raises the asset’s value over time such as limited interactive album covers and rare drops from legendary artists such as Eminem. The connection between digital art and NFTs is designed to make it easier for artists to make money. Due to the technology, there are significant advantages such as building in a royalty system, allowing a percentage of the next purchase to go directly back to the original creator. This is definitely a space worth investigating for any creative and intelligent individual!
