What the NFT? Who’s been suitably confused by all the NFT chat? Well fear not we are going to demystify some of the jargon talk that’s been going around the internet recently and by the end of it you will have an idea of how to use NFT for your business. 

What is NFT

NFTs or Non Fungible Tokens are sizzling hot right now. In a nutshell most NFTs are part of the Ethereum blockchain and for those who have been hiding under a rock, Ethereum is a type of Cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. Its Blockchain supports these NFTs but they work differently to typical cryptocurrencies. They are one-of-a-kind digital certificates which prove ownership of an asset. NFTs can be a digital artwork, a video, a gif, game or even a tweet. They are giving more power to content creators which is always a good thing. 

How is different from a fungible token (e.g Bitcoin)

Fungible tokens such as Bitcoin are interchangeable. It’s fungible because you can trade it for goods of an equal value. Whereas Non Fungible Tokens are totally unique and therefore can’t be exchanged at equivalency.  Each one has its own code and metadata which differentiates each NFT. This is the beauty of NFTs. Limited edition pieces and collectables have seen prices of NFTs sky rocket and sell for hefty sums of money.

How can brands use NFTs?

NFTs are important to brands because they can be used to represent many different digital files such as art, graphics, videos and audio. Any form of creativity in the digital world, even to create digital worlds, virtual real estate and even fashion. This has a huge impact on your marketing strategy as you know it. With NFTs, there are now even more ways to tell your brand story and help to improve customer interactions. We have already seen a number of brands use NFTs to drive revenue. 

Which brands are using them?

Calvin Harris
Setting the pretence for the electronic music industry, Calvin released a collection of unheard music through NFT. The collection titled ‘Technofish’ is on the market place Nifty Gateway. 

Kings of Leon 

Generating over $2m in sales from their new album When You See Yourself is no joke! The NFT from band Kings of Leon featured on the blockchain platform YellowHeart. They are the first band to release an album as a NFT. The revolutionary tokens give buyers special perks such as front row seats to shows and limited edition vinyl

Markus Schulz

German-American DJ and music producer Markus Schulz is collaborating with Sweet to release NFTs which will promote his new album ‘Escape’. This will be his first collection of unique and tradable NFTs which will include album artwork, his adventures on tour and specific tracks from the album.

Why are some worth millions?

The current market, demand and hype are all responsible for much an NFT will go for. The current record price is approximately $69.3 million USD paid for Beeple’s digital artwork titled Everydays: the First 5000 Days.

What’s the point in having one?

NFT’s can be a sentimental purchase, a collectible or a financial asset. Sometimes people will buy in order to feel more connected to the creator – similar to the way customers will only affiliate themselves with one brand. People love to collect things in order to express themselves as an individual, the same way that artists have a need to create. One thing for certain is that it’s an incredibly exciting time for creatives to showcase their skills in a new way. 

The downside

Akten, a A digital creator himself, revealed through his own research that the carbon footprint of an average single-edition NFT is equivalent to driving a car for 1,000 kilometers, and for higher editions, the figures are equivalent to dozens of transatlantic flights. (thehill.com)

How to start? 

With the huge sustainability issues, we are not convinced it is worth sacrificing our planet for. However if you do want to try it out, start small so it has as little impact as possible.

Start by joining some of the NFT marketplaces which allow people to buy and sell – some of the big ones include OpenSea, Rarible, and Grimes’ choice, Nifty Gateway, but there are plenty of others.

Start thinking about what you could digitally sell from art, music, guides, courses, videos. If you can name it we are sure you can create it and get it onto an NFT marketplace.