NFTs have had a meteoric (and somewhat crazy) rise in popularity since they first appeared in 2014. While they are smoking hot right now, many wonder if NFTs will continue to sizzle or if they will eventually fizzle.
An NFT is a digital object, which is a bit computer code and data that conveys ownership of something online or real. NFT can convey ownership of an online video or graphic, for example, or a painting, seat at a concert, or actual real estate. In fact, a San Francisco entrepreneur is attempting to auction off apartment leases as NFTs. NFTs can also be hybrid of the two – NFTs might represent the sale of physical concert tickets and the download of the artist’s album, for instance.
NFTs have become an increasingly popular way to buy and sell digital artwork. The artist Grimes recently sold nearly $6 million in digital art – in less than 20 minutes. The YouTube video, Charlie Bit My Finger, sold for $760,999. Even established names in the art world are getting in on the action. Christie’s recently auctioned a work by digital artist Mike Winkelmann, also known as Beeple, for more than $69.3 million.
NFTs have become part of the crazy financial world that now includes cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. In May, people were buying and selling an estimated 85,787 NFTs day, according to application tracking firm DappRadar, which works out to a total value of $5.8 million each day.
While they are currently lucrative and immensely popular, will NFTs last?
There are some drawbacks to dealing in NFTs, of course, as there are in any transactions. The amount of money involved may inspire some to risk too much money, for example, and NFT sales have slipped recently. In fact, some claim that the “NFT bubble” has burst – but that probably will not stop NFTs from following in the footsteps of other forms of currency and cryptocurrency by becoming mainstream and more stable.
NFTs will Likely Survive (and Thrive!) in the Long Run
Once all of the shiny newness wears off and NFTs become boring, non-fungible tokens could become something far more useful and far more widely used as practical business solutions. The blockchain technology that maintains the digital records does not need a centralized system to run, for example, so transactions can potentially happen much faster and easier. The blockchain also maintains a permanent record of all transactions connected to the NFT and the property it represents. Finally, NFTs can contain coded elements, known as smart contracts, which can automatically take action in certain circumstances to implement an automated and self-enforcing set of rules that cannot be skipped or ignored.
NFT technology also has a certain democratizing nature that will serve it well in the future. Anyone can log on and purchase items, without the restrictions to access that historically prevented some from buying the goods and services they desire. This is a departure from the past for many, especially for those in the art world, in which anonymous investors would receive invitations to private auctions and would often tuck valuable art away for years, waiting for it to become more valuable.
Even more sustaining is the transparency of NFTs. The entire history of the item, including the date of its creation, the owner, past purchasers, and purchase price, becomes part of a publicly visible ledger. While the concept of recordkeeping certainly isn’t new – the first written records of property and livestock ownership are more than 5000 years old, after all – the blockchain technology that creates the transaction records is revolutionary.
Interest in cryptocurrency and the rise of art market speculation has sparked interest in NFTs, and the pandemic added fuel to the fire – locked inside during the shutdown, people found new ways to shop and purchase items. It also sparked greater interest in art, music, videos, graphics, and more. Consumers began looking for new experiences that could add meaning to their lives. We began valuing digital goods in much the same way as we have always valued physical goods.
NFTs will likely be around a while for two important reasons: the technology is interesting and useful, and people are making money. Combining useful, interesting technology with big profits is a recipe for success.
ABOUT FRANK MAGLIOCHETTI
Frank Magliochetti owes his professional success to his expertise in two areas: medicine and finance. After obtaining a BS in pharmacy from Northeastern University, he stayed on to enroll in the Masters of Toxicology program. He later specialized in corporate finance, receiving an MBA from The Sawyer School of Business at Suffolk University. His educational background includes completion of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and the General Management Program at Stanford Business School. Frank Magliochetti has held senior positions at Baxter International, Kontron Instruments, Haemonetics Corporation, and Sandoz. Since 2000, he has been a managing partner at Parcae Capital, where he focuses on financial restructuring and interim management services for companies in the healthcare, media, and alternative energy industries. Last year, he was appointed chairman of the board at Grace Health Technology, a company providing an enterprise solution for the laboratory environment. Frank is also CEO of ClickStream, ClickStream’s business operations are focused on the development and implementation of WinQuik™, a free to play synchronized mobile app and digital gaming platform. The platform is designed to enable WinQuik™ users to have fun, interact and compete against each other in order to win real money and prizes. Twitter at @ClickstreamC @WinQuikApp, Nifter™, a music NFT marketplace that allows recording artists to create and sell limited edition authenticated NFTs, and their foreign language exchange learning app @HeyPalApp.
Frank was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Designer Genomics International, Inc. The Company has accumulated a growing body of evidence that highlights a link between alterations in the immune and inflammatory systems and the development of chronic human disease. The Company is visionary and has established itself as a leader in the field of inflammatory and immune genetic DNA and RNA biomarkers that play a causative role in debilitating conditions, such as atherosclerosis/heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and cancer.
A proprietary state-of-the art data mining bioinformatics program, called ‘cluster analysis’ will be used to measure disease development susceptibility with potential for earlier diagnosis and intervention. The company is developing a healthcare program based on its proprietary genetic panels that will allow people to be their own healthcare advocate and take an active role in their health status as well as longevity.
Sources
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/05-2021-SF-apartment-leases-nfts-crypto-auction-16147945.php
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/grimes-sold-nft-art-1948177
https://www.charliebitme.com/#/auction/39
https://dappradar.com/blog/what-crypto-crash-nft-trading-volume-tripled