On March 11, 2021, an NFT by digital artist, Beeple, was sold by Christie’s auction house for $69 million.

What might have been considered fringe a few years ago has begun attracting interest from some unexpected places. NFTs are being built on Ethereum’s blockchain by a wide variety of creators.

This technology (blockchain) allows verification of ownership, of something that is digital. Creators such as artists and musicians can access sites like Rarible and OpenSea where they can turn their original work into an NFT by adding it to the blockchain. When cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or Ether is used, and the transaction is recorded on the blockchain, it cannot be altered or duplicated. Every non-fungible asset is unique and irreplaceable.Ī blockchain is essentially a digital ledger of transactions. You cannot trade an original Picasso painting for a replica, even if it looks exactly the same. For instance, if you gave someone a $10 bill, and they gave you a five-dollar bill and five singles in return, or two fives, or a different ten-dollar bill, you are not holding the same original bill, but the value you have has not changed either. If something were fungible it could be exchanged for equal value without losing value. To understand non-fungible tokens (NFTs), it helps to explain a few terms that are frequently used with them: fungible, non-fungible and blockchain. The approximate US dollar purchase prices for these NFTs were $107,000 for CryptoKitty #4, about $164,000 for Founder Cat #18, and yes, 600 ETH or about $390,000 for CryptoKitty #896775, otherwise known as Dragon. Since then, there have been some high-priced virtual cats purchased using Ether (ETH), the digital currency exchanged on the Ethereum blockchain. When the game was released in December 2017 by Canadian company Axiom Zen, more than 60,000 people signed up to play, purchasing $5 million in CryptoKitties. Kitties, which are literally graphic images of cartoonish cats, are bred with other virtual cats in the game.

Now, would you pay $390,000 for a virtual kitty?ĬryptoKitties is an Ethereum blockchain-based game. Would you pay $10 for a virtual kitty? Maybe, right? If you could pay ten dollars and gain access to an online game where participants buy, breed and trade virtual cats, it might be a fun diversion like a game of Candy Crush.

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