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NFTs: Digital Rights for Virtual Goods
The artwork below is a digital collage created by the artist Mike Winkelmann, also known as Beeple. Winkelmann struggled as an artist, achieving some amount of recognition, but had a hard time making a living. That all changed when Winkelmann adopted the use of NFTs, ‘non-fungible tokens’. NFTs are tokens that can be encrypted and secured by on a blockchain like Bitcoin or Ether. NFTs are being used to authenticate ownership of digital works and basically allow ‘original’ ownership to be assigned to a digital work, making the item something that is unique and collectible. In some ways it is similar to buying an autographed print.
Despite the sudden popularity of NFTs, some people question the concept. Peter Kraus, chairman and chief executive of Aperture Investors, said “why pay $69 million for something anyone can see online? Scarcity is worth something; it’s about owning something that you think is beautiful and can’t be seen in anybody else’s house. There has to be some clarity around what it is that you are owning as a collector.”
Charles Allsopp, former Christie’s auctioneer, said “NFTs make no sense. The idea of buying something which isn’t there is just strange. I think people who invest in it are slight mugs, but I hope they don’t lose their money.”
