NFTs – angel or devil?

Non-fungible token, also known as NFTs, has been the hottest topic regarding digital assets investment in recent years. In 2021, the transaction volume of NFTs has reached $13 billion, which is a tremendous number that implies a huge success in the NFTs trading market. However, is NFT just a craze or a long-lasting virtual asset to be invested in? 

To start with, we will first look at the history of NFTs and when did it become extremely popular around the world’s crypto trading market. In 2014, the first-known NFT “Quantum” was minted on the Namecoin blockchain by a digital artist whose name is Kevin Mccoy. In the few upcoming years after the launch of “Quantum”, different NFTs projects were launched and NFTs started to be known by the general public. In 2021, there was exponential growth in the NFTs market. The transaction volume has skyrocketed as mentioned in the first paragraph. 

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As a cryptographic asset based on blockchain technology, NFTs are unique and unrepeatable. Due to the above characteristics, many artists decided to share their artworks by launching NFTs collections. For example, Hong Kong singer Endy Chow launched his first NFTs collection which is called “Minomi”. In this project, 33 digital drawings by Endy Chow were sold publicly. Using blockchain technology, NFT provides a new platform for artists to publicize their artworks uniquely.

NFT is becoming more and more popular in recent years. Nevertheless, at the same time, it has also stirred up much controversy. 

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 Although NFTs provide a platform for artists to share their artworks, ethical problems are concerned regarding NFTs trading. Some of the content providers of NFTs are just launching their collections for earning money, instead of sharing meaningful and precious digital arts. As an example, Hong Kong YouTube Channel “Trial & Error” launched its own NFTs collection “NTR” which is consisted of screenshots of its public videos on YouTube. In this project, 6000 NFTs were launched for 0.2 ETH each, which is around HKD$4800. The YouTube channel is accused of earning money from its fans by launching meaningless screenshots, which is immoral.

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In conclusion, NFT is a double-edged sword. By launching meaningful NFTs such as original artworks, the art industry can definitely be benefited. On the other hand, if more and more content providers launch NFT collections for just generating income, ethical concerns will always be a stumbling block to the development of the NFTs market.