Blockchain is the technology used by cryptocurrencies to track, record, and timestamp their transactions. In 2009, Bitcoin was the first successful cryptocurrency built on the blockchain. Since then, a lot of innovative blockchain use cases have emerged.

Blockchain

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), being certificates of authenticity, can be used to prove the ownership of any digital asset: concert tickets, video game items, artworks, or even digital properties. This section will help you to understand and explore the different ways you can use NFTs.

At NonFungible.com, we provide trusted NFT data and tools so that you can develop personal strategies that are best suited to your needs. This section will teach you how to use our Market Tracker to screen the latest NFT market trends and make informed decisions.

Analytics

Navigating through the NFT ecosystem requires separating signals from noise. Established in 2018, NonFungible.com has been a key stakeholder in the NFT industry since its infancy. Over time, we have developed a solid understanding of the way the NFT community works, backed by our trusted data &amp; experience.

Ecosystem

NFT Basics


<h2>What is Fungibility?</h2>



<p>Before you can define <a href="https://nonfungible.com/blog/why-most-definitions-of-non-fungible-are-incorrect" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8216;non-fungible&#8217;</a>, you must have an understanding of what &#8216;fungible&#8217; means on its own. </p>



<p><a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/fungible" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Collins</a>’ dictionary defines ‘fungible’ as:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>“being of such nature or kind as to be freely exchangeable or replaceable, in whole or in part, for another of like nature or kind”</p></blockquote>



<p>There are two parts to keep in mind here:</p>



<ol><li>The exchange of the same nature or species.&nbsp;</li><li>Whether it is exchangeable or replaceable in part or in whole. For example, it is possible to exchange a one-liter bottle of water for another. Same nature, same specie, same quantity.</li></ol>



<p>On the other hand, exchanging one thing for another will not always ensure the same exchange value. One euro coming from the Vatican won’t have the same value as one euro coming from France. A Bitcoin freshly mined from a new block won’t have the same history as a Bitcoin that has been used on a Darkweb marketplace. The fungibility of an asset is therefore defined according to its uses.</p>



<h2>Definition of Non-Fungible Tokens</h2>



<p>Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are cryptographic assets on the Blockchain that are distinguished from each other with unique identification codes and metadata.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In 2021, <a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/nft" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Collins</a> added the word to his dictionary, here’s their definition:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>A unique digital certificate, registered in a blockchain, that is used to record ownership of an asset such as an artwork or a collectible</p></blockquote>



<p>A non-fungible token is NOT fungible. It is a token that represents a unique asset with characteristics that are particular to it: it cannot be interchanged or replaced by another equivalent token.</p>



<p>NFTs can take the form of digital work, a virtual land, a domain name, or even equipment in a video game.</p>



<p>NFTs are simply a technological medium that allows any digital item to be stored and circulated virtually on a blockchain. To some extent, NFTs can be compared with computer files in the sense that their type and usage can be extremely varied.</p>



<h2>NFTs to Preserve the Uniqueness and Authenticity of a Creation</h2>



<p>Have you seen Pokemon cards? There are many basic Pokemon cards as well as rare cards. A rare card is much more valuable than a basic card and owning one used to be a big deal and came with a heavy price tag. It could also be stolen!&nbsp;</p>



<p>In this tech age, everything has gone digital. If there was a special digital card, it could be easily duplicated by copying and pasting. So how can the uniqueness and authenticity of a special digital card be preserved?&nbsp;Non-fungible tokens are the answer.</p>



<p>Any digital property can be the ‘special digital card’ that’s transformed into a non-fungible token. As a result, it will be possible to identify the original card as unique due to being recorded on the blockchain. Now, it is possible to have special cards and art pieces thanks to the non-fungible tokens and blockchain.</p>



<h2>Characteristics of Non-Fungible Tokens</h2>



<p>Here are the unique qualities of non-fungible tokens that differentiate them from other tokens:</p>



<ul><li><strong>Rare:</strong> Although the developers of non-fungible tokens can create as many tokens as they want, they often keep the supply of NFT limited so that they can be scarce to increase their value.</li><li><strong>Indivisible:</strong> Although this is not the case with all Non-Fungible Tokens, they are often indivisible. In most cases you cannot split Non-fungible tokens in half, and therefore you will have to buy the full Token.&nbsp;</li><li><strong>Unique:</strong>&nbsp;This is the most highlighted feature of non-fungible tokens. There is a record of their uniqueness on a permanent information tab. This tab is like a certificate of authentication.&nbsp;</li></ul>



<h2>Examples of NFT Usages</h2>



<p>Let&#8217;s take a closer look at how NFTs can be used. In <a href="https://nonfungible.com/academy/nft?unit=nft-applications" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NFT Applications</a>, we will review these different NFT segments in more detail.</p>



<ul><li><strong>Video games</strong>: NFTs can be used in several ways in video games. In first-person shooter (FPS) games, they can take the form of skins for weapons or avatars. For role-playing games (RPGs), these NFTs can take the form of equipment such as weapons or armor as well as some mounts (pets). For card games (trading card games), NFTs can be the cards themselves and also the personalization of their terrain or the back of the cards.</li><li><strong>Digital art</strong>: Online, everything is infinitely duplicable. With NFTs, it has become possible to quantify the unquantifiable. Digital art, which requires many hours of work, can therefore be valued at higher levels closer to physical art. In addition, you can publicly verify the address of a wallet linked to an artist&#8217;s profile. The artist&#8217;s signature is therefore included in the NFT mint.</li><li><strong>Collectibles</strong>: Digital collectibles can take many forms, yet all exist for the same purpose: to be collected. Initially, a so-called &#8216;collectibles&#8217; project has no other purpose than to be collected. This doesn’t mean that all collectibles will remain solely collectibles over time. The creators of collectible products often plan for them to be utilized in other areas such as in video games, or to act as a token to gain entry to a club or otherwise reward users.&nbsp;</li><li><strong>Virtual land/metaverse</strong>: Virtual worlds are becoming more present in our lives. Whether as a means to organize an online art exhibition or play a massive multiplayer video game, NFTs can be used to represent plots of land on which it is possible to construct buildings or organize events.</li><li><strong>Utility</strong>: There are use cases of NFTs that focus on utility. Tickets for an event, decentralized domain names to facilitate transactions, diplomas&#8230; Not all of them have speculative value on a secondary market, but they do have a well-defined utility from the outset.</li></ul>



<p>On our website, you can <a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Explore the Market Tracker</strong></a> to view the activity for each one of these segments!</p>


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<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are cryptographic assets on the blockchain that are distinguished from each other with unique identification codes and metadata.

What Is a Non-Fungible Token (NFT)?


<p>Depending on the use, the fungibility of an asset may have several nuances. As seen previously in the chapter ‘<a href="https://nonfungible.com/academy/nft/what-is-an-nft">What is an NFT</a>’, there is a difference between a fungible asset and a non-fungible asset. Now, we would like to introduce the third type, &#8216;semi-fungible tokens&#8217;. Semi-Fungible Tokens (SFT) are intended to be mass-produced and consumed while keeping an identity of their own. Initially designed for video games, the concept of the SFT was created by <a href="https://enjin.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Enjin</a> when they offered the ERC-1155 standard on Ethereum.</p>



<p>To fully imagine how an SFT can be used, here are several use cases:</p>



<ul><li>Cinema or concert tickets. Each token has information related to the date, time, and nature of the event. But it is not intended to be kept for a long time or traded on a secondary market.</li><li>A chest obtained in a video game. Once opened, the chest (ERC-1155) disappears to give the player epic armor (ERC-721) and gold coin rewards (ERC-20).</li></ul>



<p>Depending on the needs, NFTs won’t always be the type of assets used and semi-fungible tokens might be preferred. Thanks to the ERC-1155 standard, an SFT makes it possible to distribute fungible and non-fungible assets within the same token.</p>


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<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


Thanks to the ERC-1155 standard, a semi-fungible token makes it possible to distribute fungible and non-fungible assets within the same token.

What Is a Semi-Fungible Token?


<p>The <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/game/non-fungible-on-bitcoin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">creation of NFTs on the blockchain</a> dates back to 2013 with Colored Coins. The concept was simple: each token represented land or different types of metal. It is the first kind of NFT with use cases in the real world.&nbsp;NFTs experiments then multiplied over the years.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Thanks to the <a href="https://counterparty.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Counterparty</a> platform on Bitcoin in 2014, the <em>Spell of Genesis</em> game was able to release its first cards in 2015. In 2016, the trading card game <em>Force of Will</em> managed to climb to 4th place on the sales podium behind <em>Magic: The Gathering</em>, <em>Pokemon,</em> and <em>Yu-Gi-Oh</em> in North America. In 2017, it was on Ethereum that CryptoPunks made its airdrop while Decentraland began working on its metaverse. Dapper Labs participated in the creation of the NFTs standard on Ethereum with CryptoKitties.</p>



<p>It was not until mid-2018, that the ERC-721 standard was created on Ethereum and allowed users to mint and use NFT on this blockchain.&nbsp;Since then many projects have been added to the history of NFT on Ethereum. Several metaverses like <a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/thesandbox" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Sandbox</a> and&nbsp; <a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/cryptovoxels" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Voxels</a> have been developed. Artistic marketplaces like <a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/superrare" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SuperRare</a> and <a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/knownorigin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Known Origin</a> have appeared alongside video games such as <a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/godsunchained" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gods Unchained</a> and <a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/axieinfinity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Axie Infinity</a>.</p>



<p>In addition to these different projects, specialized NFT blockchains have emerged including <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/opinions/what-is-wax-ev" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WAX</a>, <a href="https://explorer.roninchain.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ronin</a>, and <a href="https://flow.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Flow</a>. What’s more, several side chains have been adopted as a means to escape the gas fee associated with Ethereum.</p>



<p>In 2021, a very significant number of brands, licenses, and celebrities bought and promoted NFTs. Many large-scale projects have been announced as well as partnerships. For example, Nike bought the virtual wearable studio RTFKT and Coca-Cola built its building in Decentraland. We invite you to read our article about <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/utility/the-history-of-nfts-on-ethereum" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The full history of NFT on Ethereum</a> if you want to know more about this topic!</p>


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<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are cryptographic assets on the Blockchain that are distinguished from each other with unique identification codes and metadata.

Short History of NFTs


<p>We live in a digital age where any media can be duplicated endlessly. But some digital content such as diplomas, works of art or concert tickets can also be falsified. Where there is a trust issue in knowing the provenance and authenticity of a digital asset, NFTs can be used to solve the problem. Here are some of the reasons why non-fungible tokens are important.</p>



<h2>NFTs as Verification of Authenticity&nbsp;</h2>



<p>A common mistake is to think <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/art/the-art-of-copyright-on-the-blockchain" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NFTs are acting as a copyright</a>. This isn’t the case, if an image is under copyright and is minted as an NFT by someone else, this is an infringement and the NFT can be delisted from the marketplace where it was minted.&nbsp; NFTs don’t replace rights surrounding an artwork but allow to identify the NFT creator and the current owner very easily thanks to blockchain.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The verification of authenticity is a sensitive issue when it comes to non-fungible goods such as paintings, collectibles, and the like.. It is difficult to verify authenticity without counting on experts.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In the case of digital art, for example, it is easy to create copies and claim the work as one&#8217;s own. There is no way to verify that a digital image is original. This is where NFTs are important. NFTs are used to attest the authenticity and rarity of an artwork.&nbsp;</p>



<p>NFTs originate as smart contracts to store and record unique information on the blockchain, which means that each time an NFT is created, only one of it exists. In other words, its authentication is validated thanks to the blockchain which gives it its first value by itself.</p>



<p>Thus, NFTs allow you to certify that a digital asset is authentic. For example, you can easily find out when an asset was created and then sold. You can then view the history of previous owners. This way, NFTs mitigate problems such as fraud and plagiarism.</p>



<h2>NFTs as a New Revenue Source for Artists</h2>



<p>Artists and creators can now craft their work as digitally native NFTs and directly receive revenues from their fans with less friction. Auction houses typically charge commissions of up to 20-30%. Thanks to NFTs, artists do not need intermediaries like auction houses, art galleries, and agents to market and sell their work. They only have to <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/art/nft-art-where-to-begin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">upload their NFTs artworks on blockchain art marketplaces</a>.</p>



<p>Artists can now earn their fair share based on what collectors are willing to pay. In addition, they no longer pay the price for distribution and publishing.</p>



<p>NFTs have also given artists something else: the ability to sell fractions of an NFT. Platforms like <a href="https://fractional.art/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fractional.art</a> allow you to &#8220;cut&#8221; a work into thousands of NFTs so that more people can access the possession of a well-known work of art. Not only does what was previously accessible to an elite become open to all, but it also makes the estimation of the price of the work in a community way.</p>



<p>NFTs have opened up the digital art sector because of their ability to protect property rights. They facilitate traceability of origin, which plays a significant role in determining the value of art.</p>



<h2>Cross-Project Compatibility (Interoperability)</h2>



<p>Imagine a world where all NFTs, whether from a video game or a marketplace, are accessible in one place. This world is called a metaverse, a virtual environment where you can walk around and socialize with your friends, go to concerts, meet colleagues in a shared office, or visit shops.</p>



<p>NFTs are the cornerstone of these virtual realities deployed on the blockchain. Due to their unique attributes, NFTs quantify what was previously unquantifiable.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Just as blockchain interoperability allows users to easily exchange tokens and assets from different blockchains in a matter of moments, it will soon be possible to have interoperability between non-fungible tokens (NFT). For example, if your avatar is an NFT and holds some NFT equipment in a video game, this same avatar could be used in several games while keeping and using this same equipment.&nbsp;</p>



<p>If tomorrow the administrative services of the whole world were accessible from a single shared virtual world, it would be necessary to have one compatibility standard so that a ‘Metaverse identity card’ would be recognizable by all.</p>



<p>However, a major problem remains to be solved: decompartmentalizing the many autonomous worlds and enabling their complete interoperability.</p>


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<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


Where there is a trust issue in knowing the provenance and authenticity of a digital asset, NFTs can be used to solve the problem.

Why are Non-Fungible Tokens Important?

NFT Applications


<p>The idea of humans having deep experiences that engage our consciousness pre-dates the NFT era. Desired by some and feared by others, the concept of a parallel digital existence has been on the minds of many for decades, but how and when it would manifest would be another matter.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Computer-based virtual worlds have been built since the technology has allowed it and virtual worlds with their own economies are not a new concept, as the digital age matured so too have these worlds. In this age of decentralization secured by cryptography, new ecosystems of metaverses are evolving.</p>



<h2>Virtual Reality and Gaming&nbsp;</h2>



<p>The development of the gaming world has always been closely tied to the development of virtual worlds and this symbiotic relationship has been intertwined since the 1970s when massively multiplayer online role-playing games (more commonly known as MMORPG) were born.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The internet offered connectivity never encountered before and early text-based online games that were originally known as Multi-User Dungeon (or MUD) thrived.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h2>Centralized VR Worlds&nbsp;</h2>



<p>There are many virtual worlds (<a href="https://hello.vrchat.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">VRChat</a>, Verbella, …), each with its own flavor and user base.&nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://www.virbela.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Verbella </a>is centered around friendly spaces to attend conferences, meetings, and lectures, whereas in VRChat, you are more likely to attend a rave!&nbsp;</p>



<p>Since the revolving global lockdowns, interest in socializing in virtual spaces has increased. Virtual worlds and economies are not new.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For example, <a href="https://secondlife.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Second Life</a> was launched in 2003 and is the largest virtual world built by thousands of creators from around the world. Millions of virtual items are being sold on its marketplace.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Even Second Life&#8217;s thriving economy has its limitations. Like all virtual economies, whether within a game or in a virtual world marketplace, finding a fair, transparent system that has verifiable traceable ownership still seems out of reach.&nbsp;</p>



<h2>From Early Virtual World to Metaverses</h2>



<p>Digital LAND is at the core of any blockchain metaverse, making it possible to trade, loan, rent, develop and build on LAND which is verifiably yours, unique, and decentralized. LAND&nbsp; constitutes the fabric of blockchain worlds.&nbsp;</p>



<p>One of the first blockchain-based worlds was <a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/decentraland" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Decentraland.</a> Their ICO ran at the end of 2017, raising over $26 Million. They held a digital land auction or ‘Terraform Event’ at that time where interested parties could purchase LAND with MANA, an ERC-20 utility token.</p>



<p>By the Summer of 2018, <a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/cryptovoxels" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Voxels</a> had issued their own LAND token representing a voxel-based digital world, where it was a priority to create an environment allowing anyone with any skill or ability level to easily participate and create.</p>



<p>Since then, other blockchain-based worlds have been created and issued LAND. Some are more VR-orientated worlds with gamified elements, others are a universe filled with different video games created by gamers&#8230;</p>



<p><a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/somniumspace" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Somnium Space</a>, <a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/thesandbox" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Sandbox</a>, <a href="https://axieinfinity.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Axie Infinity,</a> and new projects like <a href="https://alienworlds.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alien Worlds</a> are examples of the growing number of projects using NFTS as vehicles for their LAND issuance and economies.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/58_sandbox-map.jpg" alt="The Sandbox map" class="wp-image-39251"/><figcaption>Part of <a href="https://www.sandbox.game/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>The Sandbox</em></a><em> map</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>LAND’s scarcity and uniqueness combine with its traceable and decentralized nature to create a valuable asset. Owning LAND goes beyond digital ownership: it also opens the door to a host of other opportunities, such as the ability to monetize LAND. For instance, creators and businesses can sell their own work from a gallery or store built on LAND they own, among many other possibilities akin to real-world ownership and opportunities.</p>



<p>LAND acts as any other ERC-721 token does since it can be traded on digital marketplaces such as <a href="https://opensea.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OpenSea</a>. Each piece of LAND represents a plot or area within a world. These plots can be grouped together to create larger estates and populated with a larger project, business, or game.</p>



<h2>Virtual Financial Reality</h2>



<p>VR worlds that are not blockchain-based all face similar issues around the true ownership of digital goods and of the worlds themselves. Indeed, they are run by companies on centralized servers which have their own vulnerabilities and rules that are imposed from the top down.</p>



<p>One of the problems within both gaming and virtual world ecosystems has been to integrate real-world systems into virtual ones in a complementary way.</p>



<p>Monetization is just one aspect of this. There is also cross-platform interoperability to consider and that doesn&#8217;t just mean being able to sell your digital assets across all marketplaces but also, for example, the possibility to keep all your assets (digital avatar, wearables, NFTs, cryptos, in-game items…) across different worlds.</p>



<h2>Cross-Universe Compatibility</h2>


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<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/57_interoperability-1.jpg" alt="Cross-Universe Compatibility: Interoperability" class="wp-image-37682"/><figcaption><em>Cross-Universe Compatibility: Interoperability</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>One of the biggest challenges for metaverses is interoperability with other NFT projects. Indeed, as each NFT has its own smart contract and standards, interactions between multiverses are not always easy to achieve. To our knowledge, there has yet to be an NFT that is interoperable between multiple blockchains.</p>



<p>While Decentraland continues work on its builder where you can now use NFT frames to display other NFTs publicly on LANDS, CryptoVoxels has been allowing free image uploading for a long time. This enables all artists to link their creations directly to the URL of the desired sales platform.</p>


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<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


Metaverses are computer-based virtual worlds in which you can live a parallel digital existence.

Metaverses or Virtual Worlds


<p>VR worlds have of course been, and still are, created in many different versions but it was the arrival of the blockchain and its expansive possibilities that offered the potential to have real-world integration.&nbsp;</p>



<h2><a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/decentraland" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Decentraland</strong></a></h2>


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<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/53_decentraland.png" alt="Decentraland Metaverse" class="wp-image-39261"/><figcaption>Decentraland Metaverse</figcaption></figure></div>


<p>One of the first blockchain worlds founded on Ethereum.</p>



<p>These Worlds have flourished since Decentralands ICO in 2017. The book and subsequent movie <em>Ready Player One</em> were influential at the time and the VR industry was pushing forward with lower-priced entry hardware. Crypto was at an all-time high and Decentraland attracted over $25 million in its initial crowd sale in 2017.&nbsp;</p>



<h2><a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/cryptovoxels" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Voxels</strong></a></h2>


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<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/54_cryptovoxels.jpg" alt="Voxels Metaverse" class="wp-image-39266"/><figcaption>Voxels Metaverse</figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Launched in 2018, Voxels (formerly Cryptovoxels) quickly became the go-to hang-out for artists in the crypto-sphere. Developed by a small, passionate team, the possibilities for customizing the desired aesthetics for LAND are much more varied and open-ended than in Decentraland.</p>



<p>The graphic style is completely in voxels (like Minecraft) but the game is accessible directly from the web browser of a computer.</p>



<h2><a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/somniumspace" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Somnium Space</strong></a></h2>


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<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/55_somnium.jpg" alt="Somnium Space Metaverse" class="wp-image-39271"/><figcaption>Somnium Space Metaverse</figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Somnium Space aims to create a metaverse focused on virtual reality. The total experience can therefore be experienced directly with VR glasses, although it is also possible to access the world of Somnium Space via a browser or an application to install.</p>



<h2><a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/thesandbox" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>The SandBox</strong></a></h2>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/56_sandbox.jpg" alt="The Sandbox Metaverse" class="wp-image-39276"/><figcaption>The Sandbox Metaverse</figcaption></figure></div>


<p>One of a kind, The Sandbox is a metaverse where you can create video games inside each LAND. The rewards obtainable in the games are offered in $SAND, the in-game token that also serves as the overall currency for the ecosystem.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
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<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


Blockchain worlds, or metaverses, are digital worlds that run on a decentralized blockchain system. The most popular metaverses have been deployed on Ethereum as decentralized apps.

Most Popular Metaverses


<p>Virtual economies in games have existed for years, such as marketplaces, currencies, and in-game assets such as skins and weapons in games like Fortnite and World of Warcraft, but currently, these are tied to each game that they are played in.</p>



<p>The markets in these games are largely unregulated with no real-world value except for the value placed in them by the players. The interoperability and security of having these and more held on a blockchain are immense.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The traditional gaming industry is a behemoth with many sources estimating <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/293304/number-video-gamers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">around 3 billion players during 2021</a>. Multiplayer online gaming has exploded over the years as the technology developed. Competitive gaming at a professional level, otherwise known as esports, is an extremely lucrative industry.</p>



<h2><br>A Rewarding System Reserved for the Elite</h2>



<p>Although there is money to be made for both players and games studios, the current system of monetization is mainly based on sponsorships and funding from advertisers. And mostly for the professional esports players, not for the average player who hasn’t got a huge YouTube or twitch following.</p>



<p>At best, earning anything is down to luck, possibly winning tournaments that you pay to enter… Some skills are obviously needed for certain gambling games, but gambling comes with its own hazards!&nbsp;</p>



<p>Virtual assets, skins, and in-game purchases are all commonplace within online multiplayer and other gaming ecosystems but generating real cash revenue for your time and skills spent in-game is another matter. There is no doubt that economies have already been established around games and their assets, players trade their hard-earned virtual items peer-to-peer with other players for cash but there are downsides to this.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For example, the majority of game studios prohibit the resale and exchange of digital assets. Other players can also associate it with cheating and buying your way in as opposed to earning it fairly. There is also the lack of interoperability between the assets and any other platforms as well as the trust issue of buying directly from a stranger.</p>



<h2>In-Game Digital Assets</h2>



<p>Potentially one of the most exciting use cases for NFTs is in-game digital assets. One of the issues with blockchain and crypto has always been finding a path to mass adoption. NFT in-game assets seem set to be the most likely catalyst for this long-awaited moment. </p>



<p>NFT in-game assets have a layer of security built-in and in addition, can be openly traded directly for crypto or traditional Fiat ($, £, €, etc.), on regulated and decentralized marketplaces. Also, digital ownership enables players to earn real-world cash for their skills and the time they spent playing the games.</p>



<h2>Using NFT in Video Games</h2>



<p>In 2014, the first &#8216;crypto games&#8217; began to appear with experiences mixing blockchain technology and well-known gameplay. Indeed, before 2018 and the appearance of the NFT standard on Ethereum, it was possible to participate in experiments such as:</p>



<ul><li>Buying trading card game NFTs</li><li>Playing rewarding adventure games in Bitcoin</li><li>Using servers to mine cryptocurrencies to reward players.</li></ul>



<p>Of the three projects that were chosen to work on the ERC-721, one of them was a mix of game and collectibles: <a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/cryptokitties" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CryptoKitties</a>. The goal of the game is extremely simple: breeding two Kitties to have a third one that could have a rare trait. Each Kitties is a unique NFT that has between 5 and 10 strokes.</p>



<p>Beyond the speculative aspect, the interest here is the action of breeding that takes place on-chain. The information regarding the action cannot, therefore, be challenged. This has clogged the Ethereum blockchain because of the high number of complex transactions but has also given green light to developers wishing to do blockchain gaming.</p>



<p>In addition to crypto gaming that rewarded players in crypto, it was now possible to have games whose shares could be recorded directly on the blockchain.</p>



<h2>A Turning Point for the Gaming Industry</h2>



<p>Blockchain gaming has been heralded as the future of the gaming industry but as with every transitional shift in an already established sector, the intersection between blockchain and gaming has taken a few years to develop and is still in its infancy.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


Before going deeper into how NFTs are being used for gaming, here's an introduction to the virtual economies and why NFTs are important for this industry.

NFT Gaming: Introduction to Virtual Economies


<p>The use of the word ‘blockchain’ differs according to the uses and more or less accurate synonyms have been used over time to try to encapsulate this booming gaming segment. Alongside blockchain gaming’, ‘crypto gaming’ was the first term to emerge. More recently, the term ‘<a href="https://nonfungible.com/academy/nft/gamefi-play-to-earn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">play-to-earn</a>’ is gaining momentum.</p>



<p>The definitions of blockchain and crypto gaming will surely evolve over time, but here are the differences we have observed between these two concepts.</p>



<h2><strong>Blockchain Gaming</strong></h2>



<p>The term ‘blockchain gaming’ highlights the blockchain technology itself, independently of financial assets. Thus, the values of decentralization, true ownership, and resistance to censorship inherent to blockchain are promoted and presented as the only option.</p>



<p>Total decentralization is an enormous technical challenge as many questions are raised about its possible realization, for example:</p>



<ul><li>Do the rules of the game have to be written on the blockchain, thus making them immutable?</li><li>Do the graphics have to be generated by a central server or will one day each computer be able to provide some resources to host an entire MMORPG?</li><li>What is interoperability in a metaverse?</li></ul>



<p>‘Blockchain gaming’ aims to be as decentralized as possible. For blockchain purists, reaching this level of development is a real dream! At the moment, there are no such games available, but some are trying to get closer to it. As an example, we can talk about <a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/decentraland" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Decentraland</a>-based games such as <a href="https://battleracers.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Battle Racers</a> or <a href="https://chainbreakers.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chainbreakers</a> or, Decentraland itself.</p>



<p>Decentraland is probably one of the most decentralized projects to date. The LANDs metadata are hosted on Ethereum thanks to NFT and all the graphics are hosted on 13 servers kept by small DAOs all around the world. If one is shut down, players can still connect to the game using another server.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Even if Decentraland isn’t a video game, the way they achieved decentralized architecture is a good example of what can be done without the need of hosting everything on a blockchain.</p>



<h2><strong>Crypto Gaming</strong></h2>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/crypto-gaming-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-40627" width="512" height="288"/><figcaption>Crypto gaming is defined by a game that rewards players in crypto or NFT.</figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Crypto games are games in which a cryptocurrency is the financial asset in circulation on the blockchain. Therefore, the gameplay will utilize and payout using this cryptocurrency.</p>



<p>Those games reward their players in crypto or NFT. Your skills and the amount of time you invest in the game determine your odds of winning.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Even if, in the beginning, there were games that resembled the Flash games of the 2000s, the gameplay and the styles offered have evolved enormously.&nbsp;</p>



<p>One example of crypto gaming is the <a href="https://satoshis.games/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Satoshis’ Games</a> studio. They created many crypto games such as <a href="https://lightnite.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lightnite</a>, a Fortnite-like game but would reward players with Bitcoin dust through the Lightning Network. Other games made by Satoshis&#8217; Games exist and are available through <a href="https://elixir.app/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Elixir</a>, an all-in-one app combining NFT marketplace and app store.</p>



<h2><strong>Different Terms for Varying Degrees of (De)Centralization</strong></h2>



<p>Despite a difference in the term used to designate two different concepts, blockchain and crypto gaming are often confounded. Yet one advocates decentralization while the other is essentially focused on the rewards obtained by playing.</p>



<p>The terms ‘crypto gaming’ or ‘blockchain gaming’ have therefore become marketing tools. Depending on how the game has been designed, it will be located in a more or less decentralized spectrum.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


Alongside 'blockchain gaming', the term 'crypto gaming’ has emerged to define this booming gaming segment. The difference resides in their varying degrees of decentralization.

The Differences Between Blockchain and Crypto Gaming


<p>Since the gaming industry began, there have been various business models applied to their monetization with massively multiplayer online gaming (MMO) and smartphone technology only expanding these business models further.&nbsp;</p>



<h2><strong>Different Playing Models: Pay to Win, Free to Play, Freemium…</strong></h2>



<p>A &#8216;Pay to Win&#8217; game model is one that locks the player in at some point in the game and forces them to pay to keep moving forward.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This term is also used when there is too much imbalance between the players. In particular, where the access to paid content providing bonuses is too high compared to what can be obtained by playing the game for free. The players who bought these items (very expensive most of the time) have a strong advantage, especially in the context of Players vs Players (PvP). To remain competitive, it becomes mandatory to pay to win.</p>



<p>A declination of the ‘Pay to Win’ is the &#8216;freemium&#8217; model. This is common in mobile games where the first 2 weeks of play are extremely easy with the difficulty then increasing dramatically, eventually forcing the player to checkout to improve their character.</p>



<p>Another concern has arisen in the world of video games over time: the not always random distribution of ‘loot boxes’. The concept is simple: buy a box containing a randomly distributed mystery reward. The main criticism of this distribution system is that it approaches casino practices and this has been banned in some countries not for the ‘risky’ side but because of the resale of the items in a secondary market.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h2><strong>‘Play to Earn’: Revolutionizing the Gaming Industry</strong></h2>



<p>‘Play-to-earn’ (P2E) is also called ‘GameFi’ (the contraction of Gaming + Decentralized Finance).&nbsp;</p>



<p>‘Play to Earn’ is not that dissimilar to the ‘pay to win’ model in that the entrance to the game has no initial cost and games have some similar mechanics as the ones found in the ‘pay to win’ model. The crucial difference is that ‘play to earn’ models function through blockchain technology, which gives players true ownership of the digital assets they earn through participating in the game.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Excuse the pun, but ‘play to earn’ is a real game-changer, and the more you explore this model, the more exciting the possibilities become.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Participating in a P2E game rewards you for your time and skills. Being a loyal user and ultimately winning, gives you real ownership of digital assets. This may not sound like a particularly unusual set-up until you discover that these rewards are non-fungible tokens that you own. They are desirable and have a currency value on digital marketplaces where they can be sold. In addition, these NFT rewards commonly bestow on the holder in-game bonuses and access to special levels or rooms, making them even more valuable to players and therefore also showing an increased monetary value.</p>



<p>Giving gamers the ownership of digital assets not only benefits them but also brings value to the game itself by participating in the in-game economy. Players create value for other players and the game developers for which they are rewarded.&nbsp;</p>



<h2><strong>The Benefits of NFT Gaming</strong></h2>



<p>Players can sometimes earn in-game currency which is tradable in currency pairs on crypto exchanges. Games such as <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/game/axie-infinity-from-video-games-to-wages" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Axie Infinity reward $SLP </a>for putting your cute Axie monsters into battle tournaments and winning. The $SLP is also needed in-game to ‘breed’ your Axies further utilizing the in-game economy.&nbsp;</p>



<p>A more complex example is <a href="https://www.aavegotchi.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aavagochi</a>, a game in which digital pets can ‘farm’ and ‘mine’ digital assets and crypto, which again can be sold on marketplaces.</p>



<p>In the current world of multiplayer online gaming, the ‘pay to win’ model means big bucks for the gaming companies but shelling out hard-earned cash to gain an advantage over your competitors has its issues.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For instance, dedicated players&#8217; time and energy are often superseded by wealthy players who don’t want to spend time grinding in the game and who prefer buying expensive upgrades or weapons. This creates an imbalance within online gaming communities.&nbsp;</p>



<p>One of the <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/game/nft-advantages-risks-blockchain-gaming" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">benefits of blockchain gaming</a> is that a game can have its own in-world decentralized, peer-to-peer, trusted economy. Ultimately, players have ownership of the digital assets they have won or earned from gaming which, in turn, allows them to monetize their efforts independently of the game itself.</p>



<p>In a &#8216;play to win&#8217; environment, you are the one selling the wealthy gamer or collector their new upgrade, an upgrade earned from your time and skills playing in the game.</p>



<p>&#8216;Play to earn&#8217; is a form of human-based mining, where your personal time and skills spent within a game generate value both for the platform and for yourself.&nbsp;</p>



<p>With the rise of the ‘Play to earn’ ecosystem in 2021 thanks to Axie Infinity and their governance token AXS, the term &#8216;GameFi&#8217; appeared. This term is the combination of gaming and decentralized finance.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


Participating in a ‘Play to Earn’ game rewards you for your time and skills. Being a loyal user and ultimately winning, gives you real ownership of digital assets.

GameFi / Play to Earn: Revolutionizing the Gaming Industry


<p>Collecting items requires being rigorous and setting clear goals before moving on to the purchase. This practice has existed since the dawn of time and has become a craft.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Thanks to digital scarcity made possible due to the blockchain, it is now possible to pursue digital collectibles like NFTs.&nbsp;</p>



<p>But what are NFTs Collectibles exactly?</p>



<h2>NFT Collectibles: Different from Art</h2>



<p>To avoid confusion with the “NFT Art” chapter of this Academy, it is necessary to clarify that collectibles should not be categorized as art. Although it is possible to collect works of art, the use of collectibles in the NFT ecosystem is far removed from what art is.</p>



<p>It’s a fine line, but it does exist. To fully understand what differentiates collectibles from art, we invite you to read our two previous articles in which we dive into NFT art:</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://nonfungible.com/blog/the-cryptoart-movement" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">What is the crypto-art movement?</a></li><li><a href="https://nonfungible.com/blog/art-of-nfts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Art and NFTs.</a></li></ul>



<p>If virtual collectibles are to be separated from art, it is for a reason: NFT collectibles have been created to be used and are usually attached to a project. Even if artists have previously worked on the visual aspect of the collectibles, the purpose of their existence is not solely to be considered art.</p>



<h2>Examples of Collectible NFTs</h2>



<p>We have seen several ways to develop projects around this segment: some have the sole purpose of serving as a collector’s item, others belong to other segments such as video games.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In 2021, shortly after the success of <a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/boredapeclub">Bored Ape Yacht Club</a>, LarvaLabs’ <a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/meebits">Meebits</a> project was also sold out in less than a day. These two sales were the prelude to a trend that would last all summer: <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/collectible/collectibles-generative-profile-picture-fomo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pictures for Profile (PFP)</a>.</p>



<p>Pictures for Profile (PFP) are avatars that have been generated through an algorithm. The characteristics that constitute each avatar are created upstream and can take several forms:</p>



<ul><li>Earrings</li><li>Glasses</li><li>Hat</li><li>Skin color</li><li>Tee-shirt</li><li>Pendant</li><li>Piercing</li><li>Species (alien, robot, zombie, etc..)</li></ul>



<p>Some of the features are rarer than others, so avatars that possess them will be more sought after. For BAYC and Meebits, the characteristics were defined randomly during the mint.</p>



<p>Before BAYC and Meebits, it was mostly <a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/cryptopunks" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CryptoPunks</a> that served as Profile Pictures signifying OG status in the NFT space. Displaying these made it possible to publicly show your inherent belonging to the NFT community. But with the arrival of newcomers to the ecosystem since the 2020 lockdowns, the desire to &#8216;be part of an NFT community&#8217; has broadened. </p>



<p>Then came the “NFT Summer” with so much PFP-type project creation that the market became flooded. We were able to see in our <a href="https://nonfungible.com/reports/2021/en/q3-quarterly-nft-market-report" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NFT Q3 2021</a> report the trend of selling, at a loss, some NFT projects such as collectibles.</p>



<h2>Collectible Cards and badges</h2>



<p>Collectible card NFTs have only one purpose: to be collected. They can represent players of well-known sports, key moments in life, or historical events.</p>



<p>On the Wax blockchain, for example, it is possible to find IPs known as Hot Wheels or MLB. On Ethereum, the <a href="https://curionft.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oncurio</a> project offers collectibles from Mars Attack, Heavy Metal, or Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.</p>



<p>Badges are also collectible NFTs but have a different purpose than cards. They are usually used to reward users after completing a number of tasks. This is the case with the <a href="https://enjin.io/blog/microsoft-azure-heroes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microsoft Azure program</a> that distributes NFTs to reward learning efforts on its platform. Before them, it was <a href="https://gitcoin.co/kudos" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gitcoin that was already doing this with Kudos</a>.</p>



<h2>Blockchain Games and Collectibles</h2>



<p>Generally, the NFTs that can be used in video games are equipment such as weapons or armor. There are, however, some NFT use cases related to the video game environment.</p>



<p>The best example is the trading card game <a href="https://godsunchained.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gods Unchained</a>, where several card qualities exist:</p>



<ul><li>Meteorite: common</li><li>Shadow: uncommon</li><li>Gold: rare</li><li>Diamond: very rare</li></ul>



<p>The quality of the map will not change anything in the gameplay during the game. This feature is primarily for collectors.</p>



<p>Another interesting example of use comes from the game <a href="https://www.illuvium.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Illuvium</a>. It aims to be a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) using NFTs and blockchain as the center of the game. For their presale, NFTs are promotional badges and emotes to use in the game!</p>



<p>Another form that NFTs can take as a collector’s item is &#8216;skins&#8217;. The appearances of certain weapons or characters are also assets to collect. In the game <a href="https://www.lightnite.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lightnite</a> inspired by Fortnite, a marketplace allows you to exchange different appearances of weapons that can be used in the game. This is also the case for the Battle Royale-style game <a href="https://blankos.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Blankos</a> which has its own marketplace.</p>



<h2>NFT Collectibles: Your Digital Identity Takes Form</h2>



<p>It is important to remember that “real ownership” is a notion strongly rooted in the identity of the crypto universe. Collectors like to own things as diverse as they are varied, so it’s natural to find this behavior in the NFT ecosystem as well.</p>



<p>Collectible NFTs, therefore, take many forms and are not just randomly generated avatars. As we saw above, they can also be video game items. But one of the major things that makes a real digital identity is the personalization of your avatar, including NFT wearables.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


Unlike artworks, NFT collectibles have been created to be used and are usually attached to a bigger project.

Collectibles


<p>In 2020, wearables were mainly tied to individual worlds, though cross-platform interoperability is being explored and will surely be a development soon enough. As things stand, wearables are a growing part of the NFT sector with a strong ratio between Primary and Secondary Markets sales attracting investors and collectors alike.</p>



<h2>Wearables X Metaverse</h2>



<p>Customization of&nbsp; avatars in online games have always existed. The importance of personalizing your digital identity has continued to grow as massively multiplayer games and social networks have developed.</p>



<p>In metaverses like <a href="https://www.voxels.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Voxels</a> or <a href="https://decentraland.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Decentraland</a> it is possible to buy and sell clothes or customizing elements of your avatar via NFTs. That said, there is very little NFT compatibility between multiple metaverses.</p>



<p>For example, a cap created for The Sandbox is not presently able to be warn in Decentraland. Interoperability between projects is progressing, though the necessary standards to coordinate different NFT actors is vigorously discussed.</p>



<p>Blockchain metaverses have explored different ways to create and monetize the sale of wearables. For instance, Voxels is a voxel-based world in which users can create and mint their own wearables with relative simplicity. The Voxels Wearables Market is packed with every conceivable kind of wearable style and quality you can imagine with relatively low prices for most items, except for the work of the most well-known and desirable creators.</p>



<p>On the other hand, in Decentraland the process of making wearables requires a high level of technical skill. Also, the ability to deploy wearables in Decentraland has been more controlled, firstly wearables were only licensed to established, knowledgeable community members and then more recently to those whose designs are approved&nbsp; via the Decentraland wearables committee.</p>



<h2>Wearables: Status and Sense of Style</h2>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/61_Atari-sneakers.jpg" alt="Purple RTFKT x Atari Sneakers in Decentraland" class="wp-image-38354"/><figcaption><em>Purple RTFKT x Atari Sneakers in Decentraland</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Wearables reflect a personal status when visible in-world and in your wallet. It isn&#8217;t just the most expensive outfit that counts though… The standout looks and styles that individuals create from a combination of wearables gain as much respect, if not more, than an avatar wearing a full, pre-bought outfit even if it is a super rare and expensive set.</p>



<p>At the same time, having participated in a brand’s launch event and being rewarded with a wearable (such as a pair of RTFKT Sneakers X Atari sneakers) leaves an unforgettable memory for the users. Years later, this pair of shoes will still exist and its owner will be certain of its provenance. If a person received these sneakers at the event and never sold them, the blockchain would be able to confirm this information!</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


Wearables are specific NFT collectibles backed by in-game skins. These NFT clothes and accessories can be traded on digital marketplaces and ‘worn’ by your avatar in the metaverse.

Wearables


<p>Verifiable provenance and authenticity have been long-standing problems within the art world. Matters of copyright and ownership have also been traditionally difficult for both creators and distributors both to uphold and prove.</p>



<p>These various aspects, which were already problematic before, have worsened with the arrival of digital art. Indeed, any content can be duplicated endlessly on the internet. The need for ‘digital scarcity’ or ‘rare art’ has therefore increased over time&#8230; and blockchain can fix that.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/besancia-cypherpunk.png" alt="besancia cypherpunk" class="wp-image-40522"/><figcaption><em><a href="https://codex-viewer.com/record/233743" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cypherpunk </a>&#8211; Besancia</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Using blockchain technology immutability for creators to protect and track their work has been explored over the years to solve these issues, some blockchains being specifically created to that aim. It wasn&#8217;t until the rise of NFTs that a true solution was in sight.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Non-Fungible tokens have incited a crypto art revolution, enabling artists and creatives to build their careers in a decentralized space with true authenticity, traceable origin, ownership history, and no middle man. Furthermore, NFTs metadata enables the creation of truly unique rare digital artworks.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/JessieJess-I-am-Node.jpg" alt="JessieJess I am Node" class="wp-image-40531"/><figcaption><a href="https://knownorigin.io/gallery/11353000-i-am-node-2020-series-e-punk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>I am node &#8211; Jessiejess</em></a></figcaption></figure></div>


<h2>A History of Digital &amp; Crypto Art</h2>



<p>Digital art in itself is not a new concept and has been a maturing part of the multiple billion-dollar arts market since technology has allowed it. The term Digital Art was first used in the early 1980s when a team of computer engineers created a program named AAron to ‘paint’ for the pioneering A.I. artist Harold Cohen. Since this time, as the technology developed, innovations at the intersection of computer-assisted art and traditional methods have evolved.</p>



<p>Not always the case but one of the issues with establishing a value for digital creations has been the lack of the work&#8217;s physical presence like a video installation or a file holding an artwork. Another issue is solved by minting your works on a blockchain: these digital creations can be easily reproduced and redistributed, maintaining copyright and validating rightful ownership.</p>



<p>Pioneered by the LavaLabs team, CryptoPunks forged the way for art on the blockchain. A set of 10,000 ERC-20 tokens were produced, each an individual AI pixel character offered for free to claimants. Some Punks are rarer than others with each having an individual set of metadata attributes, some more common than others. That was back in 2017 a market and community quickly developed around them and by 2021 CryptoPunks had reached iconic heights of both monetary value and status as digital antiques of the future.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/cryptopunks-collection-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-40635"/><figcaption><em>CryptoPunks are a collection of 10,000 24×24 pixel art images.</em></figcaption></figure>



<p>Since these beginnings, the minting of artworks as NFTs on the Blockchain has become extremely popular with many different decentralized Marketplaces formulating.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Creators can either ‘mint’ their own works such as on <a href="https://www.mintbase.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mintbase</a> or on digital art marketplace platforms where the artist is pre-vetted, such as on <a href="https://knownorigin.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Known Origin</a>, helping to promote the artist and giving them added legitimacy.&nbsp;</p>



<h2>What is the Future of NFT Art?</h2>



<p>The future looks bright for Art backed by a non-fungible token system, with many already established digital and traditional artists finding a new home in the decentralized system of now also belonging to the Crypto Art scene (for example, <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/art/onboarding-major-artists-to-the-nft-space" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jose Delbo from DC Comics</a>)..</p>



<p>You can also explore our selection of <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/art/the-cryptoart-movement" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10 crypto artists to discover</a> to get an idea of what the crypto art movement is and why it matters so much.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Some controversial aspects go along with putting Art on the blockchain, especially regarding the metadata and where it is held. Some methods hold more information on-chain than others. Purely on-chain is completely immutable but with Ethereum&#8217;s gas prices so high, it can be very expensive to pay for the transaction to mint.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Other legitimate solutions involve using IPFS on a centralized server where files are held with only certain meta held on-chain. The purists are firm in their belief in things being as on-chain as possible whereas many simply don’t understand the difference and only see the reduced cost of off-chain hosting.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


Although digital art has existed for a while, some of the vital differences with art that is held on the blockchain reside in its immutable data and in that it offers proof of ownership and origin.


<p>Growing in popularity in the crypto financial economy, the way governance tokens are distributed as rewards ensures that the platform community is consolidated.</p>



<h2><strong>DeFi and Governance</strong>&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Decentralized finance was one of the fastest growing sectors in the crypto space in 2020. According to the data from <a href="https://www.theblock.co/data/decentralized-finance/total-value-locked-tvl" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Block</a>, The number of deposits in DeFi protocols increased from US$19.72B in January 2021 to US$240B in January 2022.</p>



<p>As of yet, DeFi is not completely decentralized and governance tokens are a common part of DeFi projects, enabling them to gain a higher level of decentralization. Many governance tokens enable investors to influence the protocol&#8217;s decisions.</p>



<p>Governance tokens function as regular ERC-20 tokens issued on a suitable blockchain, invariably deployed on Ethereum, with the token main difference from others being that the issuing platform has created purpose-built applications for their use.&nbsp;</p>



<h2><strong>Voting/Governance</strong>&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Governance tokens come with certain rights regarding the project they are attached to, which often include the ability to vote on the project’s developments &amp; directions.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For example, individual games like <a href="https://www.aavegotchi.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aavegotchi</a> issue their own non-fungible tokens enabling holders to vote on future developments in the game, meaning they have the power to shape the virtual world from within the ecosystem they use.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Decentralized Autonomous Organizations are increasingly keen to use these governance tokens to gather interested stakeholders around their innovative projects, enabling them to take a direct part in the future of the organization itself.</p>



<p>A governance token usually comes with 1 vote but project owners can choose different vote attribution systems based on their values and needs. They’re also able to create <a href="https://blog.aavegotchi.com/aavegotchi-governance-voting-as-a-member-of-the-worlds-most-active-dao/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">voting attribution models for their governance tokens</a> that will favor an individual&#8217;s real commitment and engagement to a project over the wealthy collectors, who otherwise can centralize their voting with their large tokens portfolios.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Tokens can be staked to the platform and the user can vote on certain parameters within it, influencing the project&#8217;s future direction.</p>



<h2><strong>How to Obtain a Governance Token?</strong></h2>



<p>One of the central pillars of the DeFi ecosystem is the way in which projects go about distributing their native token. In this setup, the token is ‘earned’ by participation in the project. There are a few ways an investor can acquire a platform governance token.</p>



<p>This includes:</p>



<ul><li>Buying a governance token directly on crypto exchanges.</li><li>Earning a governance token via one of these 3 methods:<ul><li>Staking another currency on their platform.&nbsp;</li><li>Adding funds to the liquidity pool.&nbsp;</li><li>Participating in incentives for which you are rewarded.</li></ul></li></ul>



<h3><strong>Buying&nbsp;Governance Tokens</strong></h3>



<p>Governance tokens can be bought directly on crypto exchanges and traded just like any other fungible ERC-20 crypto token but their purchase implies becoming the owner of rights regarding governance tokens also has a direct relationship with the governance token’s native project.</p>



<h3><strong>Earning Governance Tokens</strong></h3>



<p>The most common ways to earn governance tokens are through staking tokens into the platform&#8217;s liquidity pools or by participating in the incentives of the platform.</p>



<ul><li><strong>Staking&nbsp;</strong></li></ul>



<p>Staking a token is when a user delegates a certain amount of token owned to a platform. This can be in the form of adding their native token into a liquidity pool or as part of a liquidity pair (or LP).</p>



<p>Liquidity pair tokens can be created on Decentralized Exchange platforms (DEX) like <a href="https://uniswap.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Uniswap</a> and <a href="https://balancer.fi/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Balancer</a> where you can stake equal amounts of two currencies like ETH and the governance token to the DEX and you receive Liquidity Pair tokens in exchange. Which you then stake back to the governance tokens&#8217; the platform to earn more.</p>



<p>You can also stake earned tokens back onto the project once claimed.</p>



<ul><li><strong>Rewards&nbsp;</strong></li></ul>



<p>Currently, not all Defi governance tokens have a defined rewards structure and there are also many different types of structures. </p>



<p>Examples of reward structures are types of stock buyback (where the token provider buys back some of his token) such as <a href="https://makerdao.com/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MakerDAO</a>. Interest earned on the MakerDAO stablecoin ($DAI) is used to purchase the MakerDAO governance token ($MKR) and an amount of $MKR is burned, diminishing the overall supply of the $MKR to increase its value.</p>



<p><a href="https://curve.fi/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Curve</a>, on the other hand, offers voting on which liquidity pool gets the most return to users who have staked.</p>



<ul><li><strong>Airdrops</strong></li></ul>



<p>Some platforms have incentivized the growth of their ecosystem by giving away or ‘airdropping’ a certain proportion of their native token to early supporters, foundation members, or for example during events or meet-ups on discord or in a metaverse like Decentraland or signing up early to their website.&nbsp;</p>



<h2><strong>On-Chain vs Off-Chain Governance Token</strong></h2>



<h3><strong>On-Chain</strong></h3>



<p>Where governance decisions are made through programmable interfaces on the blockchain, with the on-chain governance model much of the process is automated for instance with votes being processed through validator nodes in the blockchain.</p>



<h3><strong>Off-Chain</strong></h3>



<p>Off-chain governance uses already existing compliance and regulatory mechanisms separately from a blockchain and incorporates the results on-chain. For instance, certain compliance actions might be manually processed. It can make scaling an issue and also coordinating certain voting can be more complex with off-chain instances.</p>



<h2><strong>Governance Tokens: a Bright and Innovative Future?</strong>&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Unlike traditional centralized governing bodies and organizational structures, a project using a Governance token has a much more adaptable structure.</p>



<p>Governance tokens are still in their infancy, with project owners still searching for new methods of distribution and monetization of their tokens. So far, some projects have failed, have been corrupted, or have ended up being scams. </p>



<p>Nevertheless, the number of use cases for these governance tokens continues to grow.&nbsp; There’s no doubt that in the coming years, we will discover new impactful and <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/opinions/from-social-tokenization-to-nftranshumanism" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mind-blowing usages for governance tokens</a>.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


Governance tokens are cryptocurrencies that offer holders a direct stake in the token's native DeFi platform. Attached to projects, you earn them through participation in the platform.

Governance Tokens


<p>NFTs are not just used for collections, artistic or gaming purposes. Project owners are also finding new inventive ways to use NFTs to make our lives easier. These NFT use cases are called &#8216;utility’. This segment of NFT projects ranges from event ticketing to diplomas, digital badges, or even parcel tracking. This segment is one of those we hear the least about but nevertheless covers a very wide field of application. In the coming years, we can expect more utility NFTs projects to emerge and change the way we go about our lives.</p>



<p>Here are a few utility project types to keep an eye on.</p>



<h2><strong>Decentralized Domain Names</strong></h2>



<p>Decentralized domain names are NFTs that have simplified wallet addresses when sending cryptocurrencies. On Ethereum, wallet addresses are a sequence of 42 randomly generated characters.</p>



<p>This complexity leads to errors if the recipient&#8217;s address is handwritten or hacks that replace the recipient&#8217;s address when copying and pasting. To prevent these errors, it is possible to register a domain name (for example, nonfungible.eth) which will redirect to the address 0x841f3a12D45651C21EcfA26546C9E77F5Ff4Fe80.</p>



<p>On Ethereum, two services offer to register a decentralized domain name: <a href="https://ens.domains/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ethereum Name Service</a> and <a href="https://unstoppabledomains.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Unstoppable Domains</a>. They make it possible to resolve not only Ethereum addresses but also addresses on other blockchains or a website.</p>



<h2><strong>Internet of Technology (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence</strong></h2>



<p>We already live in a time where our physical identity exists in tandem with our digital personas, from banking to social media, dating, gaming, and education. Many people&#8217;s lives exist in a dual digital/physical hybrid which is only set to expand in the future.</p>



<p>Bringing the physical, real-world onto the Blockchain through tokenization is revolutionary in many aspects.</p>



<p>Blockchain technology brings trust and accountability into an Internet of Technology (IoT) system. Non-Fungible Tokens in the ERC-721 standard can manage IoT devices and offer secure authorization and authentication for IoT devices.</p>



<h2><strong>Ticketing NFT</strong></h2>



<p>One of the concerns faced by event organizers relates to ticket fraud. There are ways to counterfeit certain tickets and it is difficult to have full visibility of the exchanges that take place on the secondary market.</p>



<p>Thanks to NFTs, it is possible to identify and track each ticket in a tamper-proof way. In addition, it is possible to destroy or create non-transferable tickets once used.&nbsp;<a href="https://near.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Near Procotol</a> or <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/utility/future-of-ticketing-get-protocol" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Get Protocol</a> have developed several solutions around event ticketing, online or in real life.</p>



<h2><strong>Delivery Tracking / Supply Chain</strong></h2>



<p>One of the recurring problems encountered in the delivery industries concerns the losses surrounding parcel tracking. Thanks to NFTs, <a href="https://ownest.io/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ownest</a> has been offering a solution to this problem since 2017.</p>



<p>Each package is connected to an NFT but rather than attaching the physical package to the NFT, it is the transfer of responsibility from one delivery person to another that is highlighted. This way, each person who transmits the package also transmits the NFT to prove that he has transferred the package to the next person in the logistics chain.</p>



<p>Another example of NFT used as part of supply chain tracking is the <a href="https://www.breitling.com/us-es/news/details/breitling-becomes-the-first-luxury-watchmaker-to-offer-a-digital-passport-based-on-blockchain-for-all-of-its-new-watches-33479" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">luxury watch brand Breitling</a>. In 2020, Breitling took a close interest in NFTs to guarantee the traceability of its watches. By downloading a ‘digital passport’, it was possible to see all the exchange history of the watch as well as the warranty and its origin.</p>



<p>Here, NFTs were solely used for their traceability of information.</p>



<h2><strong>NFT Diplomas and Certification</strong></h2>



<p>In 2020 we saw more and more real-world players taking an interest in the potential of Non-Fungible Tokens. The path has been paved by video games and art, but today more and more countries and companies are starting to adopt this technology for uses as diverse as they are varied:</p>



<ul><li>Vietnam now delivers its diplomas thanks to <a href="https://medium.com/tomochain/tomochain-partners-with-vietnams-ministry-of-education-to-secure-millions-of-diplomas-on-the-c18cebfe22e8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Non-Fungible Tokens on the TOMOchain blockchain</a>.</li><li>Luxurious watch brands like <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/15/luxury-watch-maker-breitling-issues-digital-certificates-on-the-ethereum-blockchain/?guccounter=2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Breitling</a> or <a href="https://presslounge.vacheron-constantin.com/vacheron-constantin-certifies-its-entire-range-of-watches-using-blockchain-technology/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vacheron Constantin use NFTs</a> to ensure the traceability and authenticity of their watches.</li><li>Investing in real estate through the purchase of fractional shares is made possible thanks to the startup <a href="https://realt.co/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RealT</a>.</li></ul>



<p>In the field of document certification such as diplomas or contracts, NFTs or even the use of blockchain have also found their place.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For the certification of documents as well as contracts, the startup <a href="https://www.woleet.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Woleet</a> has found a solution that does not require NFT to be effective. Indeed, thanks to the possibility of a signature on the blockchain, Woolet will timestamp the document directly on Bitcoin without the need to send a transaction. The digital file is hosted on a server.</p>



<p>This way, the public information is that of the signature but the content of the document remains confidential.</p>



<p>This is also the solution proposed by <a href="https://verisart.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Verisart</a> but with a specialization in artworks. A timestamp containing the various public information is recorded by a signature on the Ethereum blockchain and the certificate of authenticity is then accessible from his account on the site.</p>



<p>Regarding diplomas, Vietnam has partnered in 2020 with <a href="https://tomochain.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TomoChain</a> to deliver diplomas to university students. Since then, the idea of using <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/opinions/nfts-and-higher-education-part-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NFTs in Higher Education</a> has continued to spread in the United States</p>



<h2><strong>Decentralized Identity (DID)</strong></h2>



<p>The issue of digital identity is increasingly central. Whether it is an authentication validation from your phone, a magic link sent by email, or since 2020, a health pass, digital identity can take several forms.</p>



<p>All these solutions are stored on a central server managed by a third party. The idea of a decentralized digital identity would allow everyone to remain in possession of the data that belongs to them and decide exactly what data will be shared with others.</p>



<p>For the developers of these projects, a balance must be struck between what will be publicly available and the data that will have to remain confidential.&nbsp;NFTs will have a role to play in the future of decentralized identity.</p>



<p>In 2022, Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin co-authored a paper on a new type of token, <a href="https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2022/01/26/soulbound.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Soulbound Tokens</a> (SBT). Unlike NFTs, SBTs will not be made to be transferred or exchanged once they have been created. In this way, they can be used to identify the user publicly while keeping personal data private.</p>



<h2><strong>Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP)</strong></h2>



<p>There are several ways to prove your attendance at a physical event. Photos, videos, concert tickets, friends&#8230; so many elements that allow you to keep a memory and proudly say &#8220;I was there&#8221;. In the digital space, this is now possible thanks to NFTs.</p>



<p>The <a href="https://poap.xyz/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proof of Attendance Protocol</a> (POAP) is a token to claim during an event that proves its presence at a given time. Customizable, this token serves as a souvenir as well as irrefutable proof of presence at an event. It also can act as a community builder as it can be seen which wallets attended and these wallets can be airdropped future marketing NFTs or gifts.</p>



<h2><strong>Physical Sales</strong></h2>



<p>Whether it&#8217;s to reach a larger customer base, modernize or simply try new experiences, the idea of associating an NFT with the sale of physical assets charms more and more people. For example, the NFT may take the form of a certificate of authenticity for a painting, a way to receive figurines, or the possibility of claiming a bottle of rare wine.</p>



<p>However, associating an NFT with a physical asset has two major flaws: the authenticity of the physical asset and the automation of the transfer of the NFT when selling the physical asset.</p>



<p>Since there is no way to remotely verify that the physical object that was sold was not a counterfeit, the original seller will has to be fully trusted.</p>



<p>For a painting, for example, it will be necessary to have absolute certainty that the physical work is really authentic before minting the NFT. Then, even if the first sale goes smoothly, the first seller will no longer have any visibility or control over the transfer of the painting in case of a sale on the secondary market.</p>



<p>For the example of a <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/collectible/nfts-and-traditional-life-series-part-2-wine" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rare wine bottle linked to an NFT</a>, if the NFT contains a one-time code to claim the bottle, a buyer of the NFT on the secondary market will not be able to know in advance whether the code has already been used or not.</p>



<p>Linking an NFT to a physical object can therefore create a feeling of false security induced by the tamper-proof nature of a blockchain.</p>



<h2><strong>Exclusive Membership</strong></h2>



<p>Owning certain NFTs such as <a href="https://themetakey.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Metakeys</a> or the <a href="https://www.sandbox.game/en/snoopdogg/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Snoopverse</a> member pass serve as a pass to access bonuses or exclusive events. Bonuses can have several forms: access to private rooms in a Discord, touch airdrops, access WhiteLists to interact with NFTs before others&#8230;</p>



<p>This is also used in metaverses. During the <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/metaverse/first-metaverse-festival-decentraland" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Metaverse Festival in Decentraland</a>, an entire building was dedicated to Metakey and only those who had it in their wallet could enter to talk with other users but also claim exclusive wearables.</p>



<p>Regarding the <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/metaverse/mint-snoop-dogg-avatar-the-sandbox" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Snoopverse Early Access Pass</a>, it allowed owners to attend a festive evening in The Sandbox but also an invitation to the opening of the Cozomo art gallery and a reward multiplier for the stackers of the token of The Sandbox, the $SAND.</p>



<h2><strong>NFT Gift Boxs</strong></h2>



<p>For lovers of chance, it is also possible to find NFTs that reserve surprises. This is for example the case with the NFT Boxes where the famous collector Pranksy allowed buyers to receive artistic creations from well-known artists in the NFT sector.</p>



<p>Once the NFT Box was purchased, it was not possible to resell it until the artwork had been sent. The artistic NFTs were sent at the end of the month and the NFT box then became exchangeable and transferable.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


Project owners are finding inventive ways to use non-fungible tokens to make our lives easier. These 'utility' NFT use cases range from event ticketing to diplomas or even parcel tracking.

Utility

Trading NFT


<p>Blockchain technology is at the forefront of technological e-commerce innovation as it offers the established digital world the transparency and true ownership that previously been lacking.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Exchanges for trading cryptocurrency and ERC-20 or ‘fungible tokens’ have been established for nearly a decade now but specific marketplaces for trading ERC-721 or non-fungible tokens are a more recent development in the space.&nbsp;</p>



<h2><strong>NFT Marketplaces: Blooming Platforms for a Blooming Industry</strong></h2>



<p>With crypto exchanges, an investor places their funds directly onto the platform to trade.&nbsp;</p>



<p>With digital NFT marketplaces, it is different: your web3 wallet, such as Metamask, holds your assets and connects to the marketplace and your asset is only transferred after a sale.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Among other aspects, the interoperability and ease with which NFTs can be used across platforms have helped create different types of marketplaces.&nbsp;</p>



<p>NFT marketplaces have developed a lot in the last three years with <a href="https://opensea.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OpenSea</a> being the earliest example offering an eBay-style format for trading NFTs on their decentralized platforms.&nbsp;</p>



<p>These innovations were followed by many other variants including art marketplaces where artists could upload their work to the platform to ‘mint’ or ‘tokenize’ their art and then sell from the same platform.</p>



<p>The art segment of the NFT marketplace ecosystem has often utilized the IPFS distributed file sharing protocol to help store some of the metadata.&nbsp;</p>



<p>If you’re keen to mint NFTs, our chapter introducing <a href="https://nonfungible.com/academy/minting-nft/choosing-minting-platform" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Minting Platforms</a> might be of interest to you.&nbsp;</p>



<h2><strong>Comparing the most popular NFT marketplaces</strong></h2>



<p>Here, we’ll explain the differences among NFT marketplaces as we share some of the most popular platforms and what makes them unique.&nbsp;</p>



<p>There are different types:</p>



<ul><li>The &#8216;bazaars&#8217;: generalist marketplaces where any type of NFTs can be purchased (video games, utility, collectibles, art&#8230;)</li><li>The &#8216;specialists&#8217;: for example, artist marketplaces that are dedicated to art only.</li><li>Outsiders: newer marketplaces using other blockchains.</li></ul>



<p>Here are the criteria we’ve used to describe the different platforms.&nbsp;</p>



<ul><li><strong>Marketplace</strong>: the different marketplaces that exist, just click on each name to access directly to the marketplace.</li><li><strong>Type</strong>: bazaar, specialists, or outsider marketplaces.</li><li><strong>Blockchain</strong>: which blockchain is supported by the site.</li><li><strong>CC payment</strong>: if the platform allows the use of the Credit Card to buy NFTs.</li><li><strong>Fees</strong>: The percentage of fees taken by the platform in case of sale.</li><li><strong>Royalties</strong>: The percentage of fees taken by artists in case of resale of the NFT.</li><li><strong>Types of sale</strong>: Way to sell your NFT (traditional auction, Open Edition&#8230;).</li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-table aligncenter"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Marketplaces</strong></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><strong>Type</strong></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><strong>Blockchain</strong></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><strong>CC payment</strong></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><strong>Primary sales Fees</strong></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><strong>Secondary sales fees</strong></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><strong>Royalties</strong></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://opensea.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Opensea</a></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Bazaar</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Ethereum, Polygon, Klaytn, Solana</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>No</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>2.50%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>2.50%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Custom</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://rarible.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rarible</a></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Bazaar</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Ethereum, Tezos, Flow</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>No</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>1%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>1%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Custom</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://superrare.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SuperRare</a></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Specialized</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Ethereum</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>No</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>15%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>3%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>10%</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://knownorigin.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Known Origin</a></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Specialized</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Ethereum</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>No</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>15%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>2.50%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>12.50%</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://foundation.app/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Foundation</a></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Specialized</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Ethereum</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>No</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>5</em>%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>5.00%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>10</em>%</td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://makersplace.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Makersplace</a></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Specialized</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Ethereum</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Yes</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>15%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>2.50%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>10%</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://async.art/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Async Art</a></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Specialized</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Ethereum</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>No</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>10 to 30%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>1%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>10%</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://niftygateway.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nifty Gateway</a></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Specialized</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Ethereum</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Yes</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>5% + $0.30</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>5% + $0.30</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Custom</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://teia.art/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Teia</a></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Specialized</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Tezos</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>No</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>2.50%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>2.50%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Custom</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://viv3.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">VIV3</a></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Outsider</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Flow</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Yes</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>12.5</em>%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>12.5</em>%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Up to 10%</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://www.binance.com/en/nft/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binance NFT</a></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Outsider</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Binance Smart Chain</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>No</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>1%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>1%</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Up to 10%</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://market.immutable.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Immutable X</a></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Outsider</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Immutable X</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>No</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>2</em>%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>2</em>%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Custom</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://solanart.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Solanart</a></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Bazaar</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Solana</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>No</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>3</em>%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>3</em>%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Custom</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://wax.atomichub.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Atomix Hub</a></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Bazaar</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Wax</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>No</em></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>2</em>%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>2</em>%</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><em>Custom</em></td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>Marketplace fees are not the same everywhere and in addition, fees related to the operation of the blockchain can be added. Besides that, who is the audience that frequents these marketplaces? On SuperRare, Foundation, or Known Origin, it will mostly be art collectors. On Binance NFT, mainly traders. Some platforms will accept payment by credit card, others only cryptos.</p>



<p>The choice of platform is therefore very important.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


NFT marketplaces have developed a lot in the last three years with OpenSea being the earliest example of offering an eBay-style format for trading NFTs on its decentralized platform.

Most Popular NFT Marketplaces


<p>Before proceeding with the purchase of your first, some steps are necessary:</p>



<ul><li>Owning a compatible crypto wallet</li><li>Holding some crypto in it</li><li>Choosing the right NFT marketplace</li></ul>



<p>We will explain in this chapter how to buy an NFT on the Ethereum blockchain using Metamask. Depending on the wallet, exchange, or marketplace some aspects of this tutorial may vary but the process will be very similar on other platforms.</p>



<h2><strong>Creating Your Crypto Wallet</strong></h2>



<p>Here is how to use <a href="https://metamask.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Metamask</a> as a reference for this step-by-step guide to properly create your wallet:</p>



<h3>1. Go to <a href="https://metamask.io/download/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Metamask download page</a>.</h3>



<p>Several versions of Metamask are proposed depending on the device you wish to install it on. Choose your preferred device and select “Install”.&nbsp;</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/download-MM-version.jpg" alt="Metamask download page" class="wp-image-39571"/><figcaption><a href="https://metamask.io/download/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Metamask down</em></a><em><a href="https://metamask.io/download/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">l</a></em><a href="https://metamask.io/download/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>oad page</em></a></figcaption></figure></div>


<h3>2. You will be redirected to the Metamask application page for your chosen device.&nbsp;</h3>



<p>Make sure you are on the authentic Metamask page. Please see the screenshot below as reference:&nbsp;</p>



<ul><li>Check the company name and look for the “verified pin” next to it,&nbsp;</li><li>Check the number of reviews &#8211; it needs to be above 2.5K reviews as seen in the screenshot</li><li>Check the number of downloads &#8211; Metamask being a very popular platform, this number should be in the 10M+ users)&nbsp;</li></ul>



<p>Once you’re sure it&#8217;s the correct page, install Metamask on your device.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/download-MM-plugin.jpg" alt="Metamask Chrome Plugin (compatible with Brave)" class="wp-image-39563"/><figcaption><em>Metamask Chrome Plugin (compatible with Brave)</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<h3>3. Create your new wallet</h3>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/metamask-create-wallet.jpg" alt="Creation of the new wallet using Metamask" class="wp-image-39555"/><figcaption><em>Creation of the new wallet using Metamask</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<h3>4. Create a strong password</h3>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/metamask-create-password.jpg" alt="Create a password to access your Metamask wallet" class="wp-image-39547"/><figcaption><em>Create a password to access your Metamask wallet</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>A strong password contains at least 15 characters, including at least one uppercase letter, one number, and one special character. The longer it is the better!</p>



<h3>5. Reveal your Seed Phrase (Backup Phrase) and keep it somewhere safe.&nbsp;</h3>



<p>Upon creating your wallet, Metamask assigns a seed phrase or backup phrase to it.&nbsp;This seed phrase is a series of words that will rarely be needed but are the ‘keys’ to your wallet.</p>



<p><strong>Do NOT share your seed phrase with anyone!</strong></p>



<p>If someone discovers your seed phrase, they’ll be able to access your wallet and all your assets.&nbsp;</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/metamask-reveal-key.jpg" alt="Revealing your seed phrase using Metamask" class="wp-image-39539"/><figcaption><em>Revealing your seed phrase using Metamask</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<h3>6. Write your seed phrase to the next page and you’re all set!</h3>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/metamask-wallet-created.jpg" alt="Metamask interface" class="wp-image-39531"/><figcaption><em>Metamask interface</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Now that your crypto wallet is created, it is now possible to interact with decentralized applications (Dapps) such as the NFT marketplace Decentraland. But to buy an NFT, you first need to buy some cryptocurrencies to cover the cost of the transaction.</p>



<h2><strong>Buying Cryptocurrencies</strong></h2>



<p>As we explained in the Fees chapter, in order to send transactions for buying or selling NFTs, minting them, or even creating new smart contracts, cryptocurrencies are needed. In this chapter, we will only focus on the two easiest methods to buy some ETH (Ethereum currency): buying from a centralized exchange platform or buying directly from Metamask.</p>



<p>With these two methods, you will be asked to follow the ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) procedure during your registration. You will be requested to provide an ID depending on the platform, this manual identity verification might last from a couple of days to a few weeks.</p>



<h3><strong>Buying from a Centralized Exchange (CEX)</strong></h3>



<p>Since the creation of Bitcoin, many centralized exchanges (CEX) have been created to buy cryptos with fiat currency. Today, the most used and secured exchanges are compliant with international regulations and can freeze accounts in case of malicious activity.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Here are the three main Exchanges to buy your first cryptos using Credit Card or wire transfer:</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://www.coinbase.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coinbase</a></li><li><a href="https://www.kraken.com/en-us/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kraken</a></li><li><a href="https://www.binance.com/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binance</a></li></ul>



<p>During the registration process, you will be guided step-by-step to create and fund your account. Once you have traded the fiat for some Ether, it is time to withdraw them to your wallet. Open the Metamask plugin and click on your account name.&nbsp;</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/metamask-select-address.jpg" alt="Selection of a Metamask wallet address" class="wp-image-39523" width="348" height="232"/><figcaption><em>Selection of a Metamask wallet address</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>This action allows you to copy the address that will receive the funds on the clipboard. Go back to the withdrawal page of the chosen CEX and paste the address when asked. Confirmation should be asked and the transfers usually take around 10 minutes.</p>



<h3><strong>Buying $ETH through Metamask</strong></h3>



<p>In 2021, Metamask and <a href="https://www.sendwyre.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wyre</a> made it possible to buy $ETH directly through the wallet using a credit card. One year later, it is possible to use <a href="https://www.moonpay.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MoonPay</a>, <a href="https://transak.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Transak</a> and <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/metamask-rolls-out-apple-pay-integration-and-other-ios-updates" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Apple Pay</a> as well. To proceed, click on the ‘buy’ button.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/metamask-buy-button.jpg" alt="Buying ETH with a credit card through Metamask" class="wp-image-39515" width="348" height="596"/><figcaption><em>Buying ETH with a credit card through Metamask</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Choose your provider and follow the registration process to proceed with the payment. Depending on the platform used and the amount of the transaction, the fees might vary. Also, some payment limits can occur depending on the ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) level put in place by the platform.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/Wyre-buying-ETH.jpg" alt="Using Wyre on Metamask to buy $ETH" class="wp-image-39507"/><figcaption><em>Using Wyre on Metamask to buy $ETH</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Once the transaction is complete, you will be redirected to a confirmation page and the $ETH should be transferred to your wallet shortly after.</p>



<h3><strong>Select an NFT Marketplace and Buy your First NFT</strong></h3>



<p>Once these steps are complete, all that remains to be done is to select your marketplace (if you’re not sure which one would suit your needs, you can read our rMost Popular NFT Marketplacesr chapter) choose the right NFT, and buy it.</p>



<h2><strong>Centralized vs Decentralized Marketplaces&nbsp;</strong></h2>



<p>In its most decentralized version, the user can be fully responsible for every action, from creating a wallet to buying an NFT from a decentralized NFT marketplace. The user owns the private key of his wallet and can transfer the NFT.</p>



<p>Conversely, some marketplaces centralize everything. When creating an account with a login and password, the marketplace will generate a crypto address associated with the account. Owning crypto to buy an NFT will not be mandatory and the user will not have the opportunity to access the private keys of his wallet. The NFT marketplace will handle everything from A to Z.</p>



<p>Of course, there are in-betweens. For example, on <a href="https://niftygateway.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nifty Gateway</a>, it is possible to buy an NFT directly with a credit card. To buy an NFT with crypto, a deposit on the wallet generated by the marketplace will be needed.<br>In order to sell the NFT on Nifty Gateway, a profile verification (the ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) process as mentioned above) will be required… and to sell the NFT on another marketplace, it will then be necessary to ’claim’ the NFT before taking out of the marketplace.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Today, buying your first NFT has become very simple if the purchase takes place on centralized platforms like <a href="https://www.binance.com/en/nft/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binance</a>, <a href="https://crypto.com/nft" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Crypto.com</a>, <a href="https://ftx.com/en/nfts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FTX</a>, and <a href="https://nft.coinbase.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coinbase NFT</a>. If the purchase is done in a decentralized way, it will require a few more steps but will ensure you better control of your NFT.</p>



<p>Here again, the perfect balance between security, decentralization, and scalability has not yet been found. Each method of purchase has its advantages and disadvantages, a good indicator to determine your preferred method is to assess the retention time of your NFT.&nbsp;</p>



<p>If you plan to hold your NFT for a long time, it’s preferred to focus on a decentralized marketplace that cares about the longevity of your asset (using IPFS and on-chain metadata hosting). If you plan to flip your NFT very quickly, a centralized exchange will be more suitable because it will have a lower fees and will be quicker to trade on it.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


It has become relatively simple today to buy an NFT.

Buying your First NFT


<h2><strong>Is the Project / Smart Contract Verified?&nbsp;</strong></h2>



<p>On the blockchain, everything is traceable and verifiable, so it’s theoretically impossible to buy a counterfeit. You still have to be careful to make sure you are purchasing assets that were created by the original Smart Contract. This can be verified very easily on some Marketplaces (like OpenSea) with their verification badges.</p>



<h2><strong>Who is the Team Behind the Project?</strong></h2>



<p>It&#8217;s always good to know who is behind the initiative: are these blockchain veterans, renowned artists or strangers who are trying to pass themselves off as stars? Take the time to explore the ‘About Us’ or ‘The Team’ pages of each project and do some research on the founders &#8230; It doesn&#8217;t take a lot of time and sometimes it helps you avoid terrible scams.</p>



<h2><strong>What Makes the Asset Valuable?</strong></h2>



<p>This question is far from trivial and the answer depends on each use and each context. Does the object offer real use value within a project? Is this value likely to be increased or decreased over time?</p>



<h2><strong>Is the Project Truly Decentralized?&nbsp;</strong></h2>



<p>Without becoming overly technical, it’s important to understand how much your assets &#8216;really&#8217; belong to you. Does a publisher have the ability to suspend your account or access the content of your wallet? Are the assets of the NFT, its asset and image, video, etc. secured by a 100% decentralized blockchain?</p>



<h2><strong>Is There a True Scarcity?&nbsp;</strong></h2>



<p>How does the project / artist ensure the scarcity of assets? Is there a risk that your ultra exclusive 1/1 edition will be supplemented by hundreds of other comparable assets in the future?</p>



<h2><strong>What Kind of NFT Is It?</strong></h2>



<p>As the NFT ecosystem is already extremely broad, from art to gaming and metaverses, the due diligence process is necessarily different depending on the asset type.&nbsp;</p>



<p>However, keep in mind that &#8216;categorizing&#8217; an NFT project is not so easy and in some cases, you’ll need to observe more carefully the types of assets for sale beyond the segments themselves.</p>



<h2><strong>How Long Will I Keep It For?</strong></h2>



<p>In many ways the value of an NFT depends on the use you’ll make of it. A long-term investor will buy an NFT and not touch his investment for years, while an active NFT trader will want to sell it as soon as possible. Buying an artistic NFT can also be about supporting the artist, as&nbsp; seen amongst metaverse artist communities who often buy to encourage their friends&#8217; creativity.</p>



<p>Knowing how long you plan to keep the NFT in your portfolio is paramount to defining a buying strategy.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


Whether it is with an investment objective or simply because you like the asset, here are 7 questions to ask yourself before buying an NFT.

7 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying an NFT


<p>Among the numerous NFT projects released every day, many use advanced marketing techniques to encourage you to purchase. It is important to promote an NFT project for it to find its audience. But not everyone is an experienced trader or seasoned collector. Some newcomers may therefore be influenced more easily and therefore invest in an NFT before having properly checked out the fundamentals&nbsp;</p>



<p>As each NFT is a unique asset, each collection has very limited liquidity compared to the cryptocurrencies available on the exchanges.&nbsp;</p>



<h2><strong><strong>Strategize to Minimize Investment Risks&nbsp;</strong></strong>&nbsp;</h2>



<p>If a seller cannot find a buyer for an NFT, he will be forced to keep the asset. If the purchase was not intended to be resold later, there are no worries. But if the purchase was considered an investment, failing to resell it becomes problematic.</p>



<p>This disappointment or the feeling of having been scammed, mixed with the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) can lead to irrational NFT purchasing decisions. For example, increasing the financial risks of loss by seeking a quick profit when buying a random&nbsp;NFT without any due diligence before.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This speculative behavior can quickly transform into gambling addiction. The NFT market can then be perceived as a large casino where only luck governs the price of assets. But unlike a large casino, the NFT market abides by the rules of supply and demand.</p>



<p>To reduce the risks associated with gambling, it is, therefore, necessary to establish a strategy before proceeding with any NFT purchase.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Here are some tips to reduce the risk of falling into the trap of “too good to be true” returns on investment:</p>



<ul><li>Set a budget. &#8220;Don&#8217;t spend more than you&#8217;re willing to lose.&#8221;&nbsp;</li><li>Do some research (Do Your Own Research – DYOR) on the project you want to invest in and make sure to join their community, usually Discord and Twitter.</li><li>Set realistic profit goals. It is tempting to think that a single purchase can be a &#8220;life changer&#8221; thanks to a valuation that is x100. But these collections are extremely rare and it is perfectly normal to take profits after a while.</li><li>Choose your NFT segment. Depending on the segment, your strategy will change. You don&#8217;t invest in the same way in a video game as you invest in a piece of art.&nbsp;</li><li>Keep your cool and do not trade emotionally.&nbsp;</li><li>Keep in mind that trading is not an exact science and be wary of influencers who communicate regularly after executing their buy or sell order.</li></ul>



<p>Today, the cryptocurrency market is just beginning to be regulated and legal discussions around NFTs have barely begun in the world. In this context, as in the early days of the Internet, malicious actors will implement elaborate strategies to manipulate the market or certain statistics on social networks to make believe in legitimate activity. Make sure to read our <a href="https://nonfungible.com/academy/nft/checklist-before-buying-nfts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">7 questions to ask yourself before purchasing an NFT</a> to make sure that your choice is the right one and that you remain the sole master of your decisions!</p>



<h2>Collecting, From Pleasure to Addiction?</h2>



<p>Collecting is a passion for many people. In theory, it’s possible to create a collection of just about anything: stamps, beans, perfumes, clothes, postcards, garden dwarfs… you get my point!&nbsp;</p>



<p>As long as it remains a pleasure, as long as it makes the collector happy, collecting is not a problem. As soon as it becomes an obsession, to the point of becoming harmful to the collector or his entourage, a passion becomes an addiction.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Digital collecting is now becoming categorized as &#8216;a new addiction&#8217; in the same way as compulsive shopping or cyberaddiction has become.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


To reduce the risks associated with gambling & speculative behavior, it is necessary to establish a strategy before proceeding with any NFT purchase.

NFT Trading Risks

Minting NFT


<p>Today, there are many platforms where you can mint your NFTs. Each platform has its own particularities: choice of proposed blockchains, custodial or not, open or not. Before minting a collection, it is, therefore, necessary to identify which platform will be the most suitable for your project.&nbsp;</p>



<h2><strong>‘Standard’ vs ‘Lazy’ NFT Minting</strong></h2>



<p>2020 was a year that will go down in history for the considerable increase in transaction fees on Ethereum. The cost of creating a smart contract or even buying an NFT was exorbitant. This has led to the use of other blockchains and second-layer solutions like Polygon.</p>



<p>OpenSea already offered the possibility to create smart contracts and therefore, to interact with NFTs from their platform. It is for example in this way that the game <a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/cryptoassaultunit" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Crypto Assault</a> created all the assets of its game in 2019.&nbsp;</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/marketplace-NFT-ERC721.jpg" alt="Difference between frozen and editable metadata" class="wp-image-39339"/><figcaption><em>Difference between frozen and editable metadata</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Until then, the standard of use was the ERC-721, making each NFT collection unique and associated with its own smart contract. But faced with the explosion of fees, OpenSea decided to use a new method to interact on its platform: the &#8216;Lazy Minting&#8217;.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/marketplace-NFT-ERC1155.jpg" alt="ERC1155 Semi-Fungible token with Editable metadata" class="wp-image-39331"/><figcaption><em>Semi-Fungible token with Editable metadata</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Lazy minting allows the creator of a collection not to pay any fees and leave them for the buyer to pay. Because of that, the NFT won’t exist on the blockchain until the buyer has paid the minting and listing fees. Also, this has encouraged the onboarding of a new generation of creators although this has also had the perverse effect of the multiplication of spam.</p>



<p>Here is a summary table of this evolution on OpenSea:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-table aligncenter is-style-regular"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Standard type</strong></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><strong>ERC-721</strong></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center"><strong>ERC-1155</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Editable content</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">No</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Yes</td></tr><tr><td>Deletion of the collection</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">No</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Yes, unless an asset has been sold</td></tr><tr><td>NFT creation fees</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Yes</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">No</td></tr><tr><td>Censorship</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Low (shadowban)</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Absolute</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>The absence of fees to create an NFT collection on OpenSea seems to be an advantage for creators. But some collectors see things in a very different light. Indeed, the first generation of collectors is very attached to this notion of immutability and will tend to favor assets that are not likely to disappear over time.</p>



<h2><strong>Comparing Web3 Platforms to Create your First NFT Collection</strong></h2>



<p>Whatever your choice of platforms is, it is important not to duplicate the same work several times on different platforms. The rarity of a creation depends on its availability, if a sale does not happen on a platform, it’s ok. Blockchain remembers and in the long run, it is the reputation of the creator and the age of an asset that will prevail.</p>



<p>Here are the criteria we’ve used to describe the different platforms.&nbsp;</p>



<ul><li><strong>Platform</strong>: The different marketplaces that exist, just click on each name to access directly to the marketplace.</li><li><strong>Blockchain</strong>: Which blockchain is supported by the site.</li><li><strong>Lazy Minting</strong>: The particularity of the platform compared to others.</li><li><strong>Type of Sale</strong>: Way to sell your NFT (traditional auction, Open Edition&#8230;).</li><li><strong>Unlockable content</strong>: Whether or not it is possible to obtain exclusive content after purchasing the NFT.&nbsp;</li><li><strong>Content hosting</strong>: The way the media (image, gif, video or music) is being hosted.</li><li><strong>Ownership</strong>: If you own the key to the smart contract or not. Both mean you have the choice when creating the smart contract/collection.</li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Platform</strong></td><td><strong>Blockchain</strong></td><td><strong>Lazy Minting</strong></td><td><strong>Type of sale</strong></td><td><strong>Unlockable Content</strong></td><td><strong>Content hosting</strong></td><td><strong>Ownership</strong></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://opensea.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OpenSea</a></td><td><em>Ethereum, Polygon, Klaytn, Solana</em></td><td><em>Yes</em></td><td><em>Buy now, Open to bids, English auction</em></td><td><em>Yes</em></td><td><em>Centralized</em></td><td><em>No</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://rarible.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rarible</a></td><td><em>Ethereum, Tezos, Flow, Polygon</em></td><td><em>Yes</em></td><td><em>Buy now, Open to bids, English auction</em></td><td><em>Yes</em></td><td><em>IPFS</em></td><td><em>Both</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://studio.manifold.xyz/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Manifold</a></td><td><em>Ethereum</em></td><td><em>Custom</em></td><td><em>Custom</em></td><td><em>Custom</em></td><td><em>Custom</em></td><td><em>Yes</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://app.minty.art/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Minty</a></td><td><em>Polygon</em></td><td><em>No</em></td><td><em>Buy now</em></td><td><em>No</em></td><td><em>IPFS</em></td><td><em>No</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://solsea.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Solsea</a></td><td><em>Solana</em></td><td><em>No</em></td><td><em>Buy now</em></td><td><em>No</em></td><td><em>Decentralized</em></td><td><em>No</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://mintable.app/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mintable</a></td><td><em>Ethereum, Immutable X</em></td><td><em>Yes</em></td><td><em>Buy now</em></td><td><em>Yes</em></td><td><em>Centralized</em></td><td><em>Both</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://www.mintbase.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mintbase</a></td><td><em>NEAR</em></td><td><em>No</em></td><td><em>Buy now</em></td><td><em>No</em></td><td><em>Decentralized</em></td><td><em>No</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://objkt.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Objkt</a></td><td><em>Tezos</em></td><td><em>No</em></td><td><em>Buy now, English auction</em></td><td><em>No</em></td><td><em>IPFS</em></td><td><em>Yes</em></td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>To begin with, we recommend you create a collection on OpenSea by using lazy minting or use a blockchain with very little fees. This makes it possible to become familiar with the different functions available to you and also obtain a starting capital to create more ambitious collections.</p>



<p>For example, for a video game, several separate collections will need to be created:</p>



<ul><li>one for avatars</li><li>another for objects</li><li>another for virtual fields and the list continues&#8230;</li></ul>



<p>The important thing here is to determine how each NFT will be used. As each on-chain action will solicit the smart contract and therefore, may generate costs. Does any action necessarily have to be on-chain? Not necessarily. In addition, for video games, some properties of the objects will have to be changed to better balance the rules of the game. Absolute immutability is therefore not necessary for all NFTs created.</p>



<p>Conversely, it will be better to <a href="https://nonfungible.com/academy/nft/create-nft-art" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">create an NFT for each artwork</a> and think about the very long term. Will the chosen blockchain still exist in 10 years? Will the image hosting service still exist as well? We believe that the Web3 revolution requires decentralized solutions and above all, that allow users to keep ownership of their smart contract. That&#8217;s why we recommend using services like <a href="https://www.manifold.xyz/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Manifold</a> in order to keep some leeway and ownership of your data.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>



<div style="height:20px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<div class="wp-block-image consulting-launch"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><a href="https://nonfungible.com/services/businesses" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img loading="lazy" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/08/Nonfungible_NFT-Project-launch-support-1x116-1-1024x1024.png" alt="Need help with your launch? Tokenomics, pricing, and scarcity... Ask our NFT market experts" class="wp-image-66379" width="512" height="512" srcset="http://nfcms1:80/app/uploads/2022/08/Nonfungible_NFT-Project-launch-support-1x116-1-1024x1024.png 1024w, http://nfcms1:80/app/uploads/2022/08/Nonfungible_NFT-Project-launch-support-1x116-1-300x300.png 300w, http://nfcms1:80/app/uploads/2022/08/Nonfungible_NFT-Project-launch-support-1x116-1-150x150.png 150w, http://nfcms1:80/app/uploads/2022/08/Nonfungible_NFT-Project-launch-support-1x116-1-768x768.png 768w, http://nfcms1:80/app/uploads/2022/08/Nonfungible_NFT-Project-launch-support-1x116-1-1536x1536.png 1536w, http://nfcms1:80/app/uploads/2022/08/Nonfungible_NFT-Project-launch-support-1x116-1.png 1650w" sizes="(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /></a></figure></div>


Before minting your NFT collection, it is necessary to identify which platform will be the most suitable for your project.

Choosing Your Minting Platform


<p>If the information from the graphic interface delivered by the developers of a project might be inaccurate, there’s a tool available to check its veracity. Users can go directly to a smart contract page on <a href="https://etherscan.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Etherscan</a> and look for functions that will display the desired information.</p>



<p><br>Let’s take the example of the <a href="https://etherscan.io/address/0x521f9c7505005cfa19a8e5786a9c3c9c9f5e6f42" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forgotten Runes Wizard&#8217;s Cult Smart Contract</a> on Ethereum. The code of this smart contract is public and is therefore open to everyone.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/wizard-read-contract.png" alt="Read the contract section on Etherscan.io" class="wp-image-39224"/><figcaption><em>Read the contract section on Etherscan.io</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>The initial information presented is to understand the price. To find this out, go to the &#8216;Read Contract&#8217; section and look for the information you want. Here the price is displayed in Wei, equivalent to 0.07 ETH.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/wizard-max-suppluy.png" alt="NFT smart contract - Total supply" class="wp-image-39219"/><figcaption><em>NFT smart contract &#8211; Total supply</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>To find out how many NFTs are available, look for the &#8216;Supply&#8217; section. Here we see the information that 10,000 Wizards will be available.</p>



<p><br>Now let&#8217;s see how to mint directly from the smart contract, we do this in the &#8216;Write Contract&#8217; section.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/summon-wizard-etherscan.png" alt="Minting an NFT from the smart contract" class="wp-image-39214"/><figcaption><em>Minting an NFT from the smart contract</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Here the function is called &#8216;Summon&#8217; but it could very well be called &#8216;Mint&#8217;. To invoke a Wizard, all you have to do is enter precisely the number of Ether (0.07 ETH for 1 Wizard)&nbsp;that is needed and then press the &#8216;Write&#8217; button.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Your wallet will ask you to confirm the transaction. Once the transaction is confirmed on the blockchain, the NFT will be automatically sent to your wallet.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


Most of the time, the mint of an NFT is made through a website interface. But it's also possible to mint an NFT directly from the smart contract.

How to Mint from a Smart Contract?

NFT Art


<p>There are multiple options for individual artists to sell their digital works, but other use cases exist for those who fall outside the ‘digital artist’ demographic.</p>



<h2><strong>NFT and the Music Industry</strong></h2>



<p>In March 2021, before <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/1/22308075/grimes-nft-6-million-sales-nifty-gateway-warnymph" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Grimes sold a collection of NFTs for nearly US$6 million</a>, American DJ 3LAU sold 33 NFTs offering original content to his fans. The sale brought in $11.7 million.</p>



<p>A few days later, the rock band <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/kings-of-leon-when-you-see-yourself-album-nft-crypto-1135192/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kings of Leon offered up their album for sale in the form of an NFT</a>. Eighteen “golden ticket” NFTs were linked to real concert tickets, providing holders with VIP advantages including front row seats for life. The auction of this collection raised $2 million.</p>



<p>In April 2021, <a href="https://thissongissick.com/post/griz-nft/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Griz partnered with the visual artist Kitasavi for an NFT sale</a> on Nifty Gateway.</p>



<p>In May 2021, <a href="https://www.gramatik.net/nft/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gramatik made an NFT drop</a> on the generative music platform Audioglyph called The G Drop. Each music pack contained 5 NFTs animated by artist DarkPxl. Gramatik had already written a song about Satoshi Nakamoto in 2016 with Adrian Lau and Probcause.</p>



<p>Since these projects were completed, the initiatives mixing the music industry and NFTs have increased dramatically..</p>



<p>Deadmau5 presented an NFT collection called <a href="https://www.head5.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Head5</a> to reward holders with new Deadmau5 projects and future integrations. With his longtime collaborator Nick “Smearballs” DenBoer, Deadmau5 put 5,555 NFTs up for sale on Monday, November 15th 2021.&nbsp; Within 3 days, 1870 NFTs were sold at a price of 0.15 ETH each.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In August 2021, <a href="https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/tiktok-launches-first-creator-led-nft-collection-powered-by-immutable-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TikTok also turned towards NFTs</a>. The Ethereum-based Audius protocol became one of the first streaming platforms to be integrated with TikTok. It allows almost 1 billion users to directly share tracks on the social network and directly on the Audius app. The new feature has been called TikTok Sounds.</p>



<p>In November 2021, Universal and Grammy-winning rapper and producer Timbaland <a href="https://decrypt.co/85986/timbaland-launches-ape-in-productions-bored-ape-nft-owners" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced the launch of an entertainment brand Ape-In Productions (AIP)</a>, based on the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection.</p>



<p>One of the most committed musicians in today’s NFT space is undeniably Snoop Dogg. In 2022, the rapper has expanded his commitment: building his own virtual world: <a href="https://fortune.com/2022/04/04/snoop-dogg-metaverse-music-video-virtual-world-nfts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Snoopverse, in The Sandbox</a> In addition to the Snoopverse, Snoop has been <a href="https://www.complex.com/music/snoop-dogg-nft-plans-death-row-records" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">re-recording some albums from his Death Row Records </a>label, as well as launching an entire <a href="https://cryptopotato.com/snoop-dogg-collaborates-with-clay-nation-to-launch-nft-collection-on-cardano/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NFT collection of iconic Snoop Dogg collectibles</a> and exclusive songs on Cardano.Faced with this influx of artists and personalities from around the world, Fortune has even created an <a href="https://fortune.com/nfty-50/2021/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8220;NFTy 50&#8221; ranking</a> that brings together the 50 personalities or projects that are the most influential today in the world of NFTs.</p>



<h2><strong>NFT and the Movie Industry</strong></h2>



<p>NFTs are also being utilized as a new kind of officially licensed product to engage and benefit fan bases, comparable to <strong>official merchandise</strong> and other more traditional product lines.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2021/11/kong-godzilla.jpg" alt="kong godzilla" class="wp-image-40552"/><figcaption><em><a href="https://makersplace.com/bosslogic/drops/godzilla-vs-kong/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Kong vs Godzilla</em></a><em> &#8211; Digital NFT Art</em></em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>It was first noted in March 2021, when <a href="https://observer.com/2021/03/godzilla-vs-kong-nft-collection-boss-logic-terra-virtua/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Legendary Entertainment released two new special NFT collections </a>in collaboration with Boss Logic and Terra Virtua Ltd. Their goal was to sell Godzilla vs. Kong-themed NFTs. They provided limited-edition, collectible NFTs of the two monsters fighting.</p>



<p>Rarible <a href="https://rarible.com/beets" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hosted an NFT sale by award-winning director Michael Beets</a> to generate funding for the world’s first documentary filmed by refugees from all around the world.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2021/06/23/2251885/0/en/CurrencyWorks-and-Enderby-Entertainment-Create-Global-NFT-Feature-Length-Film-and-Digital-Collectible-Platform-VUELE.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Enderby Entertainment collaborated with CurrencyWorks in June 2021 to develop VUELE</a>, the first full-length feature film NFT viewing and distribution platform. <a href="https://fintechmagazine.com/technology-and-ai/new-film-zero-contact-debut-vuele-nft-platform" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The first NFT auctioned off by Vuele was Zero Contact</a>, a science-fiction film starring Anthony Hopkins.</p>



<p>During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the movie Zero Contact was entirely digitally produced in 17 different countries.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2021/11/Stoner-Cats.jpg" alt="Stoner Cats" class="wp-image-40560"/><figcaption><em><a href="https://www.stonercats.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stoner Cats</a></em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p><a href="https://cryptonews.com/news/buterin-to-star-in-mila-kunis-nft-animated-series-with-jane-11191.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The animated series <strong>“</strong>Stoner Cats<strong>”</strong> raised US$8.4 million through an NFT sale</a> at the end of July 2021, selling out in only 35 minutes. These NFTs allowed their holders the exclusive right to view certain episodes.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.ledgerinsights.com/fox-invests-100-million-in-nft-nonfungible-token/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fox Entertainment has announced a US$100 million creation fund for the NFT industry</a>. They accomplished this through Blockchain Creative Labs, with the purpose of operating a digital marketplace. Customers will be able to buy characters, background art, and GIFs associated with the series and other projects that join the platform. </p>



<p>In September 2021, <a href="https://comicbook.com/movies/news/dune-future-artifacts-movie-nfts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the Dune movie launched an NFT collection</a> in collaboration with IV gallery, Lineage Studios, and MakersPlace as part of the promotional campaign.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


NFTs offer the chance for individual artists to sell their digital works, but other use cases exist. For example, the film and music industries have understood how to make the most of NFTs.

Popular Art NFT Use Cases


<p>The history of artists using NFTs began long before the appearance of art marketplaces on Ethereum. Indeed, as early as 2015, artists were already selling their digital works on the NFT marketplace <a href="https://counterparty.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Counterparty</a>, especially with the satirical frogs <a href="https://rarepepes.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rarepepes</a>. Through them, an artistic movement was born: crypto-art. This movement was carried out for many years by a handful of artists determined to promote the libertarian values of cryptocurrency. To better understand what this movement means, we invite you to <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/art/the-cryptoart-movement" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">read our article on the crypto-art movement</a>. For an overview, please continue here.</p>



<p>In March and April 2018 respectively, <a href="https://superrare.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SuperRare</a> and <a href="https://knownorigin.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Known Origin</a> opened their doors to offer digital artists the opportunity to sell their artworks in a much more accessible way than Counterparty. A year later, a third marketplace was created, <a href="https://makersplace.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Makersplace</a>. Unlike <a href="https://opensea.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OpenSea</a>, these platforms have a curation system. It is therefore necessary to meet certain conditions before being onboarded.</p>



<p>While crypto-artists belong to an artistic movement with well-defined codes, artists using NFTs often adhere to different ideas and values. For example, curation at the entrance goes against the very principle of openness advocated by cryptocurrencies. The term &#8220;NFT artists&#8221; has therefore appeared to differentiate these new artists using the blockchain to sell their artworks.</p>



<p>After Beeple’s artwork “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” was sold to the Metapurse Fund in March 2021 (we were <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/corporate/metapurse-fund-portfolio-valuation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">assessing the total value of Metapurse’s portfolio</a> at the time), we have seen a race for popularity and a strong, growing marketing presence in the artistic NFT market.</p>



<h2><strong>Most Popular NFT Artists by Sales Volume</strong></h2>



<p>It can be hard to know who the most popular NFT artists in the ecosystem are, but fortunately, a beginning of an answer can be found thanks to the data!</p>



<p>Here is the methodology we used to process this data:</p>



<ul><li>The three main art marketplaces were taken into account: SuperRare, Makersplace, and Known Origin.</li><li>Only on-chain sales were taken into account. Beeple&#8217;s US$69 million sale is therefore not included.</li><li>We counted collaborations between artists separately.</li><li>We have taken into account data from March 2018 to April 2022.</li><li>We chose the top 13 artists or projects.</li><li>Two metrics have been used: Total USD Volume and total number of sales.</li></ul>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/popular-NFT-artists-USD-Volume.jpg" alt="popular NFT artists USD Volume" class="wp-image-40570"/><figcaption><em>Most popular NFT artists &#8211; Total USD Volume</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>The total dollar volume of sales provides a first glimpse of the state of the market. With a total volume of more than US$61 million, <a href="https://xcopy.art/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">XCOPY</a> is by far the best-rated NFT artist in the ecosystem. <a href="https://aiartists.org/robbie-barrat" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Robbie Barrat</a> came in second with a volume of more than $9 million, followed by the duo <a href="https://hackatao.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hackatao</a> with $7,8 million.</p>



<p>The founder of The Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht, has been serving his sentence in prison since 2015. From his jail, Ross draws regularly and in 2021, he decided to auction off some of his drawings for charitable purposes and raise funds to pay for his lawyer. The fundraising to support <a href="https://superrare.com/artwork-v2/ross-ulbricht-6190" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ross Ulbricht</a>&#8216;s fight in 2021 allowed this initiative to raise $6.5 million and place 5th in the ranking.&nbsp;That same year, <a href="https://time.com/5948741/time-nft-covers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Time auctioned some of its iconic covers</a> and raised $2.6 million.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/popular-NFT-artists-number-of-sales.jpg" alt="popular NFT artists number of sales" class="wp-image-40585"/><figcaption><em>Most popular NFT artists &#8211; Total number of sales</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>The USD indicator alone is not enough to determine the popularity of an artist. It must be combined with other indicators such as the total number of sales. This allows a more accurate, robust view of the liquidity of collections and greater insight into whether many users might have owned an NFT by the artist or not.</p>



<p>Thanks to the volume of the number of sales, several elements stand out in relation to the USD volume:</p>



<ul><li>XCOPY is still the leader but the gap with the second in the ranking (Kozachok) is much smaller</li><li>While SuperRare dominates the USD volume indicator, Known Origin dominates the sales volume indicator</li><li>Of the thirteen artists at the top of the ranking, only XCOPY and Hackatao are present on both charts</li></ul>



<p>It is therefore extremely difficult to answer precisely the question &#8220;who are the most popular NFT artists?&#8221; with data alone. In the next chapter, we will discover more artists who are not on a “data top list” but we believe their artwork made NFT history on Ethereum.</p>



<p>To know more about the most popular artists according to the data, don’t hesitate to make deeper research:&nbsp;</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/art_alex_shell" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alex Shell</a>, a Russian art lover creating art thanks to convolutional neural networks (CNN).</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/beeple" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Beeple</a>, whose “First 5000 Days” artwork sold in 2021 for US$69 million.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/Coldie" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coldie</a>, award-winning artist using stereoscopic 3D art, featured in national art exhibitions.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/dangiuz" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dangiuz</a>, an Italian contemporary visual &amp; digital artist specializing in sci-fi themes.</li><li><a href="https://knownorigin.io/rafael-michelena" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Difelice5000</a>, creating digital artworks around human freedom.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/dmitricherniak" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dmitri Cherniak</a>, a generative artist also known for sending his NFTs to random wallets.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/TroyFitzpatric" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gary Cartlidge</a>, once street artist now cyber-surrealist digital artist.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/foodmasku" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Foodmasku</a>, a multimedia artist making meals into face masks and eating them.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/RealRossU" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Free Ross</a>, Ross Ulbricht, creator of darknet website Silk Road shares his art from jail.</li><li><a href="https://hackatao.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hackatao</a>, an artist duo born in Milan in 2007.</li></ul>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/hackatao-cryptokitty-mork.jpg" alt="CryptoKitty Mork - Hackatao SuperRare Collection" class="wp-image-39394"/><figcaption><em><a href="https://superrare.com/artwork-v2/cryptokittymork-5437" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CryptoKitty Mork</a> &#8211; Hackatao SuperRare Collection</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/kozachok_nft" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kozachok</a>, an artist mixing both classic and modern art.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/manoloidee" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Manoloide</a>, a generative artist.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/mbsjq" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mbsjq</a>, a future-focused, neon-saturated aesthetic artist.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/missalsimpson" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Miss Al Simpson</a>, a crypto artist, and writer with a love of black ink and collage.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/Moxarra" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Moxarra Gonzalez</a>, describing herself as ContETHporary artist from México.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/obxium" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Obxium</a>, a crypto art experimentooor &amp; blonkchainologist.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/muratpak" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pak</a>, an anonymous artist, creator of the curation platform Archillect.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/sabet" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sabet</a>, an Iranian-American NFT Artist &amp; creator of tokyopunksnft.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/seerlight" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SeerLight</a>, making Japanese-inspired illustrations.</li></ul>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/seerlight-town-square.jpg" alt="Town Square - Seerlight SuperRare Collection" class="wp-image-39402"/><figcaption><em><a href="https://superrare.com/artwork-v2/town-square-32073" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Town Square</a> &#8211; Seerlight SuperRare Collection</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/stina_jones" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stina Jones</a>, artist and designer, crafting whimsical character artworks.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/Time" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Time</a>, the famous newspaper having sold some of its iconic covers as NFTs.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/videodrome" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Robbie Barrat</a>, 22-year old artist and researcher in artificial intelligence.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/XCOPYART" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">XCOPY</a>, a crypto art pioneer with a punk feel &amp; psychedelic vibe.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/YuraMironArt" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yura Miron</a>, artist influenced by his psychedelic experiences, lucid dreaming &amp; meditations.</li></ul>



<h2><strong>Most Popular NFT Artists: Our Personal Picks</strong></h2>



<p>Being a popular artist doesn&#8217;t necessarily mean being able to sell very expensive works of art or selling a lot of them. Many artists have built the ecosystem since 2018 and continue to influence its development. To pay tribute to these &#8220;builders&#8221;, we offer you a selection of artists who, in our opinion, have strongly participated in the adoption of NFTs as art.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/popular-NFT-artists-curated-USD-Volume-1.jpg" alt="popular NFT artists curated USD Volume" class="wp-image-40580"/><figcaption><em>Most popular NFT artists according to NonFungible.com data &#8211; Total USD Volume</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>The USD volumes of these artists are far from matching those at the top of the rankings. But each of them has a significant history, a strong identity, and a significant contribution to the ecosystem.</p>



<p>All of them participated in their own way in the &#8220;NFT art&#8221; movement, always with style:</p>



<ul><li>Trash Art</li><li>Bitcoin Art</li><li>Support for other artists</li><li>Digital art</li><li>Cyberpunk</li><li>Creative experiences</li><li>Community creation</li><li>Inclusion</li><li>Diversity</li></ul>



<p>Each artist and style presents very different values at first, yet they all have the same objective: to explore and promote the potential of Web3 to as many people as possible via the beauty of NFTs.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/popular-NFT-artists-curated-number-of-sales-1.jpg" alt="popular NFT artists curated number of sales" class="wp-image-40575"/><figcaption><em>Most popular NFT artists curated by NonFungible.com &#8211; Total number of sales</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>We invite you to follow all these projects and artists and do some research about them, the values they promote, and the message they want to share. Here are the links to their artworks:</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://alottamoney.com/nfts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alotta Money</a>: a crypto artist, Voxels architect, Photoshop Priest, VR&amp;AR Maximalist.&nbsp;</li></ul>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/alotta-money-saint-nakamoto.jpg" alt="Saint Nakatamoto - Alotta Money SuperRare Collection" class="wp-image-39375"/><figcaption><em><a href="https://superrare.com/artwork-v2/saint-nakamoto-5624" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Saint Nakatamoto</a> &#8211; Alotta Money SuperRare Collection</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/carlosmarcialt" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Carlos Marcial</a>: a Mexican artist blending 3D, Artificial Intelligence, and crypto art.&nbsp;</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/fewocious" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FEWOCiOUS</a>: a pop surrealist artist making digital artwork.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/hex6c" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hex6c</a>: a data scientist and generative artist.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/Jose_Delbo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">José Delbo</a>: one of the first internationally renowned comic artists to mint NFTs.</li></ul>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/jose-delbo-hackatao-heroines-weight-of-the-world.jpg" alt="Heroines – Weight Of The World - José Delbo &amp; Hackatao MarkersPlace Collection" class="wp-image-39367"/><figcaption><em><a href="https://makersplace.com/888/heroines-weight-of-the-world-1-of-1-49948/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heroines – Weight Of The World</a> &#8211; José Delbo &amp; Hackatao MarkersPlace Collection</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/katyarrington" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Katy Arrington</a>: a digital artist for the freak in you.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/LuchoPoletti" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lucho Poletti</a>, a Bitcoin-artist &amp; visual storyteller.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/MattiaC" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mattia Cuttini</a>: a polymath artist, #nfts since 2018.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/MattKaneArtist" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Matt Kane</a>: from painter of oils to painter of code.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/mightymooseART" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MightyMoose</a>: a shapes and visual noise artist.</li></ul>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/mighty-moose-beauty-behind-the-tech.jpg" alt="beauty behind the tech - MightyMoose SuperRare Collection" class="wp-image-39359" width="505" height="665"/><figcaption><em><a href="https://superrare.com/artwork-v2/beauty-behind-the-tech-21176" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">beauty behind the tech</a> &#8211; MightyMoose SuperRare Collection</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/primal_cypher" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PRIMAL CYPHER</a>: a comic creator, comic art enthusiast, and NFT artist.</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/thesarahshow" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sarah Zucker</a>: an artist opening portals between cutting edge and obsolete technologies.</li></ul>



<p>Of course, there are <a href="https://nonfungible.com/news/art/the-cryptoart-movement" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">more NFT artists to discover</a>! The most important thing with art is to find an artist you like and more importantly, an artwork that you love. Art does not respond to a logic of profitability but of authenticity. Artists popular today may not be popular tomorrow.</p>



<p>However, thanks to NFTs, their creations will remain on the blockchain for life&#8230; as long as they are not held on a centralized server that looses the image! </p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


It can be hard to know who the most popular NFT artists are, but fortunately the market data present the beginning of an answer.

Popular NFT Artists


<p>If you are an artist and want to<strong> use NFTs to sell your digital creations</strong>, there are several options, but before discovering them, you need to keep in mind some basic notions.</p>



<ol><li>NFTs are 100% digital tokens that exist on a blockchain.</li><li>They contain several pieces of immuable information: date of creation, number of editions and the wallet of the author.</li><li>An NFTs properties are called metadata: name of the author, name of the work, link to the content…this metadata may or may not be immutable.</li></ol>



<p>Confusion therefore often occurs between the blockchain verification and the metadata that can be edited afterwards.</p>



<h2><strong>Step 1: Choose the Right Blockchain</strong>&nbsp;</h2>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/nft-quadrilemna-1.jpg" alt="NFT quadrilemna: Security, Decentralization, Scalability and Ecology" class="wp-image-39454"/><figcaption><em>NFT quadrilemma: Security, Decentralization, Scalability and Ecology</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Before thinking about the platform that will allow the creation (mint) of your NFT art, it is important to know which blockchain it uses. Depending on the consensus that the blockchain uses, a balance must be found between several elements:</p>



<ul><li>Security</li><li>Decentralization</li><li>Scalability</li><li>Ecology</li></ul>



<p>To date, there is no blockchain that has found a perfect balance between these three elements, many projects are working on it but to say they have arrived there would be a lie.</p>



<p>For example, thanks to ‘Proof of Work’, <strong>Ethereum is very secure and decentralized</strong> but cannot support many transactions. ‘Proof of Stake’ blockchains allow for a faster and greater number of transactions but are more centralized and less secure.</p>



<p>Recently, ecological concerns related to the electricity consumption of blockchains have taken on a lot of momentum. Taking into account this parameter when choosing your blockchain requires additional verification on how the electricity that powers the project has been produced.</p>



<p>For more on the blockchain trilemma, check out our chapter &#8216;<a href="https://nonfungible.com/academy/blockchain/trustless-consensus" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Trustless Consensus on the Blockchain</a>&#8216;</p>



<p>Now that we’ve seen the fundamentals of blockchain, how do you create your first artistic NFT?</p>



<h2><strong>Step 2: Craft your First NFT Artwork</strong></h2>



<p>It has become very easy to mint your first NFT. Let’s see how to do it in three steps on the most used platform : <a href="https://opensea.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OpenSea</a>. The process is very similar on other platforms. Some options will be offered more or less, but in the end the concept remains absolutely the same.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2021/11/opensea-create-page.jpg" alt="Mint NFT on Opensea" class="wp-image-39462"/><figcaption><em>Mint NFT on Opensea</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>OpenSea will ask you to authenticate through your web3 wallet. Several choices are offered such as Metamask, Coinbase Wallet, or Venly.</p>



<p>On mobile devices, the Trust Wallet and Opera Touch can be used as well.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2021/11/create-nft.jpg" alt="Create an item on OpenSea" class="wp-image-39470"/><figcaption><em>Create an item on <a href="https://opensea.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OpenSea</a></em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>It’s time to choose what your NFT is going to be! Several formats are supported: image, video, GIF, or audio within a limit of 100Mb. Next, fill in the basic properties like the name as well as a link to the project.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2021/11/create-nft-properties.jpg" alt="Specify your NFT properties (metadata) on OpenSea" class="wp-image-39478"/><figcaption><em><em>Specify your NFT properties (metadata) on OpenSea</em></em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>The following steps will add the metadata to your NFT:</p>



<ul><li>A description.</li><li>The collection to which it belongs.</li><li>The properties, this can be hair color, eye shape, etc.</li><li>The levels, which can determine a grade for example.</li><li>The stats, used to specify the generation number, ranks or serial number.</li></ul>



<p>It is also possible to add unlockable content (a code, a better quality image…) and specify whether it is explicit or sensitive content.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2022/07/blockchain-choice-opensea.jpg" alt="blockchain choice opensea" class="wp-image-40606"/><figcaption><br><em>Opensea – Choose the right blockchain for your NFT</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Then comes the number of editions of your NFT supply. Determining the number of editions is essential, especially for artworks. Is it a unique piece? Or are there several editions of the same work?&nbsp;</p>



<p>The choice of blockchain is also crucial. The fees on Ethereum are currently high and therefore the transfer of the NFT will be expensive. Other solutions should emerge in the future to leave more choices to the creator.</p>



<p>If you want to learn more about the technical part, do not hesitate to consult the <a href="https://docs.opensea.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OpenSea Developer Documentation</a>!</p>



<p>It is because this method has become so simple that today there are so many NFTs, like any artistic creation. It is important that the meaning behind the work is reflected beforehand. Even more so on the blockchain, because the ultimate goal is to<strong> make your digital creation immortal</strong>.</p>



<p>It can be a free expression or a political message, an existing landscape or a fictive universe, a still image or programmable art… thanks to digital tools, every day digital art expands on what is possible to create.</p>



<p>For the moment, the link between the <a href="https://nonfungible.com/blog/physical-nft-art-or-physical-art-nft" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">physical and Web3 universe</a> has not yet found an adequate formula in terms of automating exchanges. For example, <strong>NFT certificates of authenticity in a painting must be transferred manually at the time of purchase</strong>.</p>



<p>In the art sector, it is therefore important to think 100% digital when you want to create your first NFT.</p>



<h2><strong>Step 3: Create your NFT Community from A to Z</strong></h2>



<p>One of the most underrated aspects of popular artists in Web2 is to think that their community will follow them into Web3, except that <strong>one of the main values conveyed by NFTs is real ownership</strong>.</p>



<p>This is in direct contradiction with most of the conditions of use of social networks that retain almost all the rights of use of the media hosted on their platform.</p>



<p>The popularity acquired on Web2 therefore ultimately has little value within Web3. Unless you are already recognized worldwide, one of the first things you will have to build is a strong community, who also own crypto.</p>



<p><strong>Collectors of art NFTs do not buy randomly! </strong>They like to know the history of the artist, his motivations, and his reasons for coming into the ecosystem. They may, of course, simply be attracted to the aesthetics but usually, other things play a part in their decision to purchase.</p>



<p>Ultimately, the roots of public blockchains have eminently political origins and to deny this aspect is an error. Decentralization is not just technical, it is also the foundation that everyone brings with them to build the web of tomorrow.</p>



<p><strong>&gt;&gt;&gt; </strong><a href="https://nonfungible.com/services/businesses" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>If you need support with your project, check our consulting offers</strong></a><strong> &lt;&lt;&lt;</strong></p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


More and more artists want to use non-fungible tokens to sell their art, but it can sometimes be a complicated universe to navigate, so here’s where to begin to create NFT art.

Creating NFT Art


<p>NFTs have allowed digital artists to enhance their works of art by new technological means. Very quickly, the need to link physical work to its digital counterpart became apparent.</p>



<p>For example, collectors want to display their purchases in their living room. It can also be artists who wish to offer numbered serigraphs for the sale of their NFTs. The question that arises is, therefore: is it possible to transform your physical works of art into an NFT and if yes, how?</p>



<h2><strong>Embroidery Using NFTs: Vangart</strong></h2>



<p>The <a href="https://vangart.fr/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">French startup Vangart</a> specializes in embroidery using modern machines to perfect this art. In 2021, Vangart started creating NFTs that are associated with their physical works.</p>



<p>Each work has a corresponding NFT which acts as a digital certificate of authenticity. At the time of purchase, the buyer has the choice between two options:</p>



<ul><li><strong>With the physical work: </strong>you will need to fill a form on the website with the serial number behind the work and a wallet address. The NFT will be sent within 48 hours.</li><li><strong>With the NFT</strong>: To claim the physical artwork, each NFT contains an unique code as an unlockable content on OpenSea<strong>. </strong>By filling another form on the website, you will be able to claim the physical artwork.</li></ul>



<p>Here, Vangart serves as a trusted third party for several things. The first is to keep the physical works in a safe place until the buyer decides to claim their property. The second is that it also guarantees the availability of the physical work.</p>



<p>It is therefore necessary to contact the company before purchasing the NFT to ensure that the physical work is available or not.</p>



<h2><strong>Sculpture and NFTs:&nbsp; Xavier Magaldi</strong></h2>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://iazzu.com/g/xavier-magaldi-2"><img src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2021/04/xavier-magaldi-iazzu.jpg" alt="xavier magaldi iazzu" class="wp-image-40615"/></a><figcaption><a href="https://iazzu.com/g/xavier-magaldi-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Xavier Magaldi</a> &#8211; Iazzu Profile</figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Swiss artist <a href="https://xaviermagaldi.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Xavier Magaldi</a> is a metal sculptor, he is also a fan of Augmented Reality. It is by using 3D modeling and dedicated software that he digitizes his works to make them accessible in a virtual space.</p>



<p>There are only a few NFTs that will allow you to obtain the physical work but all will have their version in augmented reality. There are therefore two separate versions of the work: one is digital thanks to the NFT, the other is physical.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The use of the NFT is double:</p>



<ul><li>Digital certificate of authenticity for the physical artwork.</li><li>Proof of ownership for the digital artwork.</li></ul>



<p>This strategy allows greater freedom for the artist who can choose the works that will remain physical and others that will have their digital double. Some may have their 3D version in a metaverse exhibition museum while others will require moving to a physical exhibition to actually see it.</p>



<h2><strong>Digital Certificate NFT Tools</strong></h2>



<p>NFTs make it possible to certify at a given moment that a wallet has minted an NFT linked to one or more media. This can be a PDF of the certificate of authenticity, image files, 3D or augmented reality files&#8230;</p>



<p>The NFT therefore only serves as a medium and the way to use it in the work&#8217;s digitization strategy must be considered before minting. Here are some important questions to ask yourself before seeing what tools exist:</p>



<ul><li>Do I have a third party who manages the certificates of authenticity of my works? Do I trust them?</li><li>How to ensure the long-term transmission of the NFT in parallel with the physical work?</li><li>How to easily know where the NFT is hosted?</li><li>How to prevent the degradation of physical work?</li></ul>



<p>With the answers to these questions, you should be able to determine which tools you will need for the rest of your project. Feel free to <a href="https://nonfungible.com/services/businesses" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ask us about our consulting services</a> for additional support.</p>



<p>There are already several projects that specialize in the certification of works using NFTs and blockchain digital signatures.</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://www.woleet.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Woleet</a>: startup to sign official documents in companies. Offering features such as Timestamping, E-signature, etc. on Bitcoin.</li><li><a href="https://verisart.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Verisart</a>: dedicated to creators who wish to sign their works on the Blockchain.&nbsp;</li></ul>



<p>Whatever solution is chosen, the most important thing is to think about preserving the link between the physical work and the NFT certificate of authenticity. If the certificate of authenticity is not issued during a physical sale, this breaks the chain of traceability. And if there is only the NFT to certify the authenticity of the physical work, it will be very complicated to determine the authenticity of a work in the event of resale on the secondary market.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


From collectors wanting to display their NFT purchases IRL to artists offering numbered serigraphs with their NFT artworks: the need to combine physical & digital creations is rising.

How to Convert Your Physical Art Into NFT Art


<p>Curation comes from the Latin <em>curare</em> which means to take care of. Etymologically, the curator is therefore the person who takes care of works of art. Applied to the NFT market, platforms seek out and select artists to present them to often sophisticated collectors. Here we present 6 curators that collectors appreciate:</p>



<ul><li><strong>Art Blocks</strong></li><li><strong>SuperRare</strong></li><li><strong>gmDAO</strong></li><li><strong>Quantum Art</strong></li><li><strong>Gallery of Digital Asset (The GODA)</strong></li><li><strong>Tender Art</strong></li></ul>



<p>These curators all have different specialities (photography, generative art, etc.) and different visions. Indeed, art is often connected to society and current events.&nbsp;</p>



<h2><strong>Art Block</strong></h2>



<p><a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/artblocks" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Art Blocks</a> is an interactive NFT generative art platform founded by Erick Calderon (aka SnowFro <a href="https://twitter.com/ArtOnBlockchain" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@ArtOnBlockchain</a> on Twitter), one of the original moderators of the CryptoPunks community.</p>



<p>Art Blocks was launched in November 2020 with the first drop &#8220;Chromie Squiggle&#8221; a collection that became famous. Some of the most recognized and expensive collections include Fidenza by Tyler Hobbs, Ringers by Dmitri Cherniak, Archetype by Kjetil Golid, and Elevated Deconstructions by Luxpris.</p>



<p>Art Blocks was conceived around the NFTs of generative art. Thus, each work presented is generated upon purchase by the collector, and the transaction determines the final work. Indeed, it all starts with the creation of a generative art script by the artist. This script takes starting variables that determine characteristics such as color, size, etc. By modifying these variables, you can generate a new work of art. By altering these variables, you can generate many different artworks from the same script.</p>



<p>When purchasing an Art Blocks, a unique sequence of characters is generated during the transaction. There are several types of collections (Curated, Playground and Factory), several drop mechanisms and a clear application process for artists. Indeed, Art Blocks does not work with everyone and artists need a track record, the ability to create generative scripts and a unique collection idea. The vetting of artists is rigorous and applications can take months to process.</p>



<p>Anyone can access the platform and mint.</p>



<h2><strong>SuperRare Gallery</strong></h2>



<p><a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker/superrare" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SuperRare</a> was founded in 2018 by John Crain and Jonthan Perkins. Since then the platform has become a reference in the crypto-art ecosystem and NFTs. The platform allows you to buy and sell NFTs from the world&#8217;s top artists.</p>



<p>We can read on the SuperRare website the following presentation: </p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>you can think of SuperRare like Instagram meets Christies. A new way to interact with art, culture, and collecting on the internet!</p></blockquote>



<p>SuperRare welcomes only a small number of hand-picked artists each month. Applicants must meet specific requirements in order to have a chance to be selected and presented on the platform. For example, the works exhibited must meet certain criteria: must be original, created digitally, must not be tokenized available for digital purchase elsewhere on the internet.</p>



<p>In August 2022, the marketplace launched the latest phase of its development, called &#8220;SuperRare 2.0&#8221;. 3 years after its launch, the platform is focusing on its community:</p>



<ul><li>Creation of a DAO to decentralise governance</li><li>Creation of the native RARE token</li><li>Creation of &#8220;Spaces&#8221;</li></ul>



<p><a href="https://superrare.com/spaces" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Spaces</a> are one of the main innovations of SuperRare. They function as sub-galleries dedicated to specific thematic communities. Indeed, Spaces are independent galleries that curate and sell artworks.</p>



<p>As SuperRare is a DAO, Spaces are elected by RARE token holders. Once applications are reviewed, participants are submitted to a community vote over the course of 2 weeks and the applicants who receive the most votes are given the opportunity to open a Space.</p>



<p>At the time of writing, there are 19 Spaces listed on the site. We can mention for example: Fellowship Gallery, Metafísica, The Joy of NFTs, MONOLITH Gallery, 33 GALLERY, Neal Space, The Foundry &#8211; MoCDA, NEW French Touch.&nbsp; Thus, Metafísica is a space dedicated to Latin American crypto art.</p>



<h2><strong>gmDAO</strong></h2>



<p>gmDAO is a community of NFT collectors, artists and investors established in September 2021. As the name suggests, the organisation operates as a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) and much of the governance is decentralised.</p>



<p>gmDAO has developed the entity gm Studio which defines itself as a generative art platform built by artists, for artists. A particularity of the curation here is a blind selection. In other words, only artistic and technical information is presented and the artist remains anonymous. On the presentation website we read:</p>



<p><em>&#8220;Our belief is that art should be inclusive &amp; accessible to all, which is why we implemented two practices into our ethos which we understand will allow for equal opportunity for every applicant.&#8221;</em></p>



<p>gmDAO believes that the analysis should let the art speak for itself without any personal bias being communicated towards a particular artist (whether favourable or not).</p>



<p>The curation team currently consists of about 15 people and includes collectors and artists (Rich Poole, Cxkoda). Each member of the jury gives his or her opinion separately, before entering into a discussion period with the other members of the jury. Finally, a vote is held to accept or reject a proposal.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="https://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2022/51/2/1671544536-gm-studio-curation-process.png" alt=""/><figcaption><a href="https://docs.gmstudio.art/processes/curation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Curation process</em></a><em> &#8211; gmStudio</em></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>There have been four launches to date and a fifth is planned for September 2022 (10 September). We can name them:</p>



<ul><li>Factura by Mathais Isaken (ETH 0.9)</li><li>Kōripo by Rich Poole (ETH 0.26)</li><li>Mind the Gap by MountVitruvius (0.49)</li><li>Plasticity by P4stoboy (0.45 ETH)</li><li>Catharsis by Dario Lanza</li></ul>



<p>To access the drops and the community, you need to own one of the <a href="https://opensea.io/collection/gm-token" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">900 gmDAO NFTs</a>, the minimum price is currently 5.2 Ethers (ETH).</p>



<h2><strong>Quantum Art</strong></h2>



<p>Quantum Art is an NFT platform focused on digital art and particularly on photography. In February 2022, the Quantum Art platform raised $7.5 million in a Series A funding round led by True Ventures. Other participants in the round included entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, as well as DAO Flamingo.</p>



<p>Quantum Art was co-founded by Justin Aversano, creator of the popular Twin Flames photo project. Twin Flames #49 sold in November 2021 at a Christie&#8217;s auction for $3.7 million, making it the 5th most expensive photograph sold in public.</p>



<p>Quantum&#8217;s curatorial team is led by Kris Graves (photography) and Rodolphe Ködderitzsch (digital art). They work with artists to define the optimal size, selection, sequence and value of their work.</p>



<p>Quantum has already presented the work of more than twenty photographers in two seasons. For example, in Season 1, the platform presented &#8220;Divine&#8221; by Delphine Diallo, &#8220;Home Grown&#8221; by Julie Blackmon and &#8220;Touching Strangers&#8221; by Richard Renaldi.</p>



<p>Some digital works were also presented to Quantum members with the collections SLABS by Nicolas Sassoon and Math Art by Hebert W. Franke for example.</p>



<p>Drops are reserved within the first five minutes for key holders. At the time of writing, the <a href="https://opensea.io/category/quantum-curated" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Quantum Key</a> has a price floor of 1.4 ETH and has generated a trading volume of 3200 ETH on OpenSea.&nbsp;</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="https://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2022/51/2/1671544536-explore-collection-quantum-curated.png" alt=""/><figcaption><a href="https://opensea.io/category/quantum-curated" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Quantum Curated</a> &#8211; Explore Collection</figcaption></figure></div>


<p>Quantum has opened its own Quantum Space LA, a 3,800 sqm community centre that opened on the Santa Monica 3rd Street Promenade in June 2022. The space includes an NFT gallery and space with over 30 screens, a metaverse immersion room, spaces for artists in residence and an exclusive collectors&#8217; lounge, open only to Quantum Key holders and their guests.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tonight we celebrate culture 🪩 <a href="https://t.co/1Pqn5PjoHZ">pic.twitter.com/1Pqn5PjoHZ</a></p>&mdash; Crypto Packaged Goods (@CPGCLUB) <a href="https://twitter.com/CPGCLUB/status/1563570278130597888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 27, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h2><strong>Gallery of Digital Asset (The GODA)</strong></h2>



<p><a href="https://thegoda.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gallery of Digital Asset, or the GODA</a>, is designed for contemporary artists who wish to enter the NFT space. Goda defines itself as a reliable solution for leading artists seeking to explore digital as a new medium.</p>



<p>GODA consists of a team of advisors from the art world and NFTs. These include contemporary artist KAWS, artist manager Todd Kramer, gallery owner Ryan Ross and star Pharell Williams.</p>



<p>In July 2022, the first collection launched by GODA was &#8220;Super Cool World&#8221; by painter Nina Chanel Abney. With a supply of 5080 NFTs, the collection generated a trading volume of 5300 ETH.</p>



<p>The second collection &#8220;Art Party&#8221; by Todd James was launched at the end of August. This time, 1500 NFTs were offered to Mint Pass The GODA holders.</p>



<p>How does the Mint Pass work? The Mint Pass is an NFT that offers holders exclusive access to GODA artists and drops. The supply is 1000 NFTs and the price floor is 7.55 ETH at the time of writing. Collections over 5,000 coins will give Mint Pass holders 2 mints. Collections of less than 1,500 coins will be treated on a case-by-case basis, with priority given to Mint Pass holders.</p>



<p>Goda plans to hold one collection launch per month.</p>



<h2><strong>Tender Art (XTZ)</strong></h2>



<p><a href="https://tender.art/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tender is a slightly different</a> curation platform as it focuses on selecting collections based on FxHash. As a reminder, FxHash is an open platform for generative art on the tezos blockchain.</p>



<p>Thus Tender is a &#8220;stewards of generative art, empowering artists and collectors &#8211; currently focused on artworks from fxhash.&#8221;</p>



<p>How are projects selected?&nbsp; There are no specific rules. They are not chosen based on an objective measure such as sales volume, they are not added by consensus vote. Projects are added as a result of a set of completely subjective, but &#8220;highly deliberate&#8221; considerations, according to the Tender website. Variables include originality, craftsmanship, beauty, conceptual intrigue, community reaction, value and similar attributes. These characteristics are evaluated by Tender&#8217;s founder.</p>



<p>Tender offers several curation services (some of which are reserved for Tender Pass holders):</p>



<ul><li><strong>ICONS:</strong> section that presents the best projects of all time from the FxHash platform. An interesting tool to avoid mistakes on the secondary market.</li><li><strong>DROPS:</strong> curated list of just-dropped generative projects from fxhash. How are the Coming Soon Drops selected? Tender selects projects that look like future ICONS, or that come from artists whose projects are already on the ICONS list, or that draw their attention to something new and exciting. As usual, the selection is subjective.</li><li><strong>TENDERx:</strong> TENDER Pass holders can enjoy benefits within the Tender ecosystem. Holders have access to collaborations with carefully selected artists, there have been 9 drops organised by TENDER with artists like mrkswcz, wwatkns, Rich Poole, flight404, rudxane, Jos Vromans.</li></ul>



<p>Pass holders can also access the Curated Drops calendar on tender.art.</p>



<h2><strong>Are Curators A Sign Of Market Structuration?</strong></h2>



<p>Curation solutions are growing and this is a good move to help artists and collectors browse through the ocean of the NFTs market.</p>



<p>Most of the time, curation remains subjective and artists may question their value when receiving rejections from these platforms. However, it must be acknowledged that these curators are a sign of a real structuring of the market.</p>



<p>Finally, we can see that the level of decentralisation of curation is very variable. Sometimes completely centralised in the hands of a few people and sometimes totally decentralised. The model is most often a hybrid and the structures are still looking for the right balance.&nbsp;</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="88" height="31" src="http://nfcms1/app/uploads/2023/03/CC-BY.png" alt="CC-BY" class="wp-image-288164"/></a></figure></div>


<p class="has-text-align-center">This work is licensed under a&nbsp;<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.</p>


The NFT market is already quite large, it is often difficult to keep track of everything and to spot the best artists. This is where curators come in.

Popular NFT Art Curators

Launching your NFT Project


<p>While you are no doubt excited to get started, there are a few things that you need to do before you even announce your NFT project. These steps will help to ensure that your NFT launch has the best foundation to build upon and will mean less work for you in the long run.&nbsp;</p>



<h2>Researching Your Target Audience</h2>



<p>Before designing your first NFT project, it’s important to identify your target audience. Whether you’re creating a project designed to help fund tree-planting initiatives or building a community for like-minded people to congregate, knowing how to reach your intended audience is something you will need to know how to do.&nbsp;</p>



<p>&nbsp;Start by deconstructing your clientele. Recognizing that different people will be drawn in different ways to your project will help you to best target different demographics. Consider as many factors as possible when composing your marketing strategy. Knowing as many factors about your client as possible will help you better target ads and announcements.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Let’s say you’re starting an NFT project to raise funds for homeless LGBTQ+ youth. Let’s quickly walk through the basic steps to identify the targeted audience. When you begin doing your research, you will want to take into consideration as many data points as possible, but for this example, we will only break down three demographics to help identify our theoretical audience: age, gender, and geographical location.&nbsp;</p>



<h3><strong>Age</strong></h3>



<p>Given that you are looking for individuals with disposable income who are also supporters of the LGBTQ+ community, your ideal candidate will most likely fall between the ages of 25-35. This is about the age where people have established a career and fall within the range of Millennials and Gen Z, who are far more supportive of the community than older generations.&nbsp;</p>



<h3><strong>Gender&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>While both men and women support the LGBTQ+ community, women support the community in higher numbers than men. <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/changing-attitudes-on-gay-marriage/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pew research</a> has found that while 57% of men support the community, 66% of women support same-sex relationships. While men are more likely to invest in NFTs than women, female investors are a growing market in the industry and are more likely to invest in similar causes.&nbsp;</p>



<h3><strong>Geographical Location&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>Canada, Iceland, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway are the countries with the highest-ranking <a href="https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/global-acceptance-index-lgbt/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">support for the LGBTQ+ community</a>. While most of the European countries fall pretty low on the NFT interest level, Canada ranks 18th in countries most likely to invest in NFTs, just below the US (16th) and New Zealand (17th).&nbsp;</p>



<p>Breaking down this information, you can now confidently identify your target demographic. For this example project, the group who will most likely be interested in supporting your project is Canadian women who fall between the ages of 25-35. With this information, you can begin targeting your ideal demographic with much more certainty and start designing a project that will appeal to your audience before beginning to build your community.</p>



<h2>Designing Your NFT Project</h2>



<p>This is easily one of the most important steps in ensuring the success of your mint: the NFT itself. Taking the time to study <a href="https://nonfungible.com/academy/nft/popular-nft-artists" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Popular NFT Artists</a> and <a href="https://nonfungible.com/academy/nft?unit=nft-application" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NFT Applications</a> will help to set you up for success before your launch. In addition to market research and applications, there are a few things that you can do to help make sure your project stands out.&nbsp;</p>



<h3><strong>Create a Compelling Story&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>This can come in many different forms. Whether you intend on creating a universe with your new NFT projects or if you’re telling your life story in a compelling way people can relate to, providing people something to relate and attach to will help encourage investors to stick around long after they first invest.&nbsp;</p>



<h3><strong>Utility and Features&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>What does your NFT do? Does it unlock a community? Give you access to real-life perks? Or does it unlock a digital scavenger hunt that sends your investors on an adventure to find more clues to unlock a tangled web of intrigue? There are endless possibilities for your project to be more than just an image on a screen. Giving your investors something more will keep them interested and encourage them to share your project with other potential investors.&nbsp;</p>



<h3><strong>Be Creative</strong></h3>



<p>While NFTs are a new and developing market, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t already hundreds of projects that you will be competing with. Creating a truly unique and eye-catching NFT could be the difference between a minting success story and a failure. Standing out from the crowd can be difficult, but taking the time to make sure that your project is the one that catches people’s eye could be a game changer.&nbsp;</p>



<h2>Building a NFT Community</h2>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><em>“I think that’s something that people maybe don’t understand with NFTs. This is not some magic bullet where suddenly you’re just going to start selling stuff. If you do not have a sort of, like,&nbsp; built-in audience and you have not built a community around your work…then it’s going to be very hard to sell stuff.” &#8211; </em></p><cite><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L53sEePDXI8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Digital Artist and NFT Advocate Mike Winkelmann AKA Beeple</em></a><em>&nbsp;</em></cite></blockquote>



<p>Now that you have your target demographic and your project in the works, it’s time to build your community. Whether you are a digital artist, musician, or programmer, you must begin building a solid pool of supporters before you even attempt to launch your project. Most NFT supporters flock to a handful of platforms, and it&#8217;s recommended that you start a community on at least one of these platforms. Later, we will discuss some Tips &amp; Tricks to Build Your Community.</p>



<h3><strong>Twitter&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>With <a href="https://thesocialshepherd.com/blog/twitter-statistics#:~:text=Twitter%20Has%20396.5%20Million%20Users%20Globally&amp;text=In%20fact%2C%20Twitter%20sees%20about,what%20others%20are%20tweeting%20about." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">396.5 million users</a> and approximately 206 million active users daily, Twitter is one of the largest social media platforms in the world. Establishing a Twitter account for your artwork and prospective NFTs is crucial in developing your community. The NFT community is incredibly active on the platform, and utilizing hashtags makes it easy for your work to reach the correct audience. Creating a Twitter should be your very first step when developing your project. It’s never too early to start advertising your work!</p>



<h3><strong>Discord</strong></h3>



<p>A place for you to chat, host community meetings, and get immediate feedback from supporters of your project. While not all NFTs have their Discord, it is highly recommended that once you start developing a following, you should invest time in building a place where your community members can converse and trade. This makes your job much easier in the long term and fosters camaraderie amongst your supporters, guaranteeing long-term support for your work and future projects.&nbsp;</p>



<h3><strong>Reddit&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>If you’re looking for a place to research and advertise your project, Reddit is the place to be. Several NFT communities have developed a massive following on their platform. While it might be difficult initially, posting regularly on pages like r/NFT and r/NFTsMarketplace will help spread the word about your project.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>While other platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, and even Tumblr have NFT communities starting to develop, managing social media accounts takes time and energy.&nbsp; If you are an individual attempting to grow from the ground up, setting up and managing a Twitter might be all you can handle at the moment, and that’s ok! Focus on quality over quantity of posts to ensure anyone who views your page will be impressed with your content. Identify which platforms will best suit your needs and limit your focus until you can comfortably expand your team enough to manage regular posting on more accounts.</p>



<h2>Creating A Roadmap for your NFT Project</h2>



<p>Now that you have your NFT concept and a supportive community it’s time to build your roadmap. What is a roadmap? Essentially, a roadmap is a way of outlining your project&#8217;s aspirations concisely and laying them out in a set of achievable milestones. This will provide investors with important dates, an idea of your plans for the project moving forward, and an idea of how far along in development you actually are. While there is no set way to lay out your roadmap, there are a couple of things to keep in mind as you develop yours.&nbsp;</p>



<h3><strong>Be Realistic and Set Reasonable Deadlines</strong></h3>



<p>While you might like to accomplish your goals as quickly as possible, setting your deadlines too close together without providing yourself a reasonable amount of time can put unneeded stress on you. Not to mention, if you find yourself unable to meet your goals and are forced to push back your release date, your investors might lose faith in your ability to meet their expectations. Give yourself time to develop, strategize, and properly roll out each step on your roadmap. This will ensure that you are seen as reliable and improve investor confidence.</p>



<h3><strong>Make Your Roadmap Easy to Follow&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>Your roadmap is something that you can direct your supporters to for quick answers to questions they might have about upcoming dates and progress on your project. Keep it clean and to the point, and don’t add unnecessary steps. Think of it as if you were giving directions to the grocery store. You don’t need to tell them every street they’re going to pass on the way to their destination. Just tell them which roads to turn on! Simply giving dates and milestones will give you wiggle room to change things along the way and give you the creative freedom you need!&nbsp;</p>



<h3><strong>Be Prepared for Setbacks</strong></h3>



<p>Despite our best efforts, things tend to go wrong at the worst possible moments. There will always be setbacks when you are attempting to launch any new product or business, the important thing is that you don’t allow them to stop your progress. If you end up running into an issue, make sure you communicate this with your community and attempt to rectify the situation as quickly as possible.</p>



<h3><strong>Make it Visually Appealing</strong></h3>



<p>Since you intend on sharing your roadmap with your investors and community, it must be not only clear and concise but visually appealing as well. Look at examples of roadmaps done by other NFT artists, and build yours in a way that represents your brand. This could be as simple as using a brand color palette or including project progress images. Small things like this will make your roadmap look more professional.&nbsp;</p>



<p>A strong roadmap is crucial for ensuring that your time is spent wisely, while also providing clear goals for your NFT. This, along with a strong community and well thought out, interesting project will help to ensure that your mint is a success. </p>


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Best Practices Before Launching Your NFT Project


<p>In the previous chapter <a href="https://nonfungible.com/academy/nft/best-practices-launch-nft-project" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Best practices to launch your NFT project</a>, we discussed a few social media platforms where you can establish your NFT community. </p>



<p>In this chapter, we will discuss tips and tricks for each site and ways to ensure your supporters have a well-organized location to assemble and learn about your project.&nbsp;</p>



<h2>Where to Start Your Community&nbsp;</h2>



<p>While almost every major social media platform has a crypto and NFT community at this point, there are a few where a vast majority of investors and artists congregate: Discord, Reddit and Twitter. While <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Linkedin</a>, <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Deviantart</a>, and <a href="https://www.meta.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Meta</a> also have decent-sized communities, they are a bit more regional and will not have as wide of a reach.</p>



<p>When starting to build your social media presence, it’s important not to over-extend yourself too quickly. Identifying 1-2 websites that best suit your immediate needs will allow you to focus on other aspects of your project. By focusing your attention on a smaller number of accounts and growing your following, it will be easier to expand outward in the future. Below, we will provide a summary of each platform along with the pros and cons so you can judge which you would like to utilize for your project.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h3>Discord</h3>



<p>Currently hosts over 100 million users. <a href="https://discord.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Discord</a> is a platform that has gone from the ultimate gamer hangout to a service that hosts everything from tech support for companies to fandom-based RP servers. Discord is one of the more customizable platforms available and offers a paid version called Nitro and ‘boosts’ that allows access to more content that the free version does not have. While it is possible to use the unpaid version and still maintain a decent-sized community, there are serious advantages to having a fully boosted community, including animated server icons, larger file uploads, and customized invite links. Boosting to the highest level yourself will net you around $489 a year.&nbsp;</p>



<p>There are plenty of free features available to use, including user roles which allow you to grant users access to locked channels, identify certain groups of your followers, or even change the color of individual’s names. </p>



<p>The platform also includes access to stage channels, which are voice-only channels that allow you to host meetings, seminars, or live updates where you control who can speak. Additionally, while most social media platforms allow you to advertise your page to the general public, Discord’s server promotion is locked behind a paywall. Not only that, but your account must meet certain criteria for your community for them to recommend it on their platform. </p>



<p>So, it will be important to have a secondary platform like Twitter or Reddit to get new members to your Discord.&nbsp;</p>



<ul><li><strong>Pros</strong><ul><li>Easy to connect with and get feedback from your supporters directly</li><li>Ability to communicate using audio, video, and text</li><li>Customizable content like emojis, stickers, and personalized roles</li><li>Bots designed to help with moderation, automation, and security</li><li>Users can show support for your server by gifting boosts, and nitro</li><li>Discord stages allow for easy communication between you and your supporters</li></ul></li></ul>



<ul><li><strong>Cons&nbsp;</strong><ul><li>Not all features are free</li><li>Bots and spam accounts are pretty common&nbsp;</li><li>Hard to maintain large communities on your own, you will most likely need to bring on moderators&nbsp;</li><li>Has become a vector of attack for hackers</li><li>Limited on-site advertisement available, so a secondary account is necessary</li></ul></li></ul>



<h3>Reddit&nbsp;</h3>



<p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Reddit</a> has the smallest user base at ‘only’ 52 million active users on an average day. That being said, it has some of the largest NFT communities where you can reach like-minded individuals. With pages like <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/NFT/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">r/NFT</a> (549k members) and <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/NFTsMarketplace/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">r/NFTsMarketplace</a> (267k members) allowing users to crosspost advertisements and announcements, it makes it easy for you to get your project in front of those who are the most likely to support it. Reddit also has built-in features Karma and awards, which is a way for other users to endorse your page, posts, and comments. You can design your own awards and grant them to your biggest supporters!</p>



<p>There is a downside to using Reddit. The platform has a steep learning curve for new users. Individuals who have never used the platform before might struggle initially to get a hang of all of the features. Once you do get the hang of things, you’ll have the ability to fully customize your page and utilize built-in moderation features. Like Discord, hiring a moderation team once your page starts to take off is highly recommended to keep spam accounts and misbehaving users off your page.&nbsp;</p>



<ul><li><strong>Pros&nbsp;</strong><ul><li>Access to large existing communities to advertise your project</li><li>Fully customizable landing page and content</li><li>Built-in supportive NFT community&nbsp;</li><li>Reddit AMAs (ask me anything)&nbsp;</li><li>Built-in polling feature and varying post types</li><li>All features are free to use</li><li>Allows for more anonymity than other platforms</li><li>HTML coding allows for additional page features for tech-savvy users</li><li>Offers sponsored ad buys&nbsp;</li><li>Secure platform&nbsp;</li></ul></li></ul>



<ul><li><strong>Cons</strong><ul><li>Learning curve for inexperienced users</li><li>No voice or video chat options</li><li>Lots of content makes it difficult to stand out above competitors&nbsp;</li><li>While there is a built-in moderator, Reddit itself is unregulated&nbsp;</li><li>Reddit requires more time than other platforms&nbsp;</li></ul></li></ul>



<h3>Twitter</h3>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a> boasts an impressive 237.8 million active users, which makes it significantly larger than either of the platforms previously mentioned. With such an expansive user base, it makes sense that there is a significant community of NFT investors already on the platform. </p>



<p>Twitter’s search feature, which uses hashtags to organize and target audiences, makes it easy to reach those who are following those topics. The site’s algorithms also help to direct content to users that they believe they will enjoy. It is also possible to buy ads that utilize Twitter’s knowledge of its users to get your content in front of new users you might not otherwise be able to reach. The site also includes a built-in chat feature, as well as the ability to go live and host a video or audio stream.</p>



<p>Out of all previous examples, Twitter offers the most streamlined user experience. Unfortunately, the ease of access comes at the cost of customization. Excluding editing your profile image and banner, there aren’t many ways to change the appearance of your profile. </p>



<p>Character and file size limits are also something to keep in mind when getting started on the platform. Videos must be limited to 140 seconds and text posts need to stay under 280 characters. This lack of customization extends out to bots as well, and in order to get a lot of the automation the other sites offer you may have to make accounts with third-party customer relationship management (CRM) software including Hootsuite or HubSpot to accomplish the same results.&nbsp;</p>



<ul><li><strong>Pros</strong><ul><li>Streamlined user experience makes it easy to use</li><li>Large NFT audiences</li><li>Hashtags and easy trend monitoring systems</li><li>Secure platform with active post monitoring for bot and spam accounts</li><li>3rd party CRM program compatibility&nbsp;</li><li>Live video and audio events&nbsp;</li><li>Access to relevant breaking news&nbsp;</li></ul></li></ul>



<ul><li><strong>Cons</strong><ul><li>Limited customization&nbsp;</li><li>Small post size and character limits&nbsp;</li><li>Over-saturation of related content make it hard to stand out&nbsp;</li><li>No ability to assign moderators to a page means you must share account login&nbsp;</li></ul></li></ul>



<h2>How to Grow Your Social Media Presence&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Once you establish which platforms you will be utilizing, it’s time to start taking steps to optimize your social media strategy. Whether you chose one of the previously listed sites or not, the core components remain the same.&nbsp;</p>



<h3>Create a Style Guide</h3>



<p>Before you send your first tweet, invite your first Discord member or comment on your first Reddit post, you need to establish your brand identity. Creating a style guide will ensure that you always use brand-consistent colors, fonts, and logos no matter who is creating posts for your account. Having all your information condensed into a style guide will also make your life a lot easier when you hire social media managers or graphic designers.</p>



<p>It will also make sure you aren’t trying to remember what shade of purple you used when first making your logo. Document your exact color codes and identify a few complimentary colors that you can use for text and graphics. You don’t need to be an art major to create eye-catching cohesive brand content.&nbsp; Cohesive branding across your platforms will help you stand out from other projects and make your project seem more official and trustworthy.&nbsp;</p>



<h3>Follow Related Pages and Creators</h3>



<p>Getting yourself noticed by a website’s algorithm is more than just what posts you create. Following popular pages related to NFTs helps to categorize your account, and will do wonders to direct people to your page. As a small account, it can be difficult to initially break through the crowd, so providing yourself every opportunity to get noticed is critical. An extra incentive to follow accounts is the potential for a follow-back, which can help grow your numbers initially.&nbsp;</p>



<p><em>Bonus Tip: Be courteous. Don’t advertise your project in someone else’s comment section unless you have express permission. This is a quick way to get yourself labeled as a spam account and blacklisted by fellow artists.</em></p>



<h3>Optimize Your Posts&nbsp;</h3>



<p>Walls of text can be daunting, especially on social media. Whether you are posting a community update or a link to an article written about your project, make sure you get the point of the post across in the first couple of sentences. Providing brief summaries with links to longer posts like newsletters and articles will keep you from getting TL;DR (too long, didn’t read) comments.&nbsp;</p>



<h3>Identify The Best Time To Post</h3>



<p>In the previous chapter, we discussed that identifying your target audience is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure your brand’s sustainability. It will also help you to identify the best times for you to put out crucial announcements. If your target audience is in Japan, you want to make sure your post is up during peak traffic hours in Tokyo, not New York.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Keep in mind that in addition to regional differences, each website has different peak posting times in each region. For example, <a href="https://www.ama.org/marketing-news/the-best-times-to-post-on-social-media/#:~:text=The%20best%20time%20to%20post%20on%20Twitter%20is%20early%20in,when%20Twitter%20users%20are%20awake." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hootsuite’s research</a> on Twitter has identified that 8 am on Monday and Tuesday in your targeted region is the time with the highest site traffic.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h2>Post Regularly, But Don’t Spam</h2>



<p>Keeping up a consistent presence online might seem daunting at first, but establishing a regular schedule will do wonders in keeping your audience’s attention. Of course, you don’t always have to keep to a set schedule. Deviations can be expected and you might have days where you will post more or less than usual. When initially building your page it might feel like you should post as much as possible to draw attention, but resist this urge! Releasing one or two well-thought-out posts a day is often more than sufficient. Posting too much can annoy subscribers, and you want to make sure people can find relevant information about your project on your page as easily as possible.&nbsp;</p>



<h2>Engage With Your Supporters</h2>



<p>While eventually, your goal is to get to a point where you are getting far too many comments, mentions, and messages to respond to them all, but when you’re first starting out you should do your best to respond to any question or comment that you receive. Engaging with your audience will help build a sense of community. If you are building your community on Discord, do your best to greet new arrivals and engage with conversations being held on your channels. You might feel a bit awkward at first, but once you start practicing you’ll feel far more comfortable! As your community grows, bring on moderators to help you keep up your presence in the community, but remember that ultimately your investors want to hear from you more than anyone!</p>


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