A Marriage Got Me Hot for NFTs
So cute, I just had to go down rabbit hole.
Up until now, I’ve been staying well away from NFTs, or Non-Fungible Tokens. Honestly, I don’t really understand them, or the hype that surrounds them. Also, the name kept filling my head with images of mushrooms. And I really don’t need those in there.
But then I read this article on The Verge that made my geek heart pitter-patter, so I just had to get stuck in and figure out what NFTs are all about.
Isn’t that brilliant? The greatest thing about virtual rings is that you cannot drop them down the sink (or worse) and lose them. Total Earth annihilation by the Borg notwithstanding, they’re literally eternal.
Talk about true love, right?
What on Earth are NFTs?
According to Wikipedia, an NFT is “a unit of data stored on a digital ledger, called a blockchain, that certifies a digital asset to be unique and therefore not interchangeable.” (emphasis by me)
This is actually where the “fungible” part comes from, which means “mutually interchangeable”. Non-fungible, therefore, well you get the idea.
NFTs are stored as digital files on a blockchain network, where any changes in ownership are verified and logged. How this works exactly is well beyond the scope or meaning of this article, but if you’re interested, then this article on Accredible is a good start.
So by creating their rings as an NFT, our couple created a unique, digitally verified and publically accessible representation of their love for one another. You can even find it on Etherscan! They called their token TABAAT, which is Hebrew for “ring.” Note that there’s only 2 TABAAT in existence and two owners.
Cue cuteness.
What can you do with NFTs?
Since NFTs are basically a certificate of ownership (the NFT itself doesn’t contain the item owned), there are endless possibilities for their uses.
The most noteworthy one at the moment is in collectibles and art, where people are maybe going the tiniest bit too crazy over them.
One of the most (in) famous examples is this “work of art” by a guy who calls himself Beeple. It sold for $69 million.
But did you know that the first Tweet (by Jack Dorsey) was also sold as an NFT? Price? A cool $2.9 million. Not bad for 24 characters.
For more examples, check out this list of the Top 10 most expensive NFTs ever sold (yes, I used expensive instead of valuable).
Another use for NFTs is one that is a bit closer to home for me; buying a house could become a lot easier if NFTs were involved. This article on Forbes says “by ‘tokenizing’ the property rights, it becomes much easier to trade and manage them.” This could potentially shorten the timeframe to finance a house by weeks.
Should you invest in NFTs?
The most important question for most of you reading this. Making any attempt to answer would put me straight in the middle of the “I’m not a financial advisor, etc.” ditch. So I am not going to. I’ll tell you what I would do, though.
I wouldn’t.
Because honestly, I still don’t understand what NFTs are really about. And having read through all the articles that led me to write this one, I am not sure anyone really does.
Until they figure it out, I’m going back to where I started: well away. But from now on, definitely keeping an eye out.
The question that drives me nuts, though, is what happens if our crypto-couple gets a divorce? Because ritually throwing your rings into the deepest lake you can find is probably super therapeutic.
Erik is NOT a financial advisor, nor does he fancy to be. So whatever he writes should not be seen as financial advice or any kind and any action you take based on this is, frankly, your own fault. If you’re wondering what else he writes about, go here.
