It is estimated that sales of non-fungible tokens, a type of digital certificate of authenticity for digital objects, brought in nearly $41 billion (€36 billion) last year. Market researcher Chainalysis, who specializes in blockchain, reaches that amount. Unique tokens, referred to as NFTs for short, have been on the rise since the start of last year, but they have already made millions in auctions.
NFT is a non-exchangeable token secured by blockchain technology that indicates that its owner owns a digital object. In this way, founder Jack Dorsey auctioned the first message on the social mediator Twitter for $2.9 million (€2.6 million), although the message could easily be copied or retweeted. The first source code for the World Wide Web has already generated $5.4 million (4.8 million euros) and the first SMS received a new “owner” for 107,000 euros.
The analysis hit the billion-dollar mark by looking at all transactions involving NFTs across the Ethereum cryptocurrency blockchain. This blockchain, a kind of decentralized order book that updates everywhere at once, is also open to other cryptocurrencies and is by far the most popular network for NFT trading.
air bubble?
Since so much money is being paid for photos, videos, or messages that can be copied endlessly, some critics describe NFTs as a bubble. But it also offers artists and creators who primarily make digital creations a chance to make some money from their work, proponents say. The market for NFTs is therefore approaching the size of the physical art or antiques market, according to Chainalysis estimates. According to research by Art Basel Gallery and investment bank UBS, artworks and antiques were sold for just over $50 billion (€44 billion) in 2020, even though the Corona pandemic has had an impact on art galleries around the world in it. general.
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