Day: January, 2025

NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are special-class digital assets whose presence and ownership are registered on the Blockchain. They typically act as evidence of ownership of different kinds of assets like digital art, music, virtual land, etc. While physical, tangible items can be duplicated, the Blockchain authenticates the original NFT copy.

This is a great advantage for artists and designers since they can directly sell their creations to a global market of enthusiasts, with the returns on the secondary transactions being calculated in royalties. As the market, with over $60 billion in trading volume and 10 Million tokens minted on platforms like OpenSea, expands, we can conclude that NFTs redefine people’s perception of ownership.

10 Best NFT Examples

Everydays: The First 5000 Days

• Beeple’s digital collage consists of images with 5000 images made for 13 years and sold for $69 million in 2021 through Christie’s.

• It features politics, pop culture, and biting social commentary to explain how Beeple grew from a digital artist.

• Its sale in the form of Ether, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum Blockchain, made a statement of equal worth by digital arts, thus creating a buzz around NFTs.

CryptoPunks

• It is a non-fungible collection of 10,000-pixel art characters, including humans, zombies, apes, aliens, etc., and it is an iconic character created by Larva Labs in 2017.

• These in animated forms were offered initially for cash that is now worth millions of dollars, and one NFT sold for $11.8 million at Sotheby’s.

• CryptoPunks was the first to use the ERC-721 standard. Clearly, they are embedded in the history of NFT.

Nyan Cat

• This viral meme, featuring a Pop-Tart-bodied cat flying through space, was reimagined as an NFT for its 10th anniversary.

• The NFT combines cultural nostalgia with the appeal of digital collectibles, especially after it was sold for 300ETH.

RTFKT’s Digital Sneakers

• RTFKT, which joined Nike, redefined digital fashion for wearable NFT sneakers, which grant access to physical shoes.

• The more high-tech accessories of the “CryptoKicks iRL” were auto-lacing and gesture control.

• The previous project of RTFKT and Fewocious was $3 million of NFT sneakers sold in minutes, showing the appetite for virtual fashion. Although it is no longer with us.

Cryptovoxels (Voxels)

• An ideal investment playground that allows people to own, construct and sell plots of land in an online space as NFTs.

• Cryptovoxels, now known as Voxels, enables users to host a gallery, an event or a store.

• It can be used on Web browsers and offers VR support, and more people enjoy it as game developers and modellers.

Decentraland

• It is one of the first NFT virtual world platforms: users can buy plots of land and build on them with MANA.

• Every parcel is an NFT, and some top pieces cost over $1 million.

• It also facilitates users from brands and artists to events, which enables them to conduct online concerts and exhibitions.

In-Game Assets

• NFTs made their way to Axie Infinity, meaning characters, items, and lands are expressed as NFTs so members can trade them for profit.

• Axie Infinity was unique in the Blockchain ecosystem and attracted 2 million monthly active players for a period, and the game made billions in revenue. 

Jack Dorsey’s First Tweet

• Twitter’s founder, now (X), sold his first-ever tweet as an NFT for $2.9 million in 2021.

• The tweet, reading “just setting up my twttr,” was then seen as a piece of digital history.

• However, when it was resold, it got far fewer bids, revealing how unpredictable the NFT prices can be.

Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)

• With a total of 10k cartoon apes, BAYC from Yuga Labs is more than just art; owners get privileges such as access to events.

• Initially, Bored Apes Yacht Club was priced at 0.05 ETH or about $220 per ape, but the value shot up, and some apes cost over $100 000.

• Early celebrities adopted BAYC, and endorsement deals were made with other players, such as Adidas.

Sports Trading Cards

• NBA Top Shot and Sorare enable fans to own moments and digital player cards, respectively.

• NBA Top Shot focuses on the sale of highlights of dramatic moments of basketball games and Sorare’s convergence between trading cards and fantasy sports leagues.

• Thanks to these platforms, new channels have developed through which fans can interact with their favourite teams and players.

Types of NFTs

Basically, NFTs come in various offerings and have unique value.

• Digital Art: Artists can sell one-of-a-kind pieces directly to buyers.

• Music: Musicians tokenize songs and albums. Fans get exclusive access.

• Virtual Worlds: Platforms like Decentraland let users own and develop land.

• In-Game Assets: Players own and monetize unique items in games.

• Domain Names: Blockchain-registered domains ensure decentralized ownership.

• Tokenized Physical Assets: Real-world items are represented as NFTs.

• Collectibles: Trading cards, memes, and other digital items become prized assets.

Parting Shot

NFTs are new-age standards of how ownership and authorship should look in the world of art. From Beeple’s shocking digital artwork to Bored Apes’ changing social interactions, NFTs brought a new level of creativity from art to gaming into fashion.

Instead of waning, the market continues to be active, especially as companies like OpenSea and Rarible make it much easier for people to get into the NFT space. For art enthusiasts, 2025 is a year to look forward to, with so much more to come in the NFT market.

Image Source: Adobe Stock

Disclaimer: This article is purely for informational purposes. It is not offered or intended to be used for legal, tax, investment or financial advice.