2021 has been a huge year for the crypto community. Dogecoin boomed in the beginning of the year, heralding the wider acceptance of “altcoins” that always deserved a larger community, such as Cardano. However, the major player that emerged and dominated the crypto zeitgeist are none other than NFTs (non-fungible tokens).
It’s more than likely that by now you’ve heard the word thrown around by the news media, articles across the internet, within your social media feeds, and even by family and friends. But, despite their best efforts, you still may be left scratching your head. “What are NFTs?” is something you may be asking yourself after being bombarded by all that information at once. Well, let me explain it simply.
Fungible… What?The first thing you need to learn is what does fungible mean? Well, a fungible asset is something that, when exchanged, is not unique. For example, if you transfer $5 to a friend’s bank account, and they send you $5, or if you trade 5 Bitcoin for 5 Bitcoin, the asset and its value are considered identical. These assets are fungible, or mutually interchangeable. You get the same value from both examples, and there is nothing differentiating the assets exchanged. The $5 exchanged for the other $5 via bank transfer is identical.
It’s Non-Fungible TimeNow that you understand what a fungible asset is, you may be asking what a non-fungible token is. This is where things get fascinating. With the emergence of blockchain technologies came the ability to create everlasting and unique “smart contracts.” Essentially, a smart contract is a contract written into code that is validated and recorded by a blockchain. It can have various terms (variables) that can be realistically implemented however the two parties agree upon. Smart contracts are the foundation that enables NFTs to be recorded as truly unique.
Finally, I can explain what an NFT is. The most common kinds of NFTs seen on the internet, and the example I’ll be using to explain the concept, are visual digital arts pieces. You may have seen the news of CryptoPunk #7523 — a blue-skinned pixel art punk wearing a face mask and red beanie, which sold for a whopping $11.8 million worth of ETH (Ether; the token on the Ethereum blockchain). But, you may not know that, technically, anything can be an NFT.
The hype around NFTs comes from the fact that they are currently being most widely used as collectors’ items, and that we have seen many success stories of artists making millions selling their works as NFTs. However, the collectibility of NFTs isn’t even scratching the surface of what NFTs can truly do.
NFTS Can Be More Than Tokens & AssetsAlthough people love collecting things that are scarce, or unique, there is another element to why NFTs are so revolutionary. They can be used as “keys” into exclusive events, or spaces, as well as contracts between the original seller and future buyers. Many people see a simple pixel art JPG and think that all NFTs are that — simple JPGs. That couldn’t be more untrue.
NFTs have the potential to represent a key, or a ticket, as well as the asset they were originally created to be. For example, we could have a song minted as an NFT that allows you to access a private DJ session where that song will be played. Or, alternatively, we could have an NFT that is a ticket into an exclusive raffle to win a more exclusive NFT during that event. The uses these kinds of tokens can have are endless, essentially.
Soundverse Music NFTsIt’s for all these reasons we decided to get involved in the NFT space, specifically for musicians and their fans. Soundverse exists to empower musicians by freeing them from record label middlemen and connect on a deeper level with their fans.
If you’re interested in learning more about Soundverse, check out this article. And, to keep updated for the coming Token Generation Event
If you’d like to learn more about NFTs, check out this article. Or, if what you read above got you interested in learning more about Soundverse, and to keep updated for the coming Token Generation Event (TGE), follow our socials (
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