NFTs are a new form of digital assets. They are not coins or tokens but unique pieces of digital content that can be traded and used in video games, online communities, and social media platforms. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have grown massively in popularity, and we’ve seen a huge variety of projects throughout various industries. Follow NFT101 for more information about how they work and why they’re such an exciting social & economical development. Widely seen as the future of digital art, top auction houses, fashion retailers, rock bands, and restaurants quickly adopted the top NFT assets.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are blockchain-based smart contracts that help authenticate and track digital assets. These assets usually consist of visual artwork but can often be other types of digital media, such as songs or videos. NFTs cannot be traded or exchanged one-to-one. This is the key difference between regular crypto and NFTs.

Digital assets are becoming increasingly popular, and it’s changing the concept of art collectibles. With more digital collectables available, museums are looking to include top items in their collections. An art auction house, Christie’s is among the innovative companies promoting digital artwork. Just recently, they showcased artist Beeple in their auction for their art. The sale was quite lucrative, to say the least- for it sold for over $69 million! It gives us a good idea of how much money is flowing into this market currently.

Also, read – What are Crypto Collectibles in the world of NFTs?

What are non-fungible tokens (NFTs)?

Non-fungible tokens are digital assets that have a particular value and can be traded. They are not interchangeable with other tokens, meaning they have their own unique value and cannot be replaced by any other token.

NFTs are used in games to represent a player’s progress or items that they own. For example, non-fungible tokens can represent a player’s level in the game, which is different from the level of another player.

NFTs can also be used as rewards or prizes for players who complete certain missions in the game. The more missions they complete, the more NFTs they will receive as a reward.

However, it’s not just crypto that uses the blockchain. One NFT cannot directly exchange with another without a central system to check what type of NFT they are and how to trade one for another.

NFTs have been around for years but they became way more popular in 2020. In 2019, the US NFTS was $62.86 million which is nothing compared to the trade volume in 2020 which amounted to over $250 million. This rise in popularity reveals that there’s still much to explore in this realm. Top non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are making a lot of money. For example, Christie’s auctioned an NFT-based artwork by Mike Winkelman in March 2021. Nowadays it’s famously known as “Beeple”. It was sold for $69.3 million.

Additionally, NFT tokens allow for a high level of detail and personalization- for example, a coffee bean token that has owners’ metadata. These come with the additional advantage that assets can be easily identified and transferred to another person’s possession at their discretion. Another option for artists is to sign their metadata so you can tell it’s original. This makes content theft difficult.

Non-fungible tokens started with the ERC-721 standard. Originally created by the team behind the ERC-20 smart contract, it defines all of the information that you have to include in order to list a ‘gaming token’. The current Ethereum token standard – ERC-20 – allows for NFTs to be used with Ethereum through fungibility. However, this does not save time or money on the blockchain transactions. The new ERC-1155 standard will allow for batching of these non-fungible tokens which will save both time and money.

Definition and Examples of Non-fungible Tokens (NFT)

“NFTs are pieces of digital property that can be verified through blockchain-verification algorithms. Most tokens work with the Ethereum network to verify these kinds of transactions. The earliest form of the token were called Colored Coins.” Introduced in 2011, Colored coins is a form of bitcoins that have been “colored” to produce a different set of properties from the rest of bitcoins. Similar to the currencies trade in forex markets.

NFTs emerged in 2017 and were the first crypto-assets on the Ethereum network. They made their debut as CryptoPunks, digital blockchain-based characters, but around this time last year, Cryptokitties became popular with an Ethereum network game for collecting and trading them. In 2018, a Cryptokitty sold for the astronomical sum of 600 Ethereum. That’s around $170,500.

In March 2021, CryptoPunk was auctioned for $7.57 million. You may have read about CryptoPunk as it’s one of the top NFTs around as not only does it provide a route to rarity, but also the potential to increase in value over time. Artists are also creating NFTs by selling their work on platforms, giving them a chance to be seen by millions. For example, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently auctioned his first tweet from 2006 for $2.9 million, earning an estimated $1 million in profit for himself in just two weeks.

How Do Non-Fungible Tokens Work?

Non-fungible tokens are physical assets tracked through blockchain. It’s basically an electronic ledger of transactions between individuals in the digital world. Computers on the blockchain verify each transaction by solving mathematical problems.

NFTs are secured through blockchain technology and the transaction history and data is made public for verification. This means that an NFT cannot be stolen or altered in any way and can be verified without a doubt.

This gives top NFT assets a use in some areas and some have already started to be adopted.

Art

Art is an industry where copyright is hard to enforce. However, with NFTs, you’ll know the authenticity of the art without having to worry about fraud & unauthorized copies.

Sports

Sports memorabilia often has a high collectible value and non-fungible-tokens (NFTs) may not only offer fans a way to improve the experience but also provide a way to prove authenticity and ownership of high-value memorabilia. For example, NBA Top Shot sells NFTs that represent players, events and prizes in the NBA. There may also be a use case for NFTs and sporting events. For example, the top 10 attendee rewards in a ticketing system may be given on the blockchain to incentivize event attendees.

Why pay $200K for an NBA Top Shot highlight of LeBron dunking? Here’s the NFT mania, explained. pic.twitter.com/zd9tj0G7X1

— USA TODAY Tech (@usatodaytech) December 30, 2022

Licensing or Smart Contracts

Non-fungible tokens are used in smart contracts with respect to intellectual property for instance for licensing purposes. This may present interesting opportunities for owners of various intellectual property to license the use of these assets. In addition, inscribing contracts on a blockchain may help ensure that all parties are aware of who can use or make copies of these assets. For example, the creators or owners of the Eiffel Tower constantly have to collect royalties from people wanting to use it as a backdrop for a photo for instance.

Real Estate

A Non-Fungible Token, or NFT, is the digital representation of your ownership of an asset on a blockchain. One example of this would be owning a single family home where you could have proof via the blockchain that you are in fact the property’s owner. This can provide certain advantages, such as safety and efficiency.

Top NFT Assets in Crypto Market

The table below will list the top NTF assets on the crypto market. They are often cited as top NFT assets on the blockchain.

CryptoPunks3100

CryptoPunk3100 is the most rare and valuable crypto-punker globally. One of its pieces sold for $7.58 million worth of Ether on March 11, 2021. Just a month later, it was worth $11.1 million and has an estimated value of $4,200 per token today. There are 10,000 CryptoPunks in the series and this one is just one of them.

There are only 405 other people in the game that also have this headband, making it rare among players. The game was very popular in 2017, selling one time for 8 Ether ($2,127). It appears that this non-fungible token CryptoPunks3100 is very valuable and desirable among other players. One such example is Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days, which was sold for tens of millions of dollars.

CryptoPunks7804

There are few CryptoPunks that have any historical relevance, but the most notable one is 7804. On the day that 3100 was sold, Figma’s CEO Dylan Field also had their one CryptoPunk sold for $4.2 million worth of Ether.

Polling data is found in many areas of the field of climate modelling, with big implications for scientists and politicians alike. To take one example, 12 Ether (14,988 USD) was the most recent purchase price for an anonymous CryptoPunk. CryptoPunks7804 is a pretty unique punks.info, with only 253 other punks that have a Cap Forward profile, 316 that have an exclusive Pipe profile and 377 that have Small Shades as well.

Meebits10761

Meebits is a standard ERC-721 token that can be easily traded with other compatible services. The NFT contract also comes with a marketplace which allows you to trade up to 100 Meebits per transaction.

Meebits10761 is the most valuable Meebits. On May 13, 2021, they sold it for 700 WETH. The 7-figure price tag had a value back of $2.7 million. This Meebits is one of 20,000 3D voxel personas built by a custom generative algorithm then registered on the Ethereum blockchain.

SuperRare14

SuperRare is a US-based company founded in 2018. They work on the ETH blockchain, and all drawings are ERC-721 NFTs. But you’ll find here relatively unknown artists who are selling higher quality goods at more affordable prices too! As a result, the list of creators with NFTs sold on this marketplace is extensive.

SuperRare14, issued on March 24, 2021, sold for $1.79 million. This NFT places it number four for the top NFT assets with a current value of 1,000 ETH, or $1.73 million. SuperRare’s key focus is to provide digital art that is only available via purchase with NRV tokens.

CryptoPunks6965

One of the rarest Ape punks is the Crypto Punk 6965 which was made by only 24 people – making it one of the second most rare series. On February 19, 2021, 800 Ether were sold for $1.54 Million at that time which set a record. The most expensive and highly-praised CryptoPunk sold three times for a few thousand dollars each time.

The price of CryptoPunks6965 is currently set at 2,100 Ether, about $5.5 million at this time. However, the person who owns CryptoPunks6965 has not accepted any offers for purchase up to now. One offer of 2,100 Ether was made on March 14 when it was worth $3.9 million but that too was ignored.

Meebits8598

The OpenSea NFT marketplace just witnessed the biggest sale of an item in their history. The lucky winner paid 420 ETH ($1.4 Million) for Meebits8598, a pixelated 3D character from the same company that created Tetris. Once again, people are getting excited about the idea of all these NFT’s and they’re making headlines. The sky is the limit when it comes to what people will buy for novelty, non-physical items.

CryptoPunks1190

CryptoPunks1190 is one of 88 Zombie punks. The punk was last seen in the hands of address 0x43fb99. There are no bids on this punk yet. In addition, the token CryptoPunk1190 currently holds 7th place for top NFTs. With a total value of 400 ETH ($1.41 million) on May 18, 2021.

Conclusion

NFTs are on the rise. People are becoming more interested in their market size and many new deals will take place in the future, including when it comes to what can be traded. Experts believe that this craze will go on for a long time because NFTs have so much potential to offer. In the second quarter of 2021, it won’t fluctuate as much as it did in the first quarter.

So it’s possible that the surge during the first quarter connects with people spending more time online during the lockdown. In addition, new crypto-rich speculators are leveraging their digital asset price gains to buy more Bitcoin.