The revolution of crypto art

The crypto world has revolutionized the world of finance and now is ready to do the same in the world of Art. Digital artists, and more, are just beginning to understand the power of NFT and some of them have already become rich thanks to them! Are you ready to find everything you need to know about NFT crypto, and how is it connected to the world of art? In this article, you’ll find all the information you need.

What is NFT crypto?

NFT stands for non-fungible token. But, before explaining what a non-fungible token is, we should consider that an NFT is still a crypto, a digital asset. However, it’s different from the cryptocurrencies we are familiar with like Bitcoin or Ether.

Let’s start with what they have in common.

Like crypto money, NFTs are digital assets and don’t have any physical corresponding. However, NFT can represent real-world objects, like art, or music, or game assets, or even game characters, but they are not the physical piece of art.

Just like cryptocurrencies, crypto NFT are exchanged – bought and sold – online through a blockchain; this way, the system is decentralized and 100% secure just like it happens for cryptocurrencies since the times of Bitcoin.

So, where is crypto NFT different from crytpo money?

While cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are fungible tokens, NFT are non-fungible tokens. What does it mean?

Fungible tokens are equivalent values and can be traded and exchanged for 1 another. Let’s take the example of Bitcoin: 1 Bitcoin is equal to 1 Bitcoin. All Bitcoins are equal. If you and your friend own a Bitcoin each, and you decide to swap your Bitcoins, nothing changes: a Bitcoin is not different from any other Bitcoin!

Non-fungible tokens are all one of a kind: only 1 NFT can exist, and there is only one owner of the NFT. That’s why non-fungible tokens are perfect for trade works of art. Every NFT represents a unique work of art and it identifies a unique owner. There is no way of duplicating the NFT – and therefore the work of art – and there is no way of stealing its property.

Unlike Bitcoins, not all NFT are equal and they can’t be exchanged for one another because they can have different values, and they can represent different works of art!

NFT for creators

NFT can be a huge resource for creators. Anyone can create the NFT associated with their work of art, put them on an NFT platform, and start selling them. NFT is usually associated with digital work, mainly images (digital art) and videos.

Collectors are becoming obsessed with NFTs and that’s why collections are the ones that are most easily sellable and the ones that are making creators become rich.

NFT for investors

The mechanism through which you can trade and earn money with NFT art is pretty simple: when you buy an NFT, you wait for its value to grow, and then you sell them. Most NFT platforms run on the Ethereum blockchain so your incomes will be, in most cases, in Ether. Ether is also the crypto you need to buy NFTs in the first place.

How can you create crypto art and use NFT?

If you’re an artist and you’d like to start selling your art through the NFTs platforms, the process is easier than you think. It all happens through NFT platforms: they are websites that work like marketplaces; people can “upload” their work and set up a price for it, or throw an action. Buyers can browse through the platform, pick the NFTs they like and buy them, or place an offer.

But how can you turn a piece of work – say, a digital illustration – into an NFT?

As we’ve mentioned, NFT platforms run on the Ethereum blockchain; therefore, the first thing you need to do is buy some Ether that you’re going to spend for the required processing fees. You can buy Ether on any exchange, but the most reliable ones are Binance, Crypto.com, CoinBase…

Once you have some Ethers in your crypto wallet you can go to the NFT platform and – just like it happens on any platform – create your account. Since we are on a blockchain, you won’t be required to subscribe to too much information.

IT’s now the time to create your NFT: look for the “create NFT” button and click on it. You’ll simply need to follow the guided procedure. At a certain point, it will require you to upload your digital illustration. When the process is complete, you’ll have created your NFT associated with your work of art.

Now, you are the unique owner of that unique piece of art. And you can decide to sell it on the marketplace, or throw an auction for it.

When someone buys it, Ethers will be sent to your wallet and that’s all. You won’t need to send the digital illustration to your buyer: the buyers buy the NFT, the NFT is good and it has no physical or digital corresponding.

Is there any disadvantage in this process?

The main disadvantage in this process is only momentarily and it is due to the Ethereum blockchain. As you may know, the Ethereum blockchain is currently saturated: there are so many users and so many platforms running on it that the amount of transactions is huge and they take a lot of time to be processed. The main problem of all this is however the cost of fees.

Any operation within any blockchain requires a fee. If you move your token from one wallet to another, if you deposit them in a liquidity pool, if you swap them for other tokens, there is always a small transaction that happens and a small fee to be paid.

For the newest blockchain, these fees are equals to a few cents (and sometimes even less); but in the Ethereum blockchain, for the reasons we’ve explained, the fee can be very high, so high that – for the smallest investors – is no longer convenient to approach any Ethereum running platform.

But how could you start selling your NFT art, or start investing in crypto NFT if you don’t have a big initial capital?

The solution is to look away from the Ethereum blockchain, because – as you may know – other promising blockchains are being born and some NFT platforms are already running on them

Crypto.com NFT is just an example: here, all the fees are paid in CRO, that is Crypto.com’s native token, and they are extremely low.

NFT sales: examples

But how big is the NFT market? We thought that the best way to let you understand how important are NFTs for both artists and investors is to inform you about some crypto NFT sales or auctions that have received offers beyond any imagination.

One of the most known artists in this sector is Beeple, and he has become the best-known even because of his huge NFT sales.

Beeple created a collection of digital illustrations called “Everydays: the first 5000 days”. He committed himself to create 1 piece of art every day to get better as an artist and start sharing them on Instagram. After 5000 days, he found himself with all these digital pieces and he put them together in a collection and sold them as NFT. He launched 2-week bidding that closed at $69,346,250. With almost 70 million dollars gained with a single sale, Beeple is today among the three richest living artists in the world.

Another NFT situation worth mentioning is the one of the Cool Cats. Cool cats is a collection of 9,999 digital illustrations of cats that are randomly generated. They are available on Open Sea, one of the largest NFT markets that run on the Ethereum blockchain. When they first appeared on the marketplace, these cats would cost only a few cents. Today, they are among the most expensive NFTs out there. Those who bought a Cool cat back when they used to cost a few cents were able to sell them for thousands of dollars!

You can read more about the current state and future of the NFT market here: Present and future of NFT Art

Where can you create or invest in NFT?

The places where artists can create and sell their NFT art and where investors or collectors can buy them and trade them are, of course, the same. We’ve already mentioned some, but we want to list the largest marketplaces available here, along with some less large ones that could still be a great opportunity for smaller investors.

• OpenSea: most popular NFT marketplace where you can create, sell and buy NFT’s
• Rarible: it’s another popular NFT marketplace where you can create, buy and sell NFT’s
• Coinbase NFT: Coinbase plan to open NFT Marketplce by the end of 2021. You can register here: Coinbase NFT
• The Sandbox: it’s an NFT marketplace related to a game environment.
• Crypto.com NFT: it’s an alternative to the Ethereum blockchain for small investors.

Now that you know everything you need about NFTs, how to create them, and how to buy and sell them, you can start to invest and trade your NFTs!