People have been collecting things since time immemorial. Archaeologists have found evidence of the collection of crystals in the Kalahari as long ago as 105,000 years. Much more recently, through much of the 20th century, sports memorabilia and art have been the most popular collectibles. Almost everybody has at least one sports collectible. Certainly, almost everybody owns a couple of CDs or has an album or playlist of music on their iPod or mobile phone. Then, along comes a completely different format for collectibles.
Some people may call it the hottest new investment and others may think it's a passing fad. Is NFT the future? Whichever way you choose to look at it, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are here to stay. Putting mankind's inclination to collect things together with NFTs as a medium – well, that's the proverbial match made in heaven.
Collectibles in 2022
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on many people's lives. According to some statistics, well over 100 million people lost their jobs permanently. Add to this the loss of income due to reduced working hours, furloughs and enforced unpaid leave. This alone equates to more than 250 million full-time equivalent jobs. That is a lot of economic damage. The kind of economic mayhem that makes people think outside the box. Many people turned to selling assets as a last resort. Probably many people suddenly realized that they had, over the years, accumulated things that had become quite valuable.
Others may have started new collections in case we should ever experience such economic upheaval again. If you're not yet a collector, there has never been a better time than 2022 to get into it. Apart from the potential long-term appreciation of value, creating a collection is a kind of soul food. Something deeply rewarding.
What are NFTs and why is NFT the future?
What's an NFT, and why is it a game changer in the world of collectibles? NFT stands for non-fungible token. Something that is non-fungible is unique. It cannot be exchanged for another identical item with the same characteristics and value.
A dollar bill is fungible. When you exchange it for another, you still have a dollar bill. It looks the same and has the same value. An original work of art is different. You can never exchange two original works of art on a like for like basis. Is NFT the future? In terms of authenticity and indisputable proof of ownership, absolutely.
An NFT is similar to a crypto coin – only perhaps a little supercharged. NFTs have a bit of extra data that gives them their uniqueness. This data ties the crypto coin to a specific item. Perhaps originally intended to represent property, stocks or contracts, NFTs found a niche in collectibles and memorabilia. Since around 2017 there has been an explosion of collectibles issued by artists, athletes and even sports teams.
Buying and selling collectibles is now so much easier and safer. An NFT cannot be replicated or stolen. The authenticity and ownership are embedded in that block of data and that has been verified by any number of people all over the world. This alone is more than enough justification for the existence of NFTs. Is NFT the future? Most likely, yes.
What NFTs can you invest in and how?
Investing in NFTs offers something for almost all collectors. Almost any form of asset can nowadays be represented by an NFT. Having said that, there are certain assets that are more popular and more widely known than others.
The main categories of collectibles are:
• Profile picture (PFP) or avatar images. They're collections of themed, pixelated images and the spectacular growth in their popularity and value has made several millionaires.
• Art, whether creative or digitally generated. Think of Kevin McCoy who sold the first ever NFT for $1.4 million, or “The first 5,000 Days” by Beeple that fetched $69.3 million.
• In-game assets such as weapons or real estate. Gamers may buy or trade these assets in order to reach specific objectives in their game strategy.
• Sports NFTs have taken over from the more traditional baseball, basketball and football trading cards. This is a market that is set to produce massive growth in value.
• Individual photos or music clips. Almost every picture ever produced has some value to someone. Likewise, a few seconds of melody.
There are many exchanges and marketplaces that offer NFT trading platforms. All it takes is to create a crypto wallet and to register on one of these exchanges. After that you follow the prompts and follow your conviction.
Where's the best place to buy NFTs?
If you ask about NFT trading platforms, there are a handful that will instantly come to mind. Open Sea is an open platform that was launched towards the end of 2017. It is by far the biggest exchange by volume.
Other notable exchanges include Axie Marketplace, NBA Topshot, and Larva Labs/Cryptopunks. These are marketplaces that deal in specific sports, games or themes. Is NFT the future? The growth of these exchanges would certainly suggest it is.
Then you have Singularifty. Although a relatively new entrant to the world of NFT trading, this division of the NextHash Group is set to take NFT collectors and NFT collectibles to new heights.
The Singularifty exchange works with the MetaMask wallet which is a leader on the Ethereum blockchain. Offering among the lowest fees in the industry, this offers the ideal starting point for aspiring collectors. Is NFT the future? With Singularifty, it certainly is.
What does the buying process look like on Singularifty?
It's really very simple. Create a MetaMask wallet and a profile on Singularifty. Link the two and you're in. Is NFT the future? Hindsight is 20/20 vision. Can you afford to wait, and see? Probably not. Let's remember those famous sayings like “nothing ventured, nothing gained” or “who dares, wins”.
The Singularifty platform offer access to drops where you can get in on the ground floor with preferential prices. You can buy and sell NFTs or send and receive them by way of gifts. Create multiple wallets to keep collections separate or to trade entire collections in one go. Is NFT the future? Visit Singularifty.com and see for yourself.