Editor's Note: This article comes fromCrypto Valley Live (ID: cryptovalley)Crypto Valley Live (ID: cryptovalley)

, Author: REWIND, Translation: Jeremy, reproduced by Odaily with authorization.

NFTs can track ownership, guarantee authenticity, and allow the monetization of digital artifacts. But are they just the latest tech bubble, or a lasting transformative technology?

“Everydays: The First 5000 Days” is a JPG file by the artist Beeple, which sold for $69.3 million (with fees) on March 11, making it the third-highest price paid at auction for work by a living artist.

secondary title

what are they?

The point of "non-homogeneity" is, in the final analysis, the difference between assets. In economics, a homogeneous asset refers to something that has units that can be exchanged at any time, such as currency. For example, you can exchange a £20 note for two £10 notes and it will be of the same value. However, this cannot be done if something is non-homogeneous, because it has unique properties and therefore cannot be interchanged with other things. So if you lend your car to your friend and they give you another car back, that's not acceptable - your exact car is non-homogeneous.

secondary title

How do they work?

A rare painting is coveted and scarce, and it has monetary value, but it also adds social value to its owner, thereby increasing its value. Your child's first drawing has sentimental value because it evokes your memory -- to you it's priceless, but to someone else it's likely worth nothing (unless your child becomes world famous artist). We are all different and have different tastes and preferences, which affect how we value things.

So far, we don't have a secure system for valuing digital items. Digital files are easily copied endlessly, so NFTs create a digital certificate of authenticity and ownership that can be bought and sold. Anyone can see the details of any NFT transaction and access records of who owns what.

Crypto is hard to get into unless you already work in finance, technology, philosophy, and geopolitics, but NFTs allow artists and craftsmen to enter the field, creating a fantastic fusion of technology, creativity, and finance.

secondary title

Tech bubble or transformative technology?

While the hype surrounding the sale of Beeple's digital art for $69.3 million at auction has raised awareness of the term NFT, what many people don't know is that the innovation, development, and platforms surrounding NFTs are huge, and Has been around for a while. There is already an Instagram-like experience for NFTs — Showtime — a social network for crypto art.

At the helm of it all is Metapurse. The self-proclaimed "authority in the field of NFTs" bought Beeple's work and is exclusively focused on the emerging world of blockchain-based verifiable projects. While the fund has been partially responsible for the sudden media attention surrounding NFTs, it has quietly amassed perhaps the world's largest collection of tokenized collectibles and art over the past few years.

Metaverse, another buzzword, is a persistent shared virtual space that provides cross-platform and real-world experience and manipulation. According to Twobadour, whose title is "The Steward of Metapurse," the virtual museum will only be accessible via a VR headset because they feel the work should have a truly immersive viewing experience.

secondary title

What does the Metaverse have to do with NFTs?

Metapurse founder Metakovan wrote in a blog: "All these experiments and opportunities seem to condense into one big world: a Metaverse similar to Neal Stephenson, built on virtual reality, virtual currency and NFTs."

The appeal of the Metaverse is that it will allow anyone to create, buy, and view NFT art in an engaging way—VR elevates work to a higher level than a computer screen or mobile phone.

The virtual display area for NFT already exists, such as Somnium, you can not only display your NFT, experience it in 360 degrees, but also create and sell it. UX is something much more than a space to display artwork as it comes to life through immersive media. Creators are embracing these worlds and using them in ways even developers never imagined.

While there are innovations in displaying NFTs, there are also brand new movements developing and creating, such as Async Art. This Silicon Valley-based NFT platform is helping create a new art revolution built on the Ethereum blockchain. Users create, collect and trade programmable art composed of "Master" works and "Layers", which are independently owned. Last month, the company raised more than $2 million in seed funding, underscoring the growing value proposition of programmable art. While only 2D at the moment, there is no doubt that we will see Async Art develop into immersive media in the future, where collaborators can span the digital and physical worlds, add layers, and then trade in real time.

Artists including Cardi B, J Balvin and Justin Bieber have a digital representation, or Genie, as 3D avatar companies like Genies and influencers need to find new ways to connect with fans. Genies will soon be up and running on Flow, a new blockchain built by Dapper Labs, and artists will then be able to issue a limited number of digitally unique collectibles that can be sold and traded among fans... on Metaverse.

secondary title

Sounds like fun, what are the highlights?

It's easy to get carried away with the excitement of NFTs, but many are unaware of the massive environmental impact they, and other cryptocurrencies, have on the planet. A new study from the University of Cambridge has found that mining bitcoin now consumes more energy per year than the entire country of Argentina.

The computing power and energy required to mint, bid, cancel, sell and transfer ownership of cryptocurrencies is responsible for millions of tons of CO2 emissions. Since a network of computers is required to run uncountable cryptographic checks until the correct combination of numbers is found to "mint" the transaction - the electricity consumption and CO2 emissions are enormous.http://cryptoart.wtf/Memo Akten, a computational artist, engineer, and computer scientist, was excited by the idea of ​​purely digital platforms generating sustainable income for digital artists, but knowing the ecological impact these platforms could have, he set out to research kind of influence. His research led him to write an article on Medium (which went viral) and create a website

, allowing people to see the energy usage and environmental impact of the growing Proof of Work (PoW) based CryptoArt and NFT marketplace.

"Bitcoin (BTC), the original cryptocurrency, is estimated to consume 80-120 TWh of energy per year, which is about 0.45% of all electricity produced in the world." Memo Akten

The site has since been taken offline as Akten realized his discovery was being blamed on a single NFT, rather than an NFT marketplace emission. Since the NFT and crypto art market is still in its infancy, all data so far has not been audited by external experts. Akten admitted in his Medium article that his analysis was intentionally "one-sided."

Conversations around the environmental impact of this technology have certainly started, and we’ve seen alternatives, with Tezos-based Hicet Nunch, the first energy-efficient NFT marketplace developed by Brazilian developer Rafael Lima. Internet celebrities are also taking action, for example, Jacob Collier is just an artist, and he has shelved plans to hold NFT auctions until "the method is more sustainable and ecologically sound."