What is currently happening for a digital artwork called NFT to be sold for more than 69 million dollars, making its author one of the most sought-after artists in the world?
To answer this question, we need only look at NFTs, or non-fungible tokens. A technology that uses cryptocurrencies and blockchain to guarantee the immutability, originality and authenticity of a work.
Definition and properties of non-fungible tokens
Non-fungible tokens, also known as "crypto-collectibles", should be understood as a type of cryptographic token, characterised by being unique, unrepeatable and limited in quantity, and it is precisely this rarity and scarcity that generates an important attraction or incentive for their purchase and/or collection. In addition, NFTs work in smart contract networks, such as Ethereum.
With regard to the ownership of this type of token, a number of considerations need to be taken into account. On the one hand, as with a unique work of art, in a non-fungible token (NFT), the intellectual property of the token itself belongs inalienably to the creator of the work.
On the owner's side, the owner will have limited rights to exploit the NFT property, either the right to use the work for personal or commercial purposes, depending on the rights acquired with the NFT.
Among their characteristics or properties, as mentioned above, they are digital assets based on a blockchain, so they have a unique and permanent property, and cannot be replicated or counterfeited.
Moreover, their interoperability, together with the fact that they can be standardised and programmed, has led to the significant popularity of NFTs in markets such as video games and digital art.
Laundering
It is worth mentioning that NFTs can provide some economic or simply speculative utility, which makes them a major player in Decentralised Finance.
And it is precisely for this reason that they must undergo certain regulation and control, in terms of licences, regulations, jurisdictions, etc., in order to avoid possible fraud or money laundering.
In this regard, international policy and cooperation between countries on anti-money laundering specifies that where there is no originating or beneficiary institution, digital asset service providers are obliged to implement anti-money laundering measures such as KYC.
On the other hand, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) considers escrow services for digital assets as a service provider of digital assets. This includes any smart contract technology or other escrow provider.
Market, and where to find NFTs
Currently, it is necessary to remain alert to the market and possible market reactions, as there is still no exact formula to know the market's own reaction or the real price of NFTs. In addition, the price of gas in the ETH network is being paid with high commissions, for which layer 2 solutions are consequently being implemented to lower these transaction fees.
On the other hand, the best options to find different types of crypto-collectibles are Rari and Opensa. Both are marketplaces where NFT art, virtual lands, avatars, blockchain, etc. are sold.
NFT project tokens
Finally, we would like to make available to the reader the existence of different NFT projects, such as Theta, which is a decentralised video streaming protocol, Lybry, which would be another video platform, Audius, as a platform that makes available to artists the direct transmission of their music to their users.
In addition, there is Decentraland, which is a metaverse, which makes NFTs available to players in the form of virtual plots, which can be bought, sold or traded by users of the game.
