WTF is a NFT? RT's Boom Bust explores multi-million crypto industry

7 Mar, 2021 11:18

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been gaining in popularity in recent months, with investors and art-lovers spending millions of dollars to claim ownership of something that only exists in digital space.

Twitter CEO and crypto enthusiast Jack Dorsey is one of the latest to get into the game, auctioning his 15 year-old tweet as an NFT. Earlier this week, US rock group Kings of Leon announced that their new album will be available as an NFT, offering some exclusive options to the fans. 

The host of RT’s Boom Bust, Brent Jabbour, discussed this new way to own art and other digital assets, and how it actually works, along with Boom Bust co-hosts Ben Swann and Christy Ai.

“NFTs gain value on the same deflationary principles as bitcoin and there is a limited amount of tokens and the items cannot be duplicated,” Christy Ai explained. The tokens are based on blockchain technology, allowing them to be traced back to the original creator, she added. 

“The thing about tokenizing everything – and that’s where we’re headed in the economy– when you tokenize everything you create a system by which you can really create master copies of tokens that...are all about bragging rights,” Ben Swann said. 

While you can still view art or a video online, NFTs give you ownership, making the rare piece of digital art an investment opportunity. However, the creators also benefit from the technology, as they can earn royalties, even on the resale.

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