Collin's dictionary choose NFT as the word of the year 2021. Experts at Collins, said Wednesday they chose NFT because of its “meteoric rise in usage," up 11,000% in 2021.“NFTs seem to be everywhere, from the arts sections to the financial pages and in galleries and auction houses and across social media platforms," said Alex Beecroft, managing director of Collins Learning. But whether NFT will have a lasting influence is yet to be determined, he added. What is NFT?NFT- non-fungible token. NFT is a unique and non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a digital ledger. It can be associated with easily-reproducible items such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files as unique items. NFTs, give us a way to have clear ownership over digital items. Consider how they're the same and different from a physical object, like collectible cards (Pokemon, NBA, etc.)
Use of NFT NFTs are now being used to commodify digital assets in art, music, sports, and other popular entertainment, with most NFTs part of the Ethereum blockchain, while other blockchains can implement their own versions of NFTs.
Importance of NFTThe importance of NFTs lies in providing the ability to securely value, purchase, and exchange digital art using a digital ledger. NFTs started in online gaming, later with Nike’s patenting of its authenticity (CryptoKicks) and then by the famous Christie’s auction embracing NFT valuation of a digital art piece.
What are the future holds of NFT?For NFTs the true potential is yet to be uncovered. Whether big industry players in art, design, or fashion will buy into it or not is also yet to be seen. One thing is for sure, NFTs did open the door for many digital artists to be identified and valued, and the smart contract functionalities of the blockchain technology will be used in future evaluations of many assets.