Is Crypto too complicated and controversial? Don’t worry, let us break it down for you. From debunking myths to the latest news, our experts discuss the world of Crypto in the easiest way possible for your convenience. Let’s look at the latest developments.
Who would have thought that former president Donald Trump will come up with his very own NFTs and also sell them out in under 24 hours? Not me certainly. However, truth is stranger than fiction and it looks like Trump has made a splash in the NFT market when nobody was seemingly interested in acquiring digital images. So is Donald Trump making NFTs great again? let’s find out
Donald Trump’s NFT collection
Trump’s NFT collection dropped at a time when the market volume of the tokens is down by 89% from its peak in January. Dune Analytics reports that the trading volume of NFTs on OpeanSea Marketplace is the lowest since June 2021. One of the most famous NFT projects, Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT can be acquired now just for $80,466 which is an 81% drop from its peak value. Thus, Donald Trump’s NFTs selling out in under 24 hours is a testament to his popularity among the red-hatters.
Despite the bad timing, Trump’s NFT collection easily shot up to the top of OpenSea’s marketplace ranking, raking over $1.4 million since its launch. The collection’s trading volume is 900 ETH whereas its floor price is about 0.19 ETH which is about $230. The price has currently surpassed the original ask of $99 which is rare in the current NFT market.
Trump digital trading cards are fantasy NFT cards based on the polygon blockchain. The trading cards portray an exaggerated version of Trump showing him as a super-human, an astronaut, and a boxer, among others. There is also a certain reward program attached to the trading cards as buying 45 Trump trading cards at one go gives users a ticket to a gala dinner with Trump himself. Many are suspecting that this proposition has led to Trump Trading Cards becoming a massive hit among his fanbase and crypto bros.
It looks like the crypto community cannot catch a break. With news ranging from crypto billionaires dying mysteriously to the coins’ plummeting rates, 2022 was not entirely the year for crypto investors and enthusiasts. Now, another big blow to crypto bros has come from Microsoft which has decided to enforce new restrictions on cryptocurrency mining.
Microsoft bans crypto mining
Microsoft, one of the biggest players in the cloud computing arena has decided to take drastic measures to increase the stability of its cloud services. As a result, crypto mining has been axed from Microsoft’s cloud platform. There was no official announcement of the same as Microsoft quietly decided to ban crypto mining from its online services in order to protect its customers and clouds. The Register, a British tech news agency was the first to crack this development on December 15, 2022.
Microsoft introduced the new restrictions as a part of its universal license terms of Microsoft Online Services. Microsoft’s updated acceptable policy clarifies that crypto mining is now ‘prohibited’ on its platform without prior approval. The latest policy states that users now require users to obtain a written pre-approval from the company in order to use any Microsoft Online Services for crypto mining.
As per reports, Microsoft said that the latest restrictions laid upon crypto mining aims to protect the online service from cyber risks like fraud, attacks, and unauthorized access to customer resources. Furthermore, the company stated that it may consider permissions to mine crypto only for testing and research purposes, thus crypto whales running big mining operations on Microsoft cloud will take a massive hit with this development. Microsoft won’t be the first company in recent times to adopt the new restrictions. Earlier, Google also restricted users from engaging in crypto mining without the company’s prior written approval. Besides this, platforms like Oracle have banned crypto mining entirely, whereas Digital Ocean also requires users to take written permission.
About a year ago, people were going crazy about NFTs, but where’s the buzz now? All the hype of NFT is gone with time, like the freshness of the new year dies after a few months. Take a look at the NFT market now, the same people who were crazy about it are making noise against it and crying out loud.
In January 2022, the NFT hype was at its peak, and people couldn’t stop investing their hard-earned money into it. Being on the same page was a need of an hour, and even we decided to dive into the pool of NFT by featuring one NFT-related special article in our magazine every month.
However, we had to wind up the plan because, in only 2-3 months, we realised the hype was not worth it, and we took a step back. In the meantime, over the last 6-7 months, we kept a close eye on the NFT updates, and here we are, back again with NFTs to keep you away from having grudges in the new year.
Humans are a fan of art, especially artefacts and paintings, and we always like to have at least one of the famous paintings in our houses. Back then, wealthy people preferred to buy such artefacts, and when modern artists launched their NFT paintings, the current set of rich people started investing in them.
Wealthy people invested their crypto into NFTs, and like always, others followed the path. However, they have yet to really talk about the real reason – the rich first invested a lot of money in the crypto market and were waiting to utilise it for a long time. Then NFT happened, and it was the only promising option they had at the time.
When things were going well, and artists were finally getting their due attention from the crowd through their NFTs, a few sets of money-hungry people started creating unwanted NFTs by downloading images or music from the internet to earn some quick money, which became a prime reason for the failure of NFTs.
Earlier, Jack Dorsey’s NFT of his first tweet was sold at the price of $2.9M, and today it is struggling to get a bid of $100. Logan Paul bought an NFT named Bumblebee last year for $623k; today, it is worth $10. Unbelievable, right? In the last few months, things didn’t exactly work out as we had hoped, and now NFT has become a passing trend.
Let’s see how it collapsed on the ground within a year.
NFTs formed in the realm of blockchain, the same platform that powers Bitcoin. When it was launched, it quickly attracted a lot of attention from the world. The early NFTs were artistic, no doubt about it, but later on, people began to use the platform to trade all kinds of artworks, from pictures to game assets.
When we were trying our hands at the NFT, we created several accounts on several NFT platforms, but soon we lost interest as the journey from creating an account to adding your NFT for sale took a bit of time and effort. Mostly due to the lack of support from the NFT marketplaces, which promised to help but didn’t even revert for weeks.
The worldwide media painted NFT as a future of both blockchain and the art world; even a guy like Elon Musk joined the NFT party announcing a plan to sell one of his tweets as an NFT. Along with Musk, there were a number of celebrities who created their own NFTs as well as invested a huge amount of money into NFTs.
One can’t stay away from online fraud when dealing with something that totally relies on it. The popularity of NFTs has resulted in significant cybersecurity and fraud issues. For example, people started mimicking well-known NFT artists and selling counterfeit NFTs in their names.
Due to anonymity and instability, NFTs are excellent avenues for money laundering as they can be exchanged anonymously, and their selling implies price volatility. Countries like Italy, UAE, Germany, and China restricted the use of NFTs and cryptocurrencies, while countries like India have clear guidelines on the trading of NFTs.
Along with all the reasons mentioned above, there are various other reasons behind the downfall of NFTs, like new-age scams, theft, and new tax regulations. Whatever the reason is, we experienced the rise and downfall of NFT in the same year. We hope the NFT market will rise again with the new year, and we’ll see something new.
It felt like for a while, everywhere you looked you were bombarded with metaverse-related content on the internet. Be it social media, digital news outlets, or your ‘Crypto-Bro’ friend, you could not miss out on the metaverse and everything around it even if you tried. So, what’s happening with the digital revolution which was touted to change the world as we experience it? Well, nothing much! One might ask what is happening with the metaverse these days only to find articles and discourse on the internet which do not lean towards the positive side. Now, it has been revealed that one of the high-budgeted metaverses, Decentraland, only had 38 daily active users!
Decentraland’s active users
I’ll come off clean here, I too had bought Decentraland’s crypto token, MANA, during its peak hype. I quickly sold the tokens off to shift to SHIBA INU and have been a SHIB loyalist ever since. Though I was skeptical about Decentraland’s ambitious metaverse ever becoming mainstream, this was not expected! DappRadar data aggregator recently released data that the Ethereum-based Decentraland only had 38 ‘active users’ over a period of 24 hours. This is a shockingly low number given the company’s market cap of a whopping $1.2 billion.
It is important to note that according to DappRadar, active users are counted based on unique wallet address’ interaction with Decentraland’s smart contract. This means that users making any purchase using SAND or MANA tokens in the platform only are counted as active users. People simply logging in to the metaverse to communicate with one another or roaming around the metaverse are not counted as active users. CoinDesk reached out to Sam Hamilton, the Creative Director at Decentraland, who clarified that DappRadar does not track the users in its entirety but only people who interact with their contracts. Sam added furthermore that there are currently 8,000 people on average in the Decentraland metaverse daily.
8,000 daily users off a $1.2 billion investment sounds…. tragic? This certainly does not prove whether or not the metaverse is the future. But we surely are off to a rocky start.
While the crypto industry becomes increasingly mainstream with each passing year, its volatility remains constant. One can never be sure how crypto trends change and new technologies emerge to render the previous-gen tech basically useless. Something similar has now happened with the Ethereum Merge.
Being simply regarded as the ‘Merge’ in crypto, Ethereum has moved away from the ‘Proof of Work’ trust model to a ‘Proof of Stake’ work model. The unversed need not get confused with such concepts as we’re here to explain to them in easy terms.
‘Proof of Work’ model
Earlier, Ethereum used to work on the ‘Proof of Work’ which basically meant that all the Ethereum transactions/ownerships were validated by the work of crypto-miners. Cryptocurrency mining is a process that verifies and adds new transactions to a cryptocurrency using a complex global network of computers. The miners ensure that the transactions are added correctly and are legitimate. The PoW model has long been criticized as it requires a complex chain of computers having stacked banks of graphic cards juicing up on an outrageous supply of electricity. The energy-intensive model of crypto mining is known to consume energy higher than in some countries! The Merge is expected to cut down electricity consumption related to mining by 99%.
‘Proof of Stake’ model
In this model, any crypto investor who stakes a minimum of 32 Ether tokens can become a validator. This translates to a group of validators getting selected to mine crypto in a far less energy-consuming process. Users will also have an option to create a ‘Stake pool’ to participate with a smaller stake.
Crypto enthusiasts should note that while the new mining mechanism is more energy-efficient, it does not necessarily make ETH transactions any quicker. According to Ethereum Foundation, the Proof of Stake method only increases the productivity speed by 10%. However, ETH developers do not need to worry as they won’t have to make any changes to their existing code. The technology is designed to be backward compatible, meaning applications built on the previous version will be available with the newer network.
Back then, investing money in the stock market was everyone’s dream, but people were unsure about the outcomes and kept themselves away from investing in stocks. They say movies have always been a mirror reflecting the actual image of our society, and people started believing it when they watched Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
However, it wasn’t enough for a large population of our country and to conquer that, Hansal Mehta came up with a web series called “Scam 1992”, which showcased the story of Indian stockbroker Harshad Mehta. The series not only changed the life of an actor Pratik Gandhi who starred as Harshad Mehta but also changed the perception of people about the stock market.
Today, we’re walking on the same lines, but the place of investment has changed, at least for some. In the last few years, we have moved from traditional investments to mutual funds, SIPs and the stock market, but not many of us are taking risks to invest in a real player, the cryptocurrency, which is taking the world by storm and creating new benchmarks every day.
Even though the finance department of India said, “cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum would never become legal tender across India”, we have about 20-million people who have invested in cryptocurrencies. Then, who’s stopping you? The fear of where to invest or the complex process of investing in crypto? Whatever it is, we’re going to take care of it, especially if you’re a first-time crypto investor.
Top 7 pieces of advice for first time Crypto Investors
Stay alert and listen to the inner voice
The cryptocurrency was invented in 2008 by a person or maybe a group of people with the pseudo name Satoshi Nakamoto. Over the last decade, it has become the first investment choice for many people, but many media personalities and financial advisors have said it’s an over-hyped sector due to its volatile nature. Well, I would say – start small and invest a little, but don’t dare to ignore the hype.
Do a little homework before investing your hard-earned money
Scammers are everywhere, and with the help of advanced technologies, they’ll easily fool you, especially in the field of crypto investments, as it runs on digital platforms. Also, cryptocurrencies are not regulated and backed by any government authority, making it impossible to recover your investments in case of any fraudulent activities. Hence, play safe and do the homework first.
Look for a trusted and genuine trading platform
One should always do a background check of the place where they’re about to invest their money, and the same rule applies when you’re looking for a genuine trading platform for cryptocurrency exchanges. When looking for a trusted trading platform in India as a first-time crypto investor, one should always go with platforms such as Coin DCX, CoinSwitch Kuber, or WazirX.
Top 7 pieces of advice for first time Crypto Investors
The importance of KYC and documentation in crypto
KYC is a need of the hour, be it in bank accounts, cryptocurrencies, or any platform where you’re worried about theft, scam, and frauds. The KYC process saves you from fraudulent activities by taking and verifying your details, such as identity proof, address proof, PAN card, and driver’s licence. KYC offers improved customer transparency and trust, keeping you away from scams and frauds.
Don’t expect miracles and go in for a long term investment
Cryptocurrencies are here to stay, but they keep fluctuating day by day due to their volatile nature. Hence, being a first-time investor, don’t expect miracles and go in only for a long-term investment. The more you’ll wait and adhere with your patience, the more benefits you could have in the future. Thus, invest in crypto as soon as possible and wait for the right time to come.
Don’t listen to the social media and follow the 5-per cent rule
Be wise, and don’t fall for the social media trap where most influencers urge you to invest a massive amount of money in cryptocurrencies. Well, one should not invest more than 3 to 5-percent of their monthly or annual income in the crypto market, at least when you’re a newbie in the crypto world, as most of the coins have dropped by 60-70 per cent overnight in the past.
Invest in multiple cryptocurrencies instead of one
While investing in platforms like the stock market or cryptocurrencies, one should never invest a considerable percentage of their money in one share or coin. Being a newbie in the world of cryptocurrency, one should always prefer to invest in multiple cryptocurrencies as it’s more beneficial than investing in one sole type of crypto. The moral of the story – if you lose in one, you might gain in another.
Everyone wants to join the NFT parade, including you. However, the struggle to understand the process kicks most of us out of the race right away. NFTs are already over the moon and have the capability to make you a millionaire in a quick time. I hope you’ve heard the story of an Indonesian student who sold his years of selfies as NFTs as a joke and accidentally became a millionaire.
Currently, the NFT market stacks about $17 billion as the transactions worldwide jumped 21,350% from $82.5 million in 2020. A number of investors are looking at NFT as a side-hustle and a source of a second income but are not aware of where to start and how to indulge in an NFT drama? No worries, we have your back and it’s high time to take a look at the 5 ways to make money with NFTs.
Digital Artforms
Are you an artist who’s interested in auctioning or monetising your fully digital artwork? Well, if you’re an artist, then the NFT ride would be pleasurable for you as we have witnessed people who sold their digital artforms on NFTs and earned millions. You can create anything and mint money with it through NFT platforms but make sure you’re creating something practical and no more farts, please.
Trade NFTs
Everyone can’t be an artist, but you can always play your business card and trade NFTs. Some NFTs are worth millions, while some are damn worthless, and if you’re one of those people who understand the value of the art and are good at predicting the fate of the art, then start trading NFTs. Start buying less valued but potentially worth NFTs and make profits during resale.
Licensed Collectibles
We all were, and some of us still are, huge fans of trading cards. Owning a rare type of trading card, exchanging a trading card and buying a newly launched limited edition trading card was just another stupid habit we had during our younger days. Well, you can turn this tradition into a money-making machine now as the price of a digital trading card is unbelievable, particularly when you have a rare one.
NFT Gaming
We live in a time where people even earn through playing games, reviewing games and whatnot. Also, we at least have one friend in our group who can spend enormously on virtual items. In future, gaming companies (which are already worth billions) might offer in-game items as NFTs, and it might push the development of Non-Fungible Technology forward. Be quick, and get your kitty while it is free.
NFT Royalties
Back in the 20th century, wise men used to invest in real estate and rent it out to people, which provided them with a constant flow of income every month or on an annual basis. Now, in a tech-advanced world, you can create or purchase someone else’s NFT and set a 10% or 20% royalty on your NFTs, which will help you earn money every time someone buys your NFT.
Almost everyone adores cryptocurrency, but only a few dare to invest. When El Salvador became the first country to permit consumers to use cryptocurrency in all transactions, several crypto investors thought it would soon get a legal tag in their respective countries. However, to their surprise, not many other countries followed El Salvador’s footsteps, which deeply saddened crypto investors.
Now, looking at the current happenings around the world, we can say that the future of crypto entirely depends on how much time developed and developing countries take to legalize these currencies officially. The risk involved around the investment in cryptos, such as the risk of money laundering and terror funding, worries every country, and that’s why it is taking forever to legalize.
We can’t predict the future, but we can always work on our present. Thus, investing in a volatile market of cryptocurrencies could be a risk at the time, but if you invest in it systematically by working on implementing proper strategies at the right time, you might not believe it, but you could have a chance to get the benefits from it in the coming years.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin (BTC)
Market Capitalization – $880 billion
Value of 1 Bitcoin in Indian Rupee (as of 22nd April 2022) – ₹30,92,870.31
Bitcoin was created in 2008 by someone under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, and over the years, it became one of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the world. It was designed originally as a medium of exchange, but now it is primarily viewed as a store of value.
Ethereum (ETH)
Market Capitalization – $375 billion
Value of 1 Ethereum in Indian Rupee (as of 22nd April 2022) – ₹2,29,731.28
Ethereum was founded by programmer Vitalik Buterin in 2013 along with a few additional founders, including Gavin Wood, Charles Hoskinson, Anthony Di Iorio and Joseph Lubin. Ethereum is a programmable blockchain that finds applications in various areas, such as DeFi, smart contracts, and NFTs.
Tether (USDT)
Market Capitalization – $79 billion
Value of 1 Tether in Indian Rupee (as of 22nd April 2022) – ₹76.44
Tether is a stablecoin, and it’s backed by fiat currencies such as U.S. dollars and the Euro. Due to its non-volatile nature, Tether is preferred by many investors. Tether tokens are issued by the Hong Kong-based company Tether Limited, and the owners of Bitfinex control it.
Binance Coin (BNB)
Market Capitalization – $68 billion
Value of 1 Binance Coin in Indian Rupee (as of 22nd April 2022) – ₹31,384.25
The Binance Coin is a form of cryptocurrency which can be traded or exchanged for other forms of cryptocurrency, such as Ethereum or Bitcoin. Binance offers relatively secure options to invest in and trade cryptocurrencies. It is expected to climb up to the maximum price of $14,800 by December 2030.
Solana (SOL)
Market Capitalization – $45 billion
Value of 1 Solana Coin in Indian Rupee (as of 21st April 2022) – ₹8,293.88
Solana was developed in 2017 by a former executive at Qualcomm, Anatoly Yakovenko, with the current Solana board member and COO Raj Gokal. The native token ‘SOL’ powers the platform, and the coin hit its all-time high of $260.06 in November 2021 but since then it’s struggling somewhere around $100.
Since the arrival of Web 2.0, we have witnessed many changes in human lifestyle, especially the ones that directly relate to the internet. Whether from static pages to dynamic web pages, social media advancement from mails to apps or from cash-driven society to electronic money transactions. Digital currency, or digital money, is a new fad that is driving people crazy and the hype it has created since its inception is absolutely unbelievable.
What is Digital Currency?
The word anatomy certainly belongs to the science that studies the structure of the body, but it goes along quite well when someone is describing digital currency. The human body consists mainly of water and organic compounds, while digital currency or digital money is any form of money, currency, money-like asset or payment that is primarily managed, stored or exchanged in electronic form, especially over the internet.
Digital currencies or electronic currencies are known for making secure, transparent and trusted payments that exist only in a virtual format and are not tangible. They are mainly divided into two territories – centralised currencies and decentralised currencies. Now, you should know one thing upfront – centralised currencies are regulated and need licenses to operate, while decentralised currencies are complicated to regulate.
The money you have in your bank accounts is called electronic money. It does not fall in the category of digital currency because you can take your bank stored money out in cash form anytime you want, just by visiting the banks or ATMs. However, you can’t do such acts in the case of digital money as it never takes physical form, unlike currencies with printed banknotes or minted coins, which makes it exchangeable only via digital pars.
Types of Digital Currencies
Cryptocurrency
Almost everyone on this planet earth is aware of cryptocurrency due to its popularity over the last few years. It is a type of digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that does not rely on any central authority, making it supremely rebellious. Cryptocurrencies are categorised into DeFi, NFT, utility tokens, and store of value tokens like Ethereum, Bitcoin and Litecoin.
Cryptocurrency uses encryption to verify transactions, and it is a digital currency with the actual value and worth, though it keeps fluctuating and volatile. It doesn’t belong to any specific nation and isn’t integrated with any one country’s economy. The first-ever cryptocurrency was Bitcoin, founded in 2009, and even today, it is a widely accepted and one of the most highly valued cryptocurrencies in the world.
Virtual Currency
Virtual currency is a type of digital currency which is not issued or controlled by a central bank. Also, in some cases, it acts as a substitute for real currency (only when it has an equivalent value), and then it is referred to as “convertible” virtual currency. They are further categorised by currency flow and classified as closed virtual currencies and convertible virtual currencies.
Central Bank Digital Currency or CBDC
Central Bank Digital Currency or CBDC is a type of digital currency issued by a central bank. The idea of Central Bank Digital Currency came from cryptocurrencies, but in reality, it differs from cryptocurrencies. The significant difference between these two is centralisation, where instead of putting money, the central bank issues electronic coins and accounts. The government backs all these coins and accounts, making the currency a fully trusted digital currency.
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. today announced its entry into the NFT (non-fungible token) universe, with the release of its first tranche of tokens, becoming the first Indian automotive OEM to enter this space. NFTs are at the forefront of blockchain technology and have captured the interest of the digitally savvy and constantly connected generation. The entry of Mahindra into the NFT universe is yet another testimony of their continued focus on digital initiatives in the country.
The first NFT offerings from Mahindra will be based on the iconic Thar and will be released in collaboration with Tech Mahindra. Thar exemplifies the Mahindra promise of ‘Explore the Impossible’. Additionally, its larger-than-life imagery is suited to the futuristic, socially wired landscape of NFTs. This first-ever series comprises four NFTs that will be put up for sale via an auction starting the 29th of March 2022, on Tech Mahindra’s NFT marketplace christened ‘Mahindra Gallery’.
All proceeds from the auction will go towards Project Nanhi Kali, to support the education of underprivileged girls in India. Access to education helps the girl child in fulfilling her dreams and lays the foundation for an equal society. The Thar experience doesn’t end with buying an NFT. The winners of the auction will be invited to the Mahindra Adventure Off-road Driver Training Academy (Igatpuri, Maharashtra) or to the new state-of-the-art Mahindra SUV Proving Track (MSPT, Chennai), to experience the thrill of 4×4 motoring.
Commenting on the launch, Veejay Nakra, Chief Executive Officer, Automotive Division, M&M Ltd said, “Mahindra & Mahindra has always been a pioneer in adopting new-age digital innovations to enhance customer experience. The launch of NFTs is another exciting step for us to leverage the next frontier of digital marketing.We will be able to offer a whole new set of experiences to our customers, build communities for our brands, and also increase brand awareness and loyalty. With our entry into the NFT space, we are all set to harness the countless possibilities of interacting and adding to the Mahindra brand and all our nameplates, and there is no better brand for this debut than the Thar.”
CP Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra, said, “At Tech Mahindra, we believe in innovating for the future. As an industry front runner, we have significantly contributed to digital transformational strategies and solutions. In line with our aim to reimagine the customer experience, engagement, and brand equity through digital transformation, we are launching an NFT marketplace in collaboration with Mahindra Group. This market place titled ‘Mahindra Gallery’, is a one-stop-digital assets and collectibles marketplace for all patrons of the Mahindra Group, and this platform-of-the-future will emerge as a key lever to showcase the rich archives and history of the Group that everyone can own in the form of NFTs, ushering in the next wave of digital ownership.”
NFT is over the moon, but ironically no one really knows what it is and why it is creating hype all over the globe! The artwork that brought NFT term in most households of the world was Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days, sold in an auction for $69,346,250 (38,525 ETH).
The viral news created a curiosity between people, but it didn’t create much hype on Indian soil until Bollywood Superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s NFT collections, which includes his father’s famous poem ‘Madhushala’, autographed vintage posters of himself, and his other works sold for a whopping $9,66,000.
Later on, Yuvraj Singh came in and hit the NFT ball out of the world by sending his NFT bat into space, which became the first-ever minted NFT ever to be sent in orbit. And this is when some intellectual people started searching for what is NFT and diving deep into the ocean of serendipity.
Until now, most people know NFT stands for Non-Fungible Tokens, and they can be traded or exchanged but only with an equivalent item. I’ll put it in an example to make it more clear to you, suppose you have digitally owned Nike Shoes, valued at ₹23k, then you can exchange them with another digital item priced at ₹23k.
Whereas fungible tokens such as Bitcoins are more like physical money, and they can be traded or exchanged. You can exchange the Bitcoin with one for another, but you can’t do the same with NFTs as they’re cryptographic assets on a blockchain with unique identification codes that distinguish them from each other.
In the last few months, NFT has dominated the investment sector and occupied massive space in the digital market space. The artforms that sold for millions of dollars played a remarkable role in the growth of NFTs, and it aided the marketplace to become a multi-billion-dollar industry in a short span.
In 2020, the NFT marketplace was in the initial stage, and the total investment was about $100 million, but it boomed like a missile in 2021 and reached the mark of $20 billion. Thanks to the brands like Nike, Adidas and Gucci, who invested heavily in the NFTs (in the name of limited editions) to open up new revenue streams.
NFT platforms are a kind of jackpot for artists who are associated with graphics, music, and programmable art forms. When you create an NFT, you get an option to tag it with a specific value, and it can be anything at the initial stage. A number of artists are earning millions due to NFT platforms, all thanks to the hype.
Suppose an artist tags an NFT at 0.1 Ether, but later on, when people start taking an interest in it, or it gets viral, the value of NFT can reach any number, and this is how the owner of NFT will earn. It’s simple like an IPL auction – if the player performs well in a couple of seasons, every franchise will try to get him in their team in the next auction. In simple words, yes, NFTs are definitely worth an investment.
Let’s Talk Business: How to Create NFTs in India?
NFTs are focused on specific sectors like digital artworks, images, audios, videos, and even tweets. So far, they can be bought only with cryptocurrencies, and that’s the reason people who have already invested tons of money in cryptocurrencies are the people who are incredibly excited to buy them. NFTs are worth an investment, but they have a slight risk involved. Get in at your peril, but never test the depth of a river with both feet.
Here are a few provisions and steps you’re going to need before creating NFTs.
We can create and sell NFTs on many platforms, but we recommend OpenSea and Rarible, especially when you’re a newbie to the world of NFTs, as these two are the most popular platforms for NFT trading. When we tried our hands at NFT, we went with Rarible as we got to know that they’re offering to sell/list NFTs without any gas fee, which no one else is willing to offer. Let’s get to the steps quickly before someone else uploads and sells their selfies as NFT.
Step 1:
Search “Install MetaMask” on Google and click on the first link, which will lead you to the MetaMask homepage. Then, click on the download option, install MetaMask on your browser and add it as an extension.
Step 2:
Then, visit Rarible.com and sign in with MetaMask. The page will lead you to the new window. Now, click on the Get Started option, and if you already have a wallet, then click on import wallet; otherwise, go for, create a wallet.
Step 3:
Next up, read the policy text, click on the I agree option, set a password, and click on create. Hit the next button, watch the video and click on the blurry text. Yes, it is your secret recovery phrase.
Note: Write down the secret phrase on paper and keep it safe somewhere. Never share this secret phrase with anyone.
Step 4:
Later, click on the next option. You’ll see something like this. Now, select the secret phrase words in order and click on it till you finish the task and then hit confirm, followed by all done.
Step 5:
Hit next, and then connect. Now go back to the rarible site and sign in with MetaMask. Click on create, and the page will lead you to choose the blockchain option, where you’ll see three options – Ethereum, Flow and Tezos.
Step 6:
Click on Ethereum and then choose to create a wallet. Then, choose single or multiple as per your choice. If you’ve created something very unique, then go for a single otherwise, go for multiple to sell one collectible multiple times.
Step 7:
The page will lead you to create a collectible on Ethereum. Upload your preferred file by choosing the file. Next up, set a price or select open for bids. Then, turn on the option of unlock once purchased and enter your secret phrase.
Step 8:
Turn on the free minting option to avoid gas fees and a name along with a description of your NFT. Also, enter the percentage of royalties, number of copies and click on create item option.
Step 9:
A number of small windows will appear on the right side of the screen; scroll them down and click on the SIGN option every time it appears there. Congrats, you’ve successfully created your first NFT.
Step 10:
Lastly, check your NFT by clicking on the “my profile” option. You’ll find it on the same line where the create option can be seen. Refresh the page and click on the owned option to see your first NFT.
That’s it! Now, you can share the on sale NFT with anyone by clicking on the share option.
Here are some fascinating facts about which you may be unaware. People are learning how to buy a cryptocurrency and looking for easy ways to buy Bitcoin as interest in cryptocurrency grows. It’s not surprising that some prospective investors want to learn more about how digital assets work. However, in the world of cryptocurrency, the truth can sometimes be stranger than fiction. It’s been a wild ride, and we still don’t know where cryptocurrencies will go in the future, but here are some equally crazy facts about cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
1)Gas is the term used to describe Ethereum fees.
When completing transactions on the Ethereum blockchain, you must pay for “gas.” The computational effort required to complete the transaction is represented by gas on the Ethereum network. Using the network for apps or transactions, even converting another coin to ether, necessitates the payment of gas. Gas fees can feel quite high in some cases, depending on the transaction and traffic on the blockchain.
2) One of the first blockchain games was CryptoKitties.CryptoKitties, one of the first blockchain games, allows you to breed one-of-a-kind digital cats. CryptoKitties are not a currency; rather, they are a type of non-fungible token (NFT). Because each kitty is unique and cannot be replicated, they have a one-of-a-kind value, similar to artwork. CryptoKitties, by the way, is built on the Ethereum blockchain.
3) The most expensive CryptoKitty was purchased for 600 ETH.
Someone paid 600 ETH for a CryptoKitty Dragon in 2018. At the time of the transaction, 600 ETH was worth approximately $170,000. Today, however, with the price of one ether exceeding $2,700, that 600 ETH would be worth more than $1.6 million. That is one pricey digital cat!
4)NFTs are not currency.
NFTs are not cryptocurrencies, despite their growing popularity and status as digital assets. They are tokens that do not serve as a medium of exchange. Furthermore, NFTs cannot be divided or replicated.NFTs are becoming increasingly popular as alternative investments, similar to artwork or collectibles. In fact, some people see them as digital collectibles and artwork with the potential to appreciate in value. There are even NFTs, such as those provided by NBA TopShot, that function in a manner similar to digital sports trading cards.
5)Cryptocurrencies are prohibited in some countries.
Cryptocurrencies are not legal in every country. Some countries, such as Turkey, prohibit cryptocurrency payments, while others, such as Nigeria, prohibit cryptocurrency exchanges. However, one of the most significant recent bans is China’s prohibition on financial institutions providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions.
Even though countries can regulate access to service providers and shut down exchanges, it is nearly impossible to outright prohibit the use of cryptocurrencies. But, with one of the world’s largest economies opposing cryptocurrencies, it’s difficult to predict how things will play out in the future.
Bottomline
Cryptocurrencies offer a number of interesting opportunities for investing, as well as possibilities for the future. However, it’s essential to be careful about how you invest, especially with a new asset class. Carefully consider your risk tolerance before moving forward and make sure investing in digital assets is appropriate for your investment strategy.
