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| Don’t pull that red thread |
Nonfungible tokens are digital things that you can’t physically touch, hold, or eat. Unlike pet rocks, cabbage patch dolls, old Lionel train sets, and Schwinn bikes, NFTs are collectibles you can’t actually collect. Also unlike old bikes, trains, dolls, and rocks, NFTs can disappear in a nanosecond—now you have it (virtually) and now you don’t (really). However, as those physical things mentioned, NFTs do cost money and can cost a lot of money.
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| Only those who believe can see them. The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen |
Investing one’s money in imaginary virtual goods, akin to buying real estate in someone’s virtual metaverse, has become a fad participated by those with too much money they don’t know what to do with, and those hoping to get some money by making a smart investment and waiting for it to appreciate.
Recognizing the excitement of the NFT craze, Neon, which calls itself “the NFT and digital collecting platform for everyone,” announced that it has opened the world’s first NFT vending machine in New York City’s Financial District, located just off Wall Street at 29 John Street.
The machine accepts USD credit and debit cards then dispenses a box with a unique code inside it for the chosen NFT, which is easily redeemable on the Neon platform—no cryptocurrency, crypto wallet, or specialized knowledge is required. The vending machine is open 24 hours a day. Customers won’t know what they’ve bought until they go online to see it.
Hope you like it—it’s one of a kind, you know.
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| No pushing, get in line. Just wait, you’ll get your turn |
And, other than purchasing the token, buying an NFT doesn't confer copyright ownership. Owning an NFT, by itself, does not grant the right to print or distribute the work without the copyright holder's written permission.
So, when you buy an NFT you are buying a pile of bits that might assemble on a PC screen, but like the software you buy for your PC, may not be copied. The owner, however, again like software, can sell it as often as he or she wants to. Virtual unowned pixels out—real dollars in.
Our world is changing. Who can say for the better or for the worst?.
NFTs are cool for the younger generation. Think of it as a way for someone to “own” something they otherwise can't.
If that's how they want to spend their cash, who are we to say otherwise?
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| A digital art collage by Beeple, a pioneer of the exploding virtual art market, which sold for a record $69.4 million (NB image has been cropped). (Source: Christie's Auction House) |
NFTs create jobs and promote the creation and collection of art by ordinary people who are usually excluded from these profits.
A trading card featuring Koby Bryant just sold for $2 million. Real value? Maybe not, but real tangible—you can’t eat a trading card.
The plus side? NFTs allow artists to make money. It’s not just a digital copy you can get free on the Internet. The NFL Superbowl was a digital copy worth hundreds of millions of dollars—and no it wasn't free. Sure it can be pirated, but those are lawbreakers subject to penalties.
Artists can sell unique digital art, but only the owner of the NFT has permission to display it. Just as you can capture a photo of a painting, but you don’t own the actual painting, you can download that same image on the internet but, you don’t own it.
But wait. If virtual art isn’t where you want to invest your money, how about a portion of some real art? Prices for some masterpiece paintings have exploded in recent decades, this asset class has largely been exclusive to the 1%. And some of the benefits they’ve reaped? Contemporary art prices actually beat the S&P 500 by 164% from 1995 to 2021.
But now, anyone can join in—enter Masterworks. Masterworks invites you too join an exclusive community investing in blue-chip art.
Masterworks offers customers the opportunity to join an exclusive community investing in blue-chip art. Investments in securitized blue-chip paintings.
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| “NFTs are dumb. Please go outside, do drugs, & have sex like normal” Wilmington, DE, April 2021. Photo by Karl Stomberg. Art by @vivideman https://twitter.com/KFosterStomberg/status/1388209346648084483/photo/1. |
Is it for you?
If you bought an NFT, what would you do with it? Put it on your smartphone so you could show it to friends at parties, bars, and Uber queues? Would that be gratification enough to rationalize the costs?
If you had just too much money and didn’t know how to spend it all as fast as you could in your lifetime, then I guess it would just be like buying a good bottle of wine—its great for as long as it lasts.
NFTs are not bought because they are valued for their intrinsic magical beautiful artwork; although they should be. They are bought for showing off. Not investment because you don’t own the original, you can’t sell it.
Oh look, here is my latest pet rock/NFT—am I the coolest person you ever met or what? What a pick-up line.