You’ve created a meme and it’s going viral. The inevitable happens and someone puts their watermark on your work but continues to repost. Your meme continues to spread but your ‘pips’ have disappeared. Don’t you wish there was a way to prove you owned that meme?

Enter the non-fungible token, aka the NFT.

NFTs are the latest Blockchain assets to be mainstream-hyped. You may have heard the term in passing but still have no idea what they are.

What are NFTs?
*straightens tie* A fungible asset has units which can be interchanged. The best example is money – a $20 bill can be changed for 2 $10s, 4 $5s etc. and maintain the same value.

A non-fungible asset is one that cannot be exactly exchanged for other units, such as a piece of art or music; you can’t exchange a Kartel tune for 2 Mavados (even though no one would argue).

The ‘token’ in NFT refers to its Blockchain nature; NFT is a type of (usually)Ethereum cryptocurrency. Think of it like an individual Ethereum ‘coin’ that contains additional information on the file format and ‘certificate’ of ownership.

Thus, a NFT is collectible digital asset, such as an jpg or mp3g, which comes with proof of ownership and as a result, can be bought or sold like tangible assets.

Since they are digital files, NFTs can be copied. However the copies’ value will be less, due to the lack of a crucial authenticator.

NFTs recently hit mainstream news due to events like the Nyan Cat gif selling for > $500,000, digital art going for $65m, NBA TopShot experiencinig great reception and artists such as Grimes and Kings of Leon turning their music into NFTs.

Local artists have also embraced the tech and started creating NFTs of their work, such as Trinidadian photographer and digital artist Rodell Warner, who is currently selling a few NFTs of his work, online.
In our next article, we’ll tackle NFT creation, explore their value to Caribbean artists and look at how this tech can impact the region.

Until then, rest easy knowing that your meme pips can be secured.