_{Creative design thanks to Canva}

As the rise of cryptocurrency continues, more and more ideas are flocking onto the chain. This evolution is quite unique that people all over the crypto world have been crazy, you would really think they are crazy.

Non-Fungible Tokens (or widely known as NFTs) are unique in nature that can't be replaced with something else. In short "one-of-a-kind" and you can never have copies of it or else that someone who copied/used your NFT can be subjected to copyright infringement. NFTs can be anything digital because they are digital piece that has unique coded system mostly stored in Etherium blockchain. This is the reason why NFTs are unique and will be forever unique in nature.

Imagine someone bought Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter's first-ever tweet for sale as a non-fungible token for 1,630.58 Etherium, around $2.9 million based on Etherium's price at that time of sale. An artwork, named "Everydays: The First 5000 Days" is the current record holder for the highest NFT being sold for $69.3 million. These recent NFT acquisitions were proof that Non-Fungible tokens are on the verge of global domination.

How Important are NFTs? What are its Uses?

_{Photo credit : Yahoo News Australia}

Because of its unique ownership technology, NFTs have sparkled the eyes not only of the artists, celebrities, musicians, and developers (which are responsible for these things) but also through the eyes of the investors because NFTs can be used by any means of imagination. You could:

• Sell an art piece
• Sell your song.
• Your first tweet? (If you're that influential)
• Digital signature
• Digital portrait with signature?
• Anything that you think!

Guess what? There's something that will bug your mind if you'll know this.

Digital world? Yes! Someone is making a virtual world for everyone!

The token is called Decentraland, in which it builds a virtual world that sells parcels of land usually at 10x10 meters in its initial space minimum has attracted massive investors. These lands that investors have purchased are very much equivalent to real estate of the world and you can do whatever you want there!

Some groups have formed to build a virtual casino in Decentraland, others have created parks, stadiums, concert halls, and many more! These things, which have made Decentraland rose in prices, are just the start of the things you can build with NFTs.

Basketball and Football are about to be broken next. Sports is an interesting niche in NFTs that will surely attract attention and as a sports enthusiast and fan, I'm excited to see these development coming out soon.

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The History of Non-Fungible Tokens

NFTs have a long history with almost 10 years of evolution. I would like to share its history by timeline:

• 2012: Colored Coins

This was believed to be the founding idea of NFTs which is very similar to the current technicalities and use cases of NFTs nowadays. Colored coins are believed to be the OG of NFTs.

The concept of colored coins is simple - each colored coin represents real-world assets on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. It uses bitcoin's scripting language which allows users to code information and store small amounts of metadata on the blockchain. These "small amounts of metadata" are the coded information that represents the value and the owner of the coin.

• 2014: Counterparty

Same as colored coins, it uses Bitcoin blockchain where it focuses on a peer-to-peer financial platforms. The good thing about counterparty before is that it paved the way for creating its own tradeable currencies or assets. In fact, it was one of the reasons why years 2015-2016 had some bitcoin pump in general.

• 2017: Cryptopunks

The first to be established under Etherium blockchain, Cryptopunks concept is simple - they produce 10,000 unique crypto punk characters that are unique and can be traded online.

• 2017-2018 - Cryptokitties

One of the reasons why Etherium rose in prices and activity - but was also responsible to a clogging network. Cryptokitties have an outstanding run in 2017 in which it's an NFT project that involved casts! Each cat that you own is 100% unique and there is no other copy except you.

• 2020-2021 - NFTs get their attention to the public.

Yes! It was the year of massive attention to the public. From Jack Dorsey's first tweet being sold as an NFT, to artists like Snoop Dogg launching his own NFT tokens, and many more.

NFTs empowered lots of artists, celebrities, and musicians whose works weren't justified for the price being paid. As long as someone is willing to buy those tokens, you'll get the price you've been hoping for.

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How Non-Fungible Tokens Work

_{Photocredit: Tech Startups}

I have explained the basic concept at the top but NFTs require a lot of development work. Since these "information" is coded in the Etherium blockchain to make sure everything falls into place including the uniqueness of the item, hacking, security, and an assured value.

Etherium blockchain is the basis and preferred blockchain of the current offered NFTs because of the following:

• Faster transaction time than bitcoin
• Lower cost compared to bitcoin
• Allows coin creation via Smart contracts, and lastly
• It supports the ERC-721 token standard where it enabled NFT creators to capture information and decide the values of their digital pieces and store them as tokens on the blockchain.

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Conclusion

Non-Fungible Tokens have a great influence to the cryptocurrency world because it attracts the masses and known personalities over the world. More and more artists, celebrities, and musicians have ventured into cryptocurrencies because of NFTs. In fact, there have been series of news regarding players opting to receive their salaries in Bitcoin or Etherium. This goes to show that we're still in the starting phase of NFT domination.

However, we should be wary about the possible losses it might bring. Don't just "go with the hype" because, in the crypto world, many are taking advantage of ignorance. Do your own research before venturing and buying an NFT. Know the basics of cryptocurrencies and NFTs before jumping onto the cliff.

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This has been a fun assignment. Thank you so much to professor @levycore for putting on amazing homework for us students. I have learned a lot from this assignment and I'm looking forward to participating more! This is my homework article and I hope you enjoyed reading them.

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Sources:

• How Non-Fungible Tokens Work
• Colored Coins en.bitcoin
• What are NFTs and its History
• Why are some NFTs worth Millions?
• NFTs explained | Blockchain Cryptoart
• 10 Most Expensive NFTs ever Sold