Getting aquainted with NFTs
Strategies to take advantage of upcoming opportunities that await us in 2022
As 2021 wraps up and crypto markets are going sideways I have decided to take it easy and wrap up for the year. Rather than reading endless white papers and watching YouTube videos on Layer 2 scaling solutions zzz, I decided to dip and dabble with NFTs and DAOs as these topics require a more hands-on approach to learning.
So let’s start with NFTs. A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique and non-interchangeable unit of data stored on an open digital ledger (blockchain). Key word is non-fungible as opposed to fungible tokens which are interchangeable because they are identical to each other for all intents and purposes.
There is no need to go into a nuanced discussion on the taxonomy of NFTs as there is a plethora of resources on this matter. For example, The Defiant and Real Vision Crypto have loads of material to sink your teeth into if you are new to this space.
Also check out Bobby Hundreds who wrote a fascinating piece on this topic called ‘Cryptomedia, NFTs, And The Next Internet’.
Clearly, Bobby gets it. It all makes sense, until it doesn’t.
The whole concept of collectibles is certainly nothing new. Not to me anyway. I used to be a sneakerhead as I was absolutely obsessed with the Jordan IX’s. I used to own a bunch of them. One for playing basketball, one I’d wear on the street, one I’d only wear in the house, and a couple for display only — these were not to be worn under any circumstances!
Fastforward and now is the time of blockchain collectibles (NFTs). By definition, these collectibles do not have a physical form. They exist digitally on the computer. I cannot display these like my Jordan IXs or hold them in my hand nor can I smell them. *Yes I admit it: There’s nothing better than lifting the lid on a box-fresh pair of sneakers, moving the packing paper aside, and taking a big ol’ sniff.
While a lot of Boomers might have a hard time grasping this concept, the younger folks are digitally native so NFTs seem very intuitive to them. Just ask your kids or better yet — explain it to them and chances are they’d get it straight away. Now call your parents and explain it to them…
The price action on some of these NFTs is staggering. For example, the price of a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT has rocketed to a 53.9 ETH ($215k) minimum following a surge of interest and purchases in the incredibly popular collection. On the other side of the spectrum, this fella got sold for 769 ETH. Say whaaat!
Don’t get me started on the price action on some of those Larva Labs’ CryptoPunks. Speaking of which, the floor price of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs has just flipped that of CryptoPunks for the first time. In particular, the current floor price of a BAYC NFT is 53.9 ETH ($215,350), whereas the floor price of a CryptoPunk NFT is 52.69 ETH ($210,515).
Being a somewhat (younglish)older fella, I am having a hard time keeping up with the NFT space. With blockchain technology (Layer-1s, etc.) I am kind of able to read up on things and follow the arguments to its logical conclusion but the prices of NFTs elude my deductive reasoning skills altogether. Accordingly, I have set out to tread with caution on this investment opportunity.
That said, I also believe that it’s important not to ignore NFTs altogether. The Metaverse is coming at us fast and furious so we’d better dip and dabble with this technology. With that I decided to buy my first NFT — just to acquaint myself with the ins and outs of of the purchasing process i.e. How do I use OpenSea? How to connect my MetaMask wallet? Smooth sailing — not bad for a (younglish)older fart!
To be sure I don’t vibe with BAYC nor with CryptoPunks. Price action aside the art just sucks. Obviously, larger dynamics are at play here. Sergio Silver describes CryptoPunks as follows:
This is a very exclusive club of people that have been around Ethereum since the beginning and owning one of these things gives you that membership.
It is not my intention to offend anybody but both NFT tribes give me an impression of elitism that I don’t vibe with and besides that I also think that the art f*cking sucks — seriously, it’s atrocious. (Rant over I appologize!)
I am clueless on how to value these things so I decided to go for an NFT project that I really like. As they say ‘Seek and you shall find’ and I did find something that I really like. My first NFT is a female character of a collection of 8,999 male and female NFTs created by Nuclear Nerds of the Accidental Apocalypse of Bazooka_Labs.
Now we are talking! I have always been a big fan of apocalypse movies, such as Zombieland, Mad Max, Z Nation, etc. so this theme is right up my alley. Plus Nuclear Nerds of the Accidental Apocalypse is not just a collection of NFTs, it has a cool backstory that will be told through a series of future drops while NFT holders can help co-write the story. *I vibe with that as I like writing. They are getting the community involved — nice.
I am thinking out loud here: NFTs = ART plus COMMUNITY with a dash of MEME CULTURE. In this case, Bazooka Labs are onto something!
Enough of apocalypse NFTs — look I am not trying to pump this project at all. Here is what I am saying: I strongly believe that the Metaverse and NFT narrative is here to stay — might just be inevitable at this point. Get yourself aquainted with this technology. Let’s figure this out: NFTs 101 — how do you buy them? How do NFTs make you feel? Start getting a ‘feel’ for it so you can position yourself to take advantage of upcoming opportunites that await for us in the Metaverse.
Bonus recommendation — only buy NFTs that you like. Ask yourself: Would you be comfortable holding this NFT even if the price went to 0? As for myself, I am absolutely cool with holding my badass Sheila even if I lose all my initial investment. (Bought her with my Luna profits btw wooop whoop! The narrative is as strong as ever so check it out). All in all, I like my Sheila because I like the art plus I love interacting with the community. The price might just as well be a bonus!
Speaking of which, as part of my NFT 101 journey I have also learned to utilize Discord to find out more about a project. I know — as usual I am late to the party. Better late than never I’d say! Reluctantly, I downloaded Discord just to see what’s going on.
I have previously used Telegram and Reddit. FCUKing rubbish. Crypto Telegram is for spammers and scammers compounded by message overload, while Reddit requires you to collect some sort of karma to be able to post anything— besides full-time work, taking care of my daughter and researching blockchain, I have no time for karma (pun intended).
Discord on the other hand has opened another world and I suggest you look into it if you haven’t done so yet. It will allow you to see behind the curtain. It is where all the community conglomerates. I think it will allow you to take a deep dive into the very fabric of the project. This works particularly well with NFTs and DAOs.
In fact, I am so fascinated with Discord that I have decided to open my own Discord channel (Discord: https://discord.gg/RQkeZZNn). I am envisioning a platform of blockchain learning where we can share resources and banter and thereby empower each other #WAGMI! (Sounds way better than the Bitcoin maxi #HFSP slogan, doesn’t it?) As I said, wee bit busy with work and the little one but I shall put on my thinking hat and get to work on it sooner than later. Suggestions and comments are highly appreciated.
I would like to leave you with one last video that has left a lasting impression with me. In this episode of Raoul Pal’s Adventures in Crypto guest Sergio Silver discusses how NFTs are changing the world.
There are many NFT podcasts out there but I really loved this one. Sergio hits the nail on the head. In fact, I have used his discussion to think through this post and my thought processes relating to NFTs. DAOs and social tokens are also being discussed, which I think relate well to this topic. I was going to include DAOs but this post is already long enough. To be continued in another post.
In summary, the Metaverse, NFTs, Web 3.0, DAOs, & social tokens are coming our way with lightning speed. Get yourself acquainted with these technologies. Dip and dabble with NFTs. Figure out how you buy them. How do they make you feel? Download the Discord application and look behind the curtain of an NFT project that you might enjoy. This might just give you an edge for the upcoming opportunities that await us in 2022.
Happy NFT’ing ya’ll.
Frei Bier / Twitter: @FreiBIER13
Medium: https://freibier.medium.com
DISCLAIMER: My writings are merely a reflection of my learning journey and my attempt to compartmentalize the cryptoverse. I am learning out loud so feel free to correct me or disagree with me. This is not investment advice but my hope is that you find value in some of my links and ideas.