{"id":3276,"date":"2021-10-18T21:58:13","date_gmt":"2021-10-18T21:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.thegentsplace.com\/?p=3276"},"modified":"2021-10-18T21:58:13","modified_gmt":"2021-10-18T21:58:13","slug":"nft-basics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.thegentsplace.com\/nft-basics\/","title":{"rendered":"NFT Basics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t\n

We\u2019ve kept you pretty regularly updated about trends in Bitcoin<\/a>, some rising cryptocurrencies<\/a>, and where you can buy and trade crypto<\/a>.  Something we haven\u2019t yet talked about that has been in the news a lot this year are those items known as NFTs.  If you don\u2019t know what they are or how they work, we\u2019ve got you covered!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baseball Cards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many of us grew up collecting baseball cards either for fun or pretty seriously.  These little pieces of cardboard, no matter how shiny, laminated, or reflective they were, were just that: cardboard.  Yet some of them were worth a lot of money.  Why?  Because they were scarce and there was a market of buyers who wanted to acquire them from the sellers.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You only have to watch one episode of Pawn Stars<\/em> to get a sense of how wide-ranging the collectible world is.  You don\u2019t have to want the items or understand why they are worth what they are, but you can watch the realities of the marketplace play out in front of your eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital Collectibles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes physical items, like an autographed item, may come with a certificate of authenticity.  Think of an NFT as a digital certificate of authenticity.  It gets \u201cminted\u201d on a blockchain like Ethereum (ETH) and then the chain of custody from buyer to seller is fully documented.  Because of the decentralized nature of blockchains in general, such items are nearly impossible to fake or hack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But What Does NFT Stand For?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Non-fungible token.  Money, for example, is indistinguishable and interchangeable, and is thus considered fungible.  Your house or an original piece of artwork, by contrast, are unique and hence not interchangeable with other items.  NFTs are usually digital items that are minted on the blockchain and then sold to collectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NFT Examples<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t have to go far to find NFTs for sale pretty much everywhere:
<\/p>\n\n\n\n