How NFTs Created An Economy for Digital Creators

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have revolutionized the art world in 2021. The market has seen groundbreaking sales, with collectors having spent over $2 billion on NFTs in the past month alone, compared to only $250 million in the entire year of 2020, according to NonFungible.com. The staggering statistic can, in part, be attributed to artists like Beeple making record-breaking sales this year, when the artist sold a singular artwork for $69 million at Christies, the third-highest price of art on record. By definition, NFTs are digital files that provide buyers with proof of ownership and authenticity. They live on the blockchain, a decentralized ledger, making them highly secure. NFTs provide buyers with one-off ownership, giving collectors a sense of exclusivity in the same way that they would when buying an original Picasso painting. To sell an NFT, artists have to sign up their artwork on a marketplace and upload their data onto a blockchain, minting their digital tokens, which costs approximately $40 to $200. They are then ready to list their artwork for auction. Although many people may balk at the idea of “owning” a digital file, the NFT craze has proven to have many merits in the art world. For many digital artists, NFTs provide a way of generating content that brings in an income and boosts engagement. It’s no surprise that authors, graphic designers, and musicians have all climbed onto the bandwagon to sell their artwork...