The world of NFT is changing minute by minute but what are they? NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, can be linked to a video highlight, meme or tweet. Think of them as tokens tied to an expensive digital asset. It may (or may not) be able to save you a lot of money in the future (more below). NFTs are like cryptocurrency, but there are big differences. We know, it’s complicated.

Here is what we know. You can bid on an NFT for a pretty penny (most are expensive). But that doesn’t mean you own the asset. These expensive tokens are so popular that Variety and the NFL are all starter NFTs. And if you remember Neopets, the virtual pet space also creates NFT collectibles.

In short, NFTs offer a certificate of authenticity created by blockchain for a digital asset or work of art. If that doesn’t make a lot of sense for you, it’s okay. We’ll explain what NFTs really are, how much they cost, and how you can bid on a digital asset to have your own NFT.

What’s an NFT?

This is the part that takes a bit of open-mindedness. An NFT is a unique digital token, with most using the Ethereum blockchain to digitally record transactions. It’s not a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin or Ethereum, because those are fungible — exchangeable for another Bitcoin or cash. NFTs are recorded in a digital ledger in the same way as cryptocurrency, so there’s a listing of who owns each one.

What makes an NFT unique is the digital asset tied to the token. This can be an image, video, tweet or piece of music that’s uploaded to a marketplace, which creates the NFT to be sold.

What kind of NFTs can I buy?

NFTs can be tied to any digital asset. Anything you see online can be an NFT — music, social media posts, clip art and more. Here are some of the latest nifty NFTs we found.

TikTok Moments

The latest big news in NFTs is TikTok’s new video collection called TikTok Moments. The videos will celebrate the impact that artists have on TikTok. Proceeds from the collection will go to NFT artists and creators. The first collection will start with Lil Nas X and be available starting Oct. 6 on the Etherum.

Fortune

And Fortune gave its readers a chance to get in on the NFT craze. The company sold 256 copies of the limited edition cover from the graphic artist Pplpleasr for Fortune’s August/September magazine on OpenSea. The copies sold out within five minutes starting at 1 Etherum (estimated $3,000). But the NFTs were available for resale at three times the cost.

Sorare digital trading cards

But NFTs go beyond artists and music. Recently, Sorare released its “Super Rare” Lionel Messi digital trading card that’s currently bidding at €29,992.75, equivalating to over $35,000. Sorare also announced that it raised $680 million for its next-level sports fantasy game. The funding is currently led by SoftBank.

Tiger Woods’ Autograph collectibles

And in sports, Tiger Woods is currently selling thousands of digital collectibles on Autograph on the DraftKings marketplace. The collection starts at $250. Naomi Osaka, Derek Jeter and Tonk Hawk are also releasing digital collectibles on Autograph, which is co-founded by Tom Brady.

As the hype for NFTs grows, expect more digital assets to come up for sale and bring in some big money.

Where can I buy and sell NFTs?

While you may not want to jump right in bidding six figures, there are multiple NFT marketplaces out there to check out, with Opensea being the biggest. Buyers can search for art, domain names and random collectibles to bid on without having to break the bank. And Woods’ digital collection is one of the many NFT collections available on DraftKings marketplace, including Tony Hawk, Simone Biles and other athletes.

And Christie’s recently auctioned off NFTs of featured Art Blocks art from its Post-War to Present collection, some of today’s most popular NFTs. Christie’s auctioned off Curio Cards on the Ethereum blockchain for over $1.2 million.

On the other hand, if you want to sell an NFT of your art, you can use NFTify, the Shopify NFT store, to sell NFTs without creating your own store. You’ll also need a MetaMask account to get going. And Burberry recently announced a partnership with Mythical Games to gamify buying, selling and collecting toys as NFTs through the Blankos Block Party game. CNET’s own Chris Parker also made a step-by-step guide on how to make and sell your own NFT, in the video below.

If I have an NFT, do I own the asset?

Nope.

That’s the real kicker to understanding the whole concept. The person who buys the NFT doesn’t own the actual asset.

“NFTs challenge the idea of ownership: digital files can be reproduced infinitely and you do not (usually) buy the copyright or a license when purchasing an NFT,” said Jeffrey Thompson, associate professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.

For example, the creator of the Nyan Cat meme sold an NFT of it for $590,000. The person who bought the token owns the token, but doesn’t actually own the meme. That still belongs to the creator, who held onto intellectual and creative rights.

What the owner of the token has is a record and a hash code showing ownership of the unique token associated with the particular digital asset. People might download Nyan Cat and use it on social media if they want, but they won’t own the token. This also means they can’t sell the token as the owner can.

Why are NFTs so expensive?

As with physical collectibles like Beanie Babies, baseball cards, and toys, there is a market for NFTs. Buyers tend to be tech-savvy people who understand the idea of ​​wanting to buy digital goods and probably did a murder last year with cryptocurrencies. Ethereum, for example, went from just over $ 100 last March to a current price of around $ 3,400. In some cases, buyers are only flexing their digital wallets to show how much crypto they own, but for others, there is a deeper interest.

“Especially for art-related NFTs, there is a huge increase in demand due to the novelty and creativity of early artists,” said Jason Lau, COO of the exchange. OKCoin crypto, in an email. Whether it’s a physical work with an NFT attached (think of it as a digital autograph and proof of veracity), or an entirely digital work (where NFT is art), this new medium opens up new avenues for collectors and artists to explore their relationship with the work of art itself. “

It’s also great for artists, says Lau. By selling digital art directly to interested people, an artist can begin to monetize their work without having to try and sell it to a gallery.

What are the pitfalls of NFTs?

One downside is the hundreds of dollars in fees required to create a DTV. If you are creating your own token on the Ethereum blockchain, you have to use Ethereum, which as mentioned earlier is quite expensive. Then, after performing an NFT, there is a “gas” fee that pays for the labor required to manage the transaction and is also based on the price of Ethereum. Marketplace simplifies the process by handling everything for a fee when an NFT is sold.

There is also an environmental cost. Like Bitcoin, Ethereum requires computers to handle calculations, known as “mining,” and these computing tasks require a lot of energy. An analysis from the University of Cambridge found that mining Bitcoin consumes more energy than the whole country of Argentina. Ethereum is second behind Bitcoin in popularity, and its energy consumption is on the rise and comparable to the amount of energy used by Libya.