What do CryptoPunks, Stoner Cats, and an animated flying cat with a Pop-Tart body have in common?
They’re all NFTs — or non-fungible tokens. NFTs are like the new, cool kids on the block in crypto, representing digital ownership of a wide range of irreplicable intangible items.
While they’ve been around since 2014, 2021 was the first year that this novel technology broke through into the mainstream. Total NFT sales hit $25 billion in 2021, compared to $94.9 million the year before, according to data collected by DappRadar, an app store for decentralized applications. They’ve drawn the attention of celebrities and big companies ranging from American Express to Gucci, and have exploded across the worlds of music, art, sports, and more.
From an investing perspective, buying an NFT is “even riskier” than buying crypto because it’s “almost like a leveraged bet on crypto,” according to Humphrey Yang, personal finance expert behind HumphreyTalks. “It’s essentially gambling but people don’t really know the difference and they buy them because they’re fun.”
On the other hand, a lot of people are buying NFTs not as investments but simply because they are fun or bring them joy. Crypto expert Laura Shin is one…
