2021 has been the year of the NFT. But what exactly is an NFT

A year has gone by since NFTs entered mainstream culture. Earlier this week, we brought you an article on the NFT  highlights of 2021. For those who haven’t quite figured it out over the past 12 months, we’ve put together a refresher course in the basics.

What is an NFT?

An NFT, which stands for non-fungible token, is a unique unit of data employing technology that allows digital content—from videos to songs to images—to become logged and authenticated on cryptocurrency blockchains, primarily Ethereum. Once content is logged onto the blockchain, every transaction from transfers to sales is recorded on-chain, creating an easily accessible ledger of provenance and price history. The main impact of NFTs is making it easy to own and sell digital content. Previously, for example, digital artists could build up large followings on social media, attract freelance commercial work, and maybe sell prints and other merchandise with their designs, but they had trouble monetizing digital art directly, as consumers asked, Why should I buy what I can screenshot for free?