Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): Complete Guide to Digital Ownership

Non-fungible tokens exploded into mainstream consciousness in 2021 when digital artist Beeple sold an NFT for $69 million at Christie's auction house. Suddenly, everyone from tech enthusiasts to traditional art collectors wanted to understand this technology that seemed to assign value to digital files anyone could screenshot. Since that peak, the NFT market has experienced dramatic volatility, spectacular frauds, and genuine innovation. This guide cuts through the hype and confusion to explain what NFTs actually are, how they work, their legitimate use cases, and the very real risks involved.

NFT Basics: What Are Non-Fungible Tokens?

Non-fungible tokens are unique digital certificates of ownership recorded on a blockchain. The term "non-fungible" means each token is distinct and cannot be exchanged on a one-to-one basis with another token. This contrasts with fungible assets like dollars or Bitcoin—one dollar equals any other dollar, one Bitcoin equals any other Bitcoin. But NFT #1234 from a collection is fundamentally different from NFT #5678, even if they look similar.

Here's what's crucial to understand: An NFT doesn't contain the actual digital file. Instead, it contains metadata—typically a URL pointing to where the image, video, or other content is hosted, along with information about the creator, properties, and ownership history. The NFT itself is a database entry on the blockchain saying "Wallet address 0x123... owns token #456 from this collection."

This distinction confuses many people. When you "own" a Bored Ape NFT, you don't own the copyright to that image (unless explicitly granted). You don't prevent others from viewing, downloading, or using it. You own a blockchain entry proving you purchased that specific token. Think of it like owning an autographed baseball card—others can buy the same card unsigned, but yours has the athlete's signature proving authenticity and making it more valuable to collectors.

Why NFTs Exist: The Problem They Attempt to Solve

Digital scarcity has always been impossible before blockchain technology. You can copy a JPEG perfectly infinite times at zero cost. Musicians lost control of their work through piracy. Digital artists struggled to monetize creations that anyone could save and repost. Game items players spent hundreds of hours earning had no real ownership—the game company could delete your account or shut down servers, evaporating your "possessions."

NFTs propose a solution: provable ownership and verifiable scarcity for digital items. Even if everyone can view the Mona Lisa online, there's only one original hanging in the Louvre. NFTs attempt to create that same dynamic for digital content. Whether this creates genuine value or just artificial scarcity remains hotly debated.

How NFTs Actually Work: The Technical Foundation

NFTs leverage smart contracts—self-executing programs that run on blockchains like Ethereum. When creators mint (create) an NFT, they deploy a smart contract containing specific instructions about that token or collection.

NFT Token Standards

The most common NFT standards define how smart contracts behave:

ERC-721: The original NFT standard on Ethereum, where each token is completely unique with its own contract. CryptoKitties, one of the first NFT projects to gain attention in 2017, used ERC-721. This standard works well for one-of-a-kind art pieces or collectibles where every item is distinct.

ERC-1155: A more efficient standard allowing both fungible and non-fungible tokens in a single contract. This is popular for gaming applications where you might have 1,000 identical swords (fungible) and unique legendary items (non-fungible) in the same ecosystem. Minting and transferring ERC-1155 tokens costs significantly less gas (transaction fees) than ERC-721.

Other blockchains have developed their own standards. Solana uses a different architecture but achieves similar results with dramatically lower transaction costs. Flow blockchain, created by the team behind CryptoKitties, was specifically designed for NFTs and powers NBA Top Shot. Polygon operates as an Ethereum layer-2 solution, processing NFT transactions much cheaper than Ethereum mainnet while maintaining compatibility.

The Minting Process: Creating an NFT

When artists or creators want to create an NFT, they follow this process:

1. Choose a blockchain: Ethereum offers the largest market but highest fees. Solana provides speed and low costs but less established infrastructure. Polygon gives Ethereum compatibility with lower fees.

2. Connect a wallet: MetaMask for Ethereum, Phantom for Solana, or other compatible wallets hold the cryptocurrency needed to pay transaction fees.

3. Upload content: The digital file (image, video, 3D model, music) gets uploaded to decentralized storage like IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) or Arweave, or sometimes centralized services. This is a critical vulnerability—if the file is hosted on regular web servers and those servers go offline, your NFT points to nothing.

4. Set properties: Creators define attributes (rarity traits for collectibles), set royalty percentages for future sales (typically 5-10%), and add descriptions.

5. Deploy the smart contract: The transaction gets broadcast to the blockchain, miners or validators process it, and the NFT officially exists with a unique token ID.

Gas fees for minting on Ethereum can range from $50-500 depending on network congestion, making it expensive to launch collections. Many platforms now offer "lazy minting" where the NFT isn't actually created on-chain until someone purchases it, shifting costs to buyers.

Major NFT Marketplaces: Where to Buy and Sell

NFT marketplaces function like eBay or Etsy but for digital assets. Each platform has different focuses, fee structures, and user experiences.

OpenSea: The Amazon of NFTs

OpenSea dominates NFT trading with over 80% market share at its peak. The platform supports Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, and other chains, hosting millions of NFTs across every category imaginable—from blue-chip profile picture projects to experimental digital art to virtual real estate.

Advantages include enormous liquidity (buyers and sellers), simple listing processes, and comprehensive filtering/searching tools. Disadvantages include 2.5% fees on sales, occasional counterfeit problems (people minting art they didn't create), and less curation than specialty platforms. OpenSea has also faced criticism over customer support issues and controversial policy decisions.

Blur: The Trader's Platform

Blur launched in 2022 targeting professional NFT traders with zero marketplace fees, advanced analytics, and features like portfolio management and bulk listing tools. It aggressively competed with OpenSea by airdropping tokens to users and offering trading incentives.

Blur quickly captured significant market share among active traders but appeals less to casual collectors. The platform's focus on trading velocity over curation means it's less browsable for discovering interesting projects.

Rarible: Community-Driven Marketplace

Rarible distinguishes itself through community governance via the RARI token. Token holders vote on platform decisions, fee structures, and featured collections. This decentralized approach aligns with crypto ethos but can slow decision-making.

The platform supports multiple blockchains and offers both curated and open minting. Quality control is mixed—you'll find everything from legitimate artists to blatant cash-grabs.

SuperRare: High-End Digital Art

SuperRare operates more like a traditional art gallery than an open marketplace. Artists must apply and be approved, creating a curated selection of higher-quality digital art. This exclusivity helps maintain value perception but limits access for emerging creators.

The platform takes a 15% commission on primary sales (first sale from artist) and 3% on secondary sales, higher than competitors. However, artists receive 10% royalties on all secondary sales, better than many alternatives.

Specialized Platforms

NBA Top Shot: Focuses exclusively on officially licensed NBA highlights. These "moments" capture iconic plays like LeBron James dunks or Steph Curry three-pointers. Built on Flow blockchain, it introduced millions of sports fans to NFTs but has seen declining activity since its 2021 peak.

Foundation: Another curated platform emphasizing artistic quality over quantity. Artists need invitations or must be accepted through community votes, creating exclusivity that theoretically maintains value.

LooksRare: Launched as an OpenSea competitor with zero fees and a token rewards system. However, it suffered from wash trading (users buying from themselves to earn rewards) that artificially inflated volumes.

Nifty Gateway: Owned by Gemini exchange, this platform hosts drops from major artists and celebrities. It accepts credit cards unlike most NFT platforms requiring cryptocurrency, lowering barriers for mainstream buyers. However, the platform controls custody of NFTs by default, which contradicts the self-custody ethos of crypto.

NFT Investment Strategies: Can You Actually Make Money?

The NFT market's 2021 boom created numerous millionaires—and far more people who lost money. Understanding what drives NFT values and realistic investment approaches is essential before risking capital in this speculative market.

What Determines NFT Value?

Unlike stocks with earnings reports or real estate with rental income, NFTs have no intrinsic cash flows. Value depends entirely on what someone else will pay—pure speculation. However, several factors influence NFT prices:

Scarcity: Limited supply collections (10,000 items or fewer) typically maintain value better than unlimited mints. However, artificial scarcity alone doesn't create value—there are thousands of 10,000-piece collections worth essentially nothing.

Community strength: Active, engaged communities drive value by creating culture around projects. Bored Ape Yacht Club succeeded partly because celebrity owners like Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton created aspirational value and media attention.

Utility: NFTs offering real benefits beyond speculation fare better long-term. This might include metaverse land that generates income, gaming items with actual gameplay value, or membership tokens granting access to exclusive events and communities.

Creator reputation: Established artists and brands command premiums. An NFT from a renowned digital artist will hold value better than identical-looking art from an unknown creator.

Historical significance: First-mover projects like CryptoPunks maintain value partly as historical artifacts of the NFT movement, similar to how the first Bitcoin pizza purchase is commemorated.

Investment Approaches That Have Worked

Blue-chip collecting: Buying established, high-value projects like CryptoPunks, Bored Apes, or Art Blocks Curated and holding long-term. This requires significant capital (floor prices typically $10,000-100,000+) but provides relative stability and social proof of ownership.

Minting new projects: Buying NFTs directly from creators at launch before they trade on secondary markets. This offers the best risk/reward ratio when you identify quality projects early. However, 95%+ of new projects fail or trade below mint price, making this approach high-risk without expertise.

Flipping: Buying NFTs and quickly reselling for profits. This requires constantly monitoring markets, understanding trends, and executing fast. Many flippers lost money in 2022-2023 when overall market liquidity dried up and they couldn't find buyers.

Investing in utility NFTs: Focusing on NFTs with actual use cases rather than pure collectibles. Virtual real estate in established metaverse projects, gaming items with in-game utility, or membership passes to active communities provide value beyond speculation.

Building diverse portfolios: Spreading risk across multiple projects, categories (art, gaming, utility), and price points reduces the impact of any single project failing. A portfolio might include some blue-chips for stability, several mid-tier projects for growth potential, and small allocations to speculative early-stage mints.

Risks Every NFT Investor Must Understand

Rug pulls and scams: Developers create hype around a project, collect funds from minting, then abandon it. The NFTs become worthless and creators disappear with the money. Even projects with active Discord communities and professional-looking websites have pulled rugs. Always research team backgrounds, verify smart contracts through trusted auditors, and be suspicious of promises that sound too good.

Extreme illiquidity: Unlike stocks that trade millions of shares daily, most NFTs have very few buyers. You might own an NFT you think is worth $5,000 but can't find anyone willing to pay even $500. In bear markets, this illiquidity intensifies—collections that traded daily suddenly have zero bids.

Regulatory uncertainty: The SEC has indicated some NFTs may qualify as securities, which would subject them to registration requirements and restrictions. Future regulations could severely impact the market or make certain activities illegal.

Technical vulnerabilities: Smart contract bugs can lock NFTs forever or enable exploits where attackers steal entire collections. The immutable nature of blockchain means mistakes are often permanent—there's no "undo" button if you send an NFT to the wrong address.

Platform dependency: If the marketplace you bought on shuts down or gets hacked, accessing your NFTs becomes difficult for non-technical users. If the server hosting your NFT's image goes offline, you own a token pointing to nothing.

Tax complexity: Every NFT purchase and sale creates tax reporting obligations. Flipping dozens of NFTs generates potentially hundreds of taxable events, each requiring cost basis tracking and capital gains calculation. Many investors discovered this after the fact and faced unexpected tax bills.

Wash trading and manipulation: People create fake trading volumes by selling NFTs between their own wallets to create the illusion of demand. This artificially inflates prices and misleads genuine buyers. Unlike traditional securities markets with regulations against such practices, NFT markets largely operate without oversight.

Realistic Expectations for NFT Investing

The reality: Most NFT investors lose money. During the 2021-2022 bull run, fortunes were made on lucky early investments, creating survivorship bias where successful investors share stories while quiet losers disappear. The subsequent crash revealed that most collections traded below mint prices, sometimes by 90%+ from peaks.

If you choose to invest in NFTs, treat it as high-risk speculation with money you can afford to lose completely. Don't mortgage your house or raid retirement savings for NFTs. Allocate only a small percentage of your overall investment portfolio—think 1-5% at most. Focus on projects with genuine communities, real utility, and transparent teams rather than chasing hype and promises of guaranteed returns.

NFT Use Cases: Beyond Digital Art

While profile picture collections dominated headlines, NFTs enable various applications with genuine utility beyond speculation.

Digital Art and Creator Monetization

NFTs revolutionized how digital artists monetize work. Previously, digital art was nearly impossible to sell for significant amounts—why pay for something anyone can copy? NFTs changed this by creating collectible scarcity and enabling artist royalties on secondary sales.

Artists like Beeple, Pak, and Tyler Hobbs have earned millions through NFT sales. More importantly, thousands of lesser-known artists found audiences and sustainable income. The 5-10% royalty on every resale creates ongoing income streams as successful pieces appreciate and trade—something traditional art sales never provided.

However, enforcing royalties has become controversial. Marketplaces like Blur and others made royalties optional, allowing buyers to avoid paying them. This threatens the artist-friendly model that made NFTs appealing to creators. The community remains divided between pro-creator royalty enforcement and buyer preference for optional fees.

Gaming and Virtual Items

Gaming represents one of NFT technology's most promising applications. Traditional games lock items inside walled gardens—your League of Legends skin only exists in that game, your Fortnite emotes can't transfer elsewhere, and if the company shuts down servers, your purchases evaporate.

NFTs enable true ownership of gaming items that could theoretically work across multiple games or be sold when you're done playing. Axie Infinity pioneered "play-to-earn" gaming where players in developing countries earned meaningful income breeding and battling digital creatures. At its peak, some Filipino players earned more from Axie than local wages.

The model has significant limitations though. Axie collapsed from unsustainable economics—the game required constant new player investment to pay existing players, essentially functioning as a Ponzi scheme. Most play-to-earn games suffer from "bots and grinders" who extract value without contributing to gameplay experience. Game studios also question why they'd enable item portability when retaining players in their ecosystem is more profitable.

More promising are games integrating NFTs as one feature among many rather than making them the entire focus. Gods Unchained uses NFT cards that players truly own and can sell, but the game itself must be fun first. If a game's only appeal is earning potential, it attracts mercenaries, not players.

Virtual Real Estate and the Metaverse

Decentraland, The Sandbox, and other virtual worlds sell digital land as NFTs. Buyers can build experiences, host events, or rent space to others. Virtual real estate had a speculative frenzy in 2021-2022 with some parcels selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Reality has been less exciting. These metaverse platforms have tiny active user bases—often just hundreds or low thousands of daily users. The promised virtual economy hasn't materialized at scale. Many virtual real estate buyers hold worthless assets in ghost towns.

The concept isn't entirely dead though. As VR technology improves and if compelling social experiences emerge, virtual real estate could gain value. The infrastructure exists; it just needs reasons for people to actually want to spend time there beyond speculation.

Music NFTs: Disrupting the Record Industry?

Musicians have explored NFTs to connect directly with fans and capture more value than traditional streaming provides. Artists can sell album NFTs with perks like backstage passes, exclusive content, or meet-and-greets.

Kings of Leon released an album as an NFT. 3LAU sold an NFT album for $11.6 million. Smaller artists use platforms like Royal (where users buy fractional ownership in songs' royalties) or Audius (a decentralized streaming platform).

Challenges include tiny market sizes compared to mainstream music consumption and fans' reluctance to manage crypto wallets just to buy music. Successful music NFTs typically target existing crypto-native audiences or super-fans willing to navigate technical complexity for exclusive access.

Event Tickets and Authentication

NFT tickets solve problems plaguing event ticketing: counterfeiting, scalping, and lack of artist control over secondary sales. An NFT ticket is verifiable authentic, can include royalties on resales that go to artists/venues, and enables artists to reward loyal fans with perks for holding tickets from previous shows.

GET Protocol and other platforms have issued millions of NFT tickets for concerts and events. The technology works—it just needs broader adoption from major ticketing companies and venues. Ticketmaster has explored NFTs but faces little incentive to change a system that's very profitable for them despite being terrible for consumers.

Identity and Credentials

Using NFTs for diplomas, certifications, or professional licenses creates tamper-proof credentials. Universities could issue degree NFTs, allowing instant verification of educational background without calling registrars. Professional certifications become unforgeable and easily shareable.

This use case makes sense but hasn't seen major adoption. It requires institutions to change existing processes, and most lack urgency to do so. The technology is ready; the institutional will is not.

Real-World Asset Tokenization

NFTs could represent ownership of physical items—real estate deeds, car titles, luxury watches. This creates programmable ownership with automatic execution of sales, fractional ownership opportunities, and transparent provenance tracking.

Some companies have experimented with tokenizing art, watches, or real estate. However, legal complexity around how courts would recognize NFTs as proof of physical ownership has prevented mainstream adoption. An NFT saying you own a house doesn't mean much if property law doesn't recognize it and the previous owner's paper deed takes precedence.

The 2021 Boom and 2022-2023 Bust: What Happened

Understanding NFT market history provides essential context for current opportunities and risks.

The Bull Run: How NFTs Became Mainstream

NFTs existed since 2017 but exploded in late 2020 and throughout 2021. Several factors aligned: pandemic lockdowns created boredom and excess savings, cryptocurrency prices surged (giving people crypto profits to spend on NFTs), celebrities began buying and promoting projects, and FOMO (fear of missing out) drove masses into the market.

CryptoPunks, originally given away free in 2017, sold for millions. Bored Ape Yacht Club launched in April 2021 for 0.08 ETH (~$200) and quickly rose to over 100 ETH ($400,000+) per ape. Everyone who missed Bitcoin's early days saw NFTs as a second chance at generational wealth.

Daily trading volumes reached billions of dollars. New projects launched hourly, often selling out in minutes. Discord servers exploded with thousands of members fighting for whitelist spots. The narrative was intoxicating: own digital art, join exclusive communities, and get rich.

The Crash: Reality Arrives

Market dynamics shifted in late 2021 and accelerated through 2022. Cryptocurrency prices crashed, eliminating the wealth effect driving NFT purchases. The Federal Reserve raising interest rates made speculative assets less attractive. New project supply far exceeded genuine demand—thousands of copycat collections launched weekly, diluting attention and liquidity.

The FTX collapse in November 2022 shook confidence in all crypto-related assets. Major NFT projects that seemed invincible saw 80-90% value destruction. Collections that traded thousands of ETH in volume went weeks without a single sale. The "community" that promised to "WAGMI" (we're all gonna make it) together largely vanished when prices fell.

2023 brought further pain as remaining participants confronted reality: most NFT projects had zero sustainable value beyond speculation. Without new money flowing in, the musical chairs music stopped. Many who bought at peaks faced near-total losses.

Current State: A Smaller, More Realistic Market

The NFT market in 2024 is dramatically smaller but potentially healthier. Trading volumes are down 90%+ from peaks. Most projects from the boom era trade at tiny fractions of mint price if they have any liquidity at all.

However, the surviving projects tend to have genuine communities and utility rather than pure speculation. Artists building long-term bodies of work have cultivated collector bases. Gaming NFTs in functional games retain value from actual gameplay utility. Blue-chip collections maintain floor prices supported by cultural cachet and wealthy holders.

The infrastructure improved significantly—better wallets, more efficient blockchains, clearer legal frameworks emerging. The technology proved itself; the question is whether valuable use cases beyond speculation will develop at scale.

Criticisms and Controversies: The Other Side of NFTs

NFT technology faces legitimate criticisms beyond just market volatility.

Environmental Concerns

Ethereum's proof-of-work mining consumed enormous energy. Minting and trading NFTs on Ethereum required significant electricity, leading to criticism that NFTs were destroying the environment for digital ape pictures.

Ethereum's transition to proof-of-stake in September 2022 reduced energy consumption by 99.95%, largely addressing this concern. Alternative blockchains like Solana, Tezos, and Polygon already used efficient consensus mechanisms. The environmental criticism is mostly outdated but lingers in public perception.

Greater Fool Theory and Ponzi Dynamics

Critics argue NFTs exemplify greater fool theory—items are valuable only because buyers expect to sell to someone else for more. Without intrinsic value or cash flows, prices depend entirely on finding a "greater fool."

This criticism has merit for speculative profile picture projects but less so for NFTs with genuine utility or artistic value. The line between investment and collectible is blurry—are baseball cards "greater fool" assets or legitimate collectibles? Perspective matters.

Copyright and Ownership Confusion

Many NFT buyers misunderstand what they own. Purchasing an NFT typically doesn't transfer copyright—you can't commercially license the image or prevent others from using it unless the creator explicitly grants commercial rights.

This leads to confusion when people assume their Bored Ape ownership means they control the image like a trademark. Some projects like Bored Apes and CryptoPunks do grant commercial rights, but this isn't universal. Reading the terms and understanding what you're actually buying is essential.

Theft and Right-Click Save Trolling

The "you can just right-click save the image" criticism highlights how many people miss the point. Yes, you can save the image—but you don't own the NFT. It's like photographing the Mona Lisa; you have a picture, not the artwork.

However, actual NFT theft is a serious problem. Phishing attacks trick users into signing malicious transactions that transfer their NFTs to attackers. Hacks of poorly secured wallets drain entire collections. Unlike bank fraud with recourse, stolen NFTs are almost never recovered. Security practices are absolutely critical.

Market Manipulation and Wash Trading

Unregulated markets enable manipulation. Wash trading (trading with yourself to fake volume), pump-and-dump schemes, and coordinated manipulation occur regularly. Celebrity promotions of projects they secretly held and then sold have led to lawsuits.

The lack of investor protections means buyers have limited recourse when defrauded. Caveat emptor (buyer beware) applies fully to NFTs.

The Future of NFTs: What's Next?

NFT technology will likely persist in some form, but the specific implementations may look quite different from 2021's profile picture mania.

Likely Developments

Integration into existing platforms: Rather than specialized NFT marketplaces, major platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and gaming services may integrate NFT functionality seamlessly. This abstracts away complexity and crypto jargon, making it accessible to mainstream users who don't know or care about blockchain technology.

Practical utility focus: Projects emphasizing genuine value beyond speculation—functional gaming items, membership benefits, artist patronage models—will likely succeed more than pure collectibles.

Interoperability standards: Ability to use NFTs across multiple platforms and applications could drive value. A skin that works in multiple games or a digital identity that transfers across virtual worlds becomes more valuable than isolated items.

Regulatory clarity: Governments will eventually establish clear rules about what NFTs are, how they're taxed, and what activities are legal. This might kill some aspects of the current market but enable institutional participation and mainstream adoption.

Real-world asset tokenization: Using NFTs to represent fractional ownership of physical assets—real estate, art, collectibles—could democratize investment access. This requires legal frameworks recognizing NFTs as proof of ownership.

Uncertain Trajectories

Whether the metaverse vision materializes remains unclear. If compelling virtual worlds emerge with large active user bases, virtual real estate and digital fashion NFTs could thrive. If the metaverse remains niche, those applications fail.

The profile picture NFT model may be dead or just dormant. Cultural moments could revive interest, or the format may be remembered as a brief speculative frenzy.

Technology continues evolving. Account abstraction, improved user interfaces, and cross-chain interoperability could make NFTs accessible enough for mainstream adoption. Or complexity and risk could keep them confined to crypto enthusiasts.

Should You Get Involved with NFTs?

NFTs aren't for everyone, and that's perfectly fine. Before buying or creating NFTs, honestly assess:

As a buyer/investor: Do you have disposable income you can afford to lose? Are you interested in the technology and culture beyond just profits? Can you evaluate projects critically and avoid FOMO? Are you willing to learn about wallet security, gas fees, and smart contracts?

If yes, start small. Buy an inexpensive NFT to learn the process. Join communities around projects you genuinely find interesting. Treat it as an expensive hobby that might appreciate rather than guaranteed investment returns.

As a creator: Do you have an established audience or artistic voice? Can you build and maintain a community? Are you prepared for criticism and competition? Do you understand the technology enough to avoid scams?

Successful NFT creators typically had existing followings or exceptional work that stood out. Minting NFTs alone doesn't create value—you need marketing, community building, and artistic merit.

For most people: Following NFT developments without participating is reasonable. The technology is interesting, but jumping into a speculative market isn't necessary to appreciate innovations in digital ownership. Wait for clearer use cases and mainstream adoption if you're uncomfortable with high risk.

Conclusion: NFTs Beyond the Hype

Non-fungible tokens represent a genuine innovation in digital ownership and provenance tracking. The technology enables previously impossible applications—true digital scarcity, programmable royalties, verifiable authenticity.

However, technology's potential doesn't guarantee valuable implementations. Most NFT projects from 2021-2022 were speculative cash grabs with no lasting value. The market severely overestimated demand for digital collectibles and underestimated the complexity of building sustainable NFT applications.

The future likely includes NFTs as background technology powering various applications—concert tickets, gaming items, digital art ownership—without the crypto jargon and speculation. The successful applications will be those solving real problems rather than creating artificial scarcity for profit.

If you choose to participate in NFT markets, approach with skepticism, protect your security, invest only disposable income, and focus on projects with genuine communities and utility. The gold rush is over, but the technology remains, waiting for applications worthy of its potential.