Home Blog Why everyone is talking about NFTs NEWS • 2 MIN READ Why everyone is talking about NFTs By Elisabeth Oberndorfer 18.03.2021 Have you ever thought about investing in art? Well, here’s a new way to do it, and it involves blockchain technology: They’re called NFTs and have been widely discussed in recent weeks due to some pricey transactions. So what are NFTs and why is everyone talking about them? Due to the features explained above, NFTs have become increasingly popular for trading digital art pieces in recent months. The blockchain-based tokens allow the copyright owner to be identified and verified on a public record. NFTs are unique, cannot be swapped for other tokens and can’t be manipulated. So in short, NFTs are a new way of proving copyright and trading ownership. But what is the hype about? NFTs have been around for more than two years and have been gaining lots of traction. That is because one art collector sold his NFT of a ten second long video clip for $6.6 million. He only bought it in October 2020 for $67,000. CROSSROAD By @beeple The #1/1 from beeple's first NG drop has just resold on the secondary market for $6.6 million. History has just been made. Congrats to beeple and of course to @pablorfraile for the sale. pic.twitter.com/mTYG4VABSw — Nifty Gateway (@niftygateway) February 25, 2021 Why would anyone pay that much money for a piece of art that can be looked at for free online? Well, the same applies to physical art that you can see in museums but which you don’t own and have no right to reproduce. Thus, NFTs are all about the ownership and copyright of a piece. Plus, stealing copyrighted content has always been an issue on the internet and NFTs are a way to make things more transparent. The fact that the video clip by digital artist Beeple sold for such a high amount has caused a frenzy and more interest in investing in digital art. Another noteworthy NFT sale is Nyan Cat. The meme was auctioned for nearly $600,000 in February. As mentioned above, visual art is not the only asset that can be traded via an NFT. Basically, any type of content can be sold via a token. Twitter founder, Jack Dorsey, is currently auctioning off his first tweet, and rock band Kings Of Leon are selling special editions of their new album via NFT. https://t.co/xCnWG9EqgD — jack (@jack) March 6, 2021 But fear not, you don’t need millions or hundreds of dollars to get into NFT trading. NFTs are commonly sold on marketplaces like Super Rare, Nifty Gateway or, if you are looking for digital basketball memorabilia, NBA Top Shot. Typically, transactions are made via the Ether currency. Even if you are not sold on trading digital assets like these, it shows how versatile NFTs can be. For now, lots of new artists sell via NFTs to spread the word and lots of traders are trying to make big returns by reselling their tokens. The technology is here to stay though, so NFTs are definitely a space to watch. Elisabeth Oberndorfer Bitpanda's Editor-in-Chief, lover of pizza and money. Share this article on social media ACADEMY Personal finance What is personal finance & why does it matter? Read more Related articles NEWS • 2 MIN READ SHIBA INU, Bitpanda says hello! The top three traders win €10,000 worth of prizes Can you resist a good meme coin? We can’t either. This is why SHIBA... Read more NEWS • 5 MIN READ Crypto markets in 2021: is it too late to invest? Everybody wants a share of the crypto market but you may think that... Read more NEWS • 2 MIN READ Bitpanda voted #1 Austrian start-up to work for in this year’s LinkedIn competition NEWS • 2 MIN READ Coming home from vacation has never been better - Get your deposit fees back in BEST! NEWS • 3 MIN READ What Cardano's Alonzo upgrade means for you See all articles Invest Cryptocurrencies Crypto Indices Stocks ETFs Metals Earn BEST Rewards Tell-a-Friend Affiliate programme Learn Academy Maker and taker fees 6 questions about Bitcoin Buy my first digital assets What are NFTs Features Payments Savings plan Swap Plus Products Card Bitpanda To Go BEST Pantos App Bitpanda Pro Home Markets Fees Pro API Institutions & Partners White Label Home How it works Asset offering Use cases Get the app English About us Career Press Blog Help Legal notice Privacy policy Terms & conditions Bug bounty Cookie settings © 2021 Bitpanda GmbH