What is an NFT, and which NFTs are the most famous and most valuable?

Written in February 2022, near the peak of the NFT market. NFT prices and trading volumes fell very sharply through 2022 and 2023. The article is kept as written.

NFTs are a key part of the technology of the future, and not only in digital art — they are in the virtual digital world, the metaverse, creating an identity in the digital world that cannot be copied.

NFT stands for non-fungible token, and it is one application of blockchain technology, which means NFTs are inseparable from cryptocurrency. Over the past year, thousands of millions of dollars flowed into the world of NFTs, and the trend shows no sign of stopping.

Many people may think NFTs are used only for art, but in fact NFTs are a technology on a blockchain that can be integrated into both the world of games and the virtual world of the metaverse — because an NFT ties a digital item to a digital token system, giving that item a single unique identity in the digital world that cannot be copied, and letting it be bought, sold and exchanged easily on various platforms at the touch of a finger.

The most valuable NFT art, by the artist Beeple

There have been a great many NFT works that made a noise in the digital world, from the first tweet by the CEO and co-founder of the hugely popular social media platform Twitter, which sold for over 2.91 million dollars through the NFT platform Valuables.

The most expensive NFT to date is "Everydays: the First 5000 Days" by Beeple — real name Michael Winkelmann — which sold for over 69.3 million dollars. The most expensive NFT video is also by Beeple, called "Crossroad", which sold for 6.6 million dollars.

NFT projects span art, games, sport and film

NFT art — artwork that uses NFT technology on a blockchain to be bought, sold and exchanged in the digital world — is one popular form of NFT, but there are many other areas that have taken up the technology and become just as popular. The games industry is one, and well worth watching: Decentral Games, Axie Infinity and Sorare all stand out for the play-to-earn model, where players earn money and enjoyment at the same time.

Two other industries that have merged neatly with NFT technology are sport and film. Sports clubs have begun letting fans buy and sell moments that happened during a match, and even special rights determined by the club for holders of tokens the club has issued; or series tied to a token, giving coin holders the right to watch, or even to buy and sell speculatively on a blockchain platform.

NFTs are essential technology for building the metaverse

Technology that ties a digital item to a digital token, creating an identity unlike any other, has a development plan larger than the traditional industries that exist today. Businesses are joining hands to use NFTs in developing metaverse technology — a virtual world that blends the digital world and the real world seamlessly. It means that with NFT technology, people can buy and sell any item at all in the digital world, including property, houses, buildings or land in the digital world, opening a new world beyond what people can imagine.

The world of NFTs is vaster than we can picture. There is still debate about how NFTs will affect copyright registration, because it looks as though NFTs will help make copyright registration in the digital world — the biggest hole through which infringement happens — far more checkable. It counts as a technology trend for the future well worth watching.