Non-fungible tokens or NFTs are a hot-button topic at the moment, so much so that even people in my everyday life are asking me about them. Let me start by saying I am not a financial expert, I’m a former Porsche mechanic.
In my community, I am better known for building race cars and having disagreements with our local constables than being good with money. But due to the nature of my job people know I tend to have the down-low on most things related to new technology.
A friend of mine called me the other day. After we exchanged a few “how are you’s” and “how have you been’s,” he asked me what I thought about NFTs. For about the next 20 minutes, I wandered around my local grocer, ignoring my grocery list and word vomiting my opinion to him.
My Thoughts on the Current State of NFTs
I told him that I hate to be the one to p*ss in your proverbial Cheerios but NFTs are not what you think. Every time I get on Twitter I see some new “influencer” I have never heard of hocking some random cryptocurrency or their new line of exclusive NFTs.
At the moment, all these blatant pumps and dump schemes are coming with little-to-no consequences for their perpetrators. However, when the American government decides they have let us have enough fun in the cryptocurrency Wild West, serious regulations will come.
When the real regulations do come I believe a lot of people on your timeline will be receiving letters from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that include the words such as “Ponzi, insider, and trading.” Those aren’t just my thoughts, they’re the paraphrased words of Jordan Belfort, the legendary Wolf of Wall Street.
As it stands right now, NFTs are essentially being used are as digital Beanie Babies. If you’re not old enough to remember the Beanie Baby craze, let me explain. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, small collectible stuffed animals called Beanie Babies swept the world.
The fervor for these collectible felt animals filled with industrial waste was so huge that some people bet their retirement on them. Needless to say, some people who bet big on Beanie Babies did make money while the majority lost everything.
The trading cards nature that people are using NFTs for is exactly the same. A digital picture of a monkey in a suit is only worth what the next person will pay you for it.
The Future of NFTs
The truth is, the underlying technology of NFTs is an amazing invention that has not yet scratched the surface of real-world applications. With our ever-increasing digital world, NFTs can be used to make tons of everyday items.
In the near future, don’t be surprised if you start seeing blockchain-backed event tickets, contracts, and tons more “collectibles.” The best advice I can give anyone wanting to invest in NFTs is to invest in the technology itself, not collectibles. Getting in on good NFT platforms like Ethereum (ETH) and RavenCoin (RVN) could be like investing in Microsoft or RFID chips in the 1980s.
Read More
- Here’s How the Blockchain Can Destroy Counterfeit Items
- Why Now is the Best Time to Mine Cryptocurrency
- Another New Coin on the Block: What is Ravencoin?
Drew Blankenship is a cryptocurrency investor, family man, father and lifelong automotive enthusiast. He lives in North Carolina with his wife, daughter and their dog Enzo.
