explainer / 64 posts found
Linagee Name Registrar: The Oldest Ethereum NFT Contract Rediscovered
When it comes to historic NFT projects, the general rule is: older means better. Although legacy collections like CryptoPunks, CryptoKitties, and Curio Cards have gained newfound popularity in the last few years, the fact that we can trace their provenance back through the annals of the blockchain contributes a wealth of historical and cultural value to these projects. Yet, while many collectors pride themselves on obtaining relic tokens of old, it seems a single, classic NFT collection has eluded even those who purport to be NFT historians. With the resurgence of Linagee Name Registrar, the collective NFT community has found itself […]
Literary NFTs: Here’s How Writers Can Leverage Their Passion in Web3
In the last few years, platforms like Substack have upended the power dynamics of the legacy publishing industry, providing both established and emerging journalists with freedom, access, and uncapped earning power. Now, literary NFTs are adding fuel to this fiery paradigm shift, opening the door for unprecedented levels of collaboration, direct connection, and value creation between writers and their audiences. While traditional publishing will never disappear, the power imbalance between creators and publishers will. This article will guide you through the basics of literary NFTs, including the potential benefits and downsides, use cases, pricing, community building, and copyright. First, let’s […]
NFT Theft: Here’s How the Dark Side of Web3 Gets Away With It
How do NFT thieves get away with heists in the millions (or even billions) of dollars, in plain sight? Crypto transactions happen on the public ledger, so finding the culprit should be simple. Despite this, NFT thieves are nearly impossible to catch. Part of the problem comes with the territory, since successful NFT scammers and thieves live on the cutting edge of the space. But there are deeper reasons for this than simply being familiar with the space — and examining the deeper story could help all of us better shield ourselves from future onslaughts. NFT theft, high art, and […]
Magic Eden Opens Up About Its Controversial NFT Tool
The debate is heating up surrounding creator royalties in the NFT space. Initially instigated in response to platforms like sudoswap, X2Y2, and Yawww emerging as opponents of cookie-cutter creator royalties, the conversation has continued to expand cross-chain, prompting Solana NFT marketplace giant Magic Eden to chime in. In support of creators taking control of their secondary sales kickbacks, Magic Eden has introduced something called MetaShield to its platform. With MetaShield, launched in partnership with NFT marketplace and aggregator Coral Cube, NFT creators now have the ability to review listings and sales of NFTs, giving them a recourse of action if collectors […]
NFT Stocks: What to Know and Which Companies to Watch
The rise of NFTs has proved a boon for many artists and creators worldwide. But they’ve also become incredibly alluring investment opportunities for those seeking quick — and sometimes sizeable — returns on their investments. But there’s a problem. Unless you have hundreds of thousands of dollars to throw at a Bored Ape, Cryptopunk, Moonbird, and so on, finding good bets at the margins takes a lot of work. To truly get a pulse on what’s going on in the space, you’d need to practically live on Twitter or Discord. Information moves fast in the NFT space, and so does […]
7 Powerful Tools for Tracking NFT Collectors & Trades
It goes without saying: things move fast in the NFT space. And this makes staying up to date with mint dates, project reveals, timed auctions, and the like a difficult and sometimes nearly impossible task. Yet, keeping tabs on collectors and large-scale trades can sometimes be even harder. Because of this, some companies have built entire tool suites to help simplify the process. We’re not just talking about trading services like Rarity Tools and Trait Sniper, but those that make it easy to collate data about projects and individuals. Considering a single trade from an NFT whale can make or […]
Four Misconceptions About the Ethereum Merge Debunked
It’s happening. The Ethereum Merge is going down in less than two days, as of writing. For those living under a virtual rock, the hotly anticipated Ethereum Merge refers to the upcoming Merge of the Ethereum mainnet with the Beacon Chain. Following this, Ethereum will move to a proof-of-stake (PoS) verification mechanism, which is touted as using at least 99 percent less energy than blockchains operating under a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism. We’ve already seen hard evidence of low-impact blockchains operating under a PoS model in the real world, thanks to Tezos, so the promise is irresistible. The Web3 community […]
Why Are NFTs Valuable? A Guide to the Merits of Non-Fungibles
If you’re wondering how NFTs — essentially tokenized JPEGs — have sold for millions of dollars in the past few years, here’s the short answer that most people would give you: It’s because they’re art, and art is inherently valuable. Really. Many people think it’s as simple as that. However, we’ve also seen digital collectibles like NBA Top Shot and PFP NFT projects like CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club fetch eye-watering prices on the open market. Neither of the aforementioned can be accurately characterized as art and art alone. So the question remains: What exactly makes an NFT valuable? […]
Fashion Design and NFTs? A Guide to Help You Break Into Web3
Fashion is one of the purest forms of self-expression, acting as an integral touchpoint for social connection and communication. And as the divide between our real and virtual lives becomes increasingly blurred, consumers are now directing more focus toward digital appearance. This trend has already started to play out in the gaming industry, where the lion’s share of the revenue is generated by selling in-game virtual cosmetic items and goods. Fortnite has sold billions of dollars in cosmetic avatar skins in the last year, pulling in more than $50 million on NFL partnership skins alone. Fortnite As we embark into […]
Invisible Friends NFTs: A Guide to a Growing and Inclusive Collection
The NFT community has remained divided for months on the utility of art. But when a project truly centered on quality and community comes around, why force the issue? That’s exactly what the Invisible Friends NFT project is — a collection of art that could stand on its own merit. But what is it exactly? As its name implies, Invisible Friends is an animated PFP collection of invisible people. So does that mean the collection is a coy way of packaging a collection of backdrops as a PFP NFT project? Or a nightmare fuel attempt at realistically depicting a transparent […]