Saying “fuck nft’s!” is like saying “fuck UUID’s!”.
They’re literally an everyday part of software engineering on decentralized protocols. They got a bad rap with tech-illiterate people because of moonboi hype but they’ll ALWAYS be a part of decentralized software just like any other type of data created for specific uses.
So this is what I’ve never heard, is when have nfts actually been used? Like it’s too inefficient/expensive to store large amounts of data, so what is it good for?
All an NFT is, is a way to prove ownership of a digital good. Think of an NFT not being the item itself, but a receipt that you can use to prove you own said item. You’re probably only familiar with this concept being applied to images, but that’s just one application.
NFTs function very similarly to cryptocurrency with one notable exception, they are not fungible. If we both have a bitcoin and decide to trade them, we both end up with what we started because bitcoins (much like any currency) are fungible. NFTs represent unique items, so they can’t all be treated as equals. That’s all an NFT is at its core, a digital proof of ownership of an item that is unique.
This is my go to example for an alternative use case for NFTs:
You know how Ticketmaster sucks right? Imagine if instead of buying tickets through TicketMaster you bought them directly from artists/venues as an NFT. At the gate you can show that you have the NFT in your wallet which proves that you own the ticket. Instead of Ticketmaster taking a massive cut, you pay a (comparatively) much smaller fee to the decentralized network that processed your transaction, and the entirety of the price of the ticket goes to the venue/artist.
I find that people frequently hate on NFTs because they don’t understand how truly generalized of a concept it is. There are so many ways this technology could be applied, but it’s so new! It takes time for people to conceptualize, develop, and implement this stuff. And with decentralization at the heart, it usually has to happen without a major corporation backing development. So be patient, have an open mind, and know that even I think bored ape NFTs are dumb as fuck
Source: ex /r/CryptoCurrency mod 😛 Happy to chat more about it if you’re curious!
Tickets and receipts are interchangeable. It is an item that shows proof of ownership.
Artists and venues are not capable of building their own ticketing and distribution platforms, which is why companies like Ticketmaster exist in the first place and come with exorbitant fees.
I, as an individual with no funding whatsoever, can create NFTs that could act as tickets to an event while guaranteeing that the tickets can’t be forged.
I honestly do not see how it’s inefficient. The cost is incredibly low. The network almost all NFTs use (Ethereum) has reduced its energy consumption by 99.99% since switching to PoW. From an end-user perspective it would be no different than purchasing a ticket from any other digital storefront. Paying $25 in fees on a $50 ticket is inefficient. Every venue building their own ticketing system is inefficient.
I feel like so many people think I’m some crypto maximalist when I talk about how NFTs are not entirely stupid. NFTs are such a general idea it makes no sense to say that they have no valid use cases unless you believe that all decentralized networks (including the fediverse) are dumb.
It is the ticket. Tickets don’t really exist. Even before the Internet and digital technology, what we called a “ticket” (a slip of paper that you showed to get in) was in reality just a receipt/proof of purchase. “Ticket” and “receipt” are 100% synonymous.
As another user said, the NFT is the ticket. A ticket is basically a receipt when you think about it, which is why it makes sense as a use case. It shows that you have purchased a unique item (the seat) and grants you access to it.
The artist/venue could make a ticket independently and without NFTs. They would then have to make them in a way that couldn’t be forged, and would have to create a distribution system. None of that is simple for an independent artist/venue to implement. By using an NFT all of that is handled by the decentralized network.
Again, that was simply an example to help demonstrate how NFTs have more use cases than just a picture of a monkey
How about a digital ticket? A QR code to be presented on my phone that I got via email? That seems very feasible. I still don’t see what advantage an NFT would have here. Seriously asking because I’ve been confused for the last few years and nobody is explaining in a way that makes sense to me.
I’m generally not aware of many cases of ownership of anything being in question, so many in fact that we need an entirely new way of dealing with them. Also look at how many monkey pictures have been straight up stolen with, apparently, no way to prove that they were stolen, because stuff can’t be deleted on the blockchain.
A QR code is a link. Who hosts the site? Who is going to pay for the infrastructure, let alone the engineer to set it up? An email has the same problem, what mail server is going to send the email? How do you ensure someone can’t duplicate a ticket? You can’t just make that out of thin air. These systems cost money to create and implement, which is not approachable for individual artists and venues. An NFT takes care of all of that and does it very well at very low cost. Not to mention, the lack of a middle man means all money (besides a small fee to operate on the decentralized network) goes directly to the artists/venue)
I disagree that being able to prove ownership is not a common use case. NFTs aren’t useful in every situation, but when proof of ownership is involved, NFTs are relevant.
Another example of this could be a digital license. Say that you purchased a lifetime license to a piece of software (maybe even a game). You could sell/trade the license to another person on your own terms. I really like this idea because we don’t really “own” any digital goods we purchase now days. If you have a physical game you can sell it to a friend, why not the same for digital ones?
And yes, while they can be stolen, that is not the security they provide. Anything can be stolen. NFTs can’t be forged.
Also want to say thank you for actually asking a question and not just trying to dunk on the whole concept!
Does "fuck auctioning off digital media (particularly procedurally-generated .jpg files)" make it more clear? Screw artificial scarcity? Ignore/de-value digital real-estate?
I mean, of course procedurally-generated jpg files are worthless bullshit. I’m a serious crypto aficionado and I never once bought a single NFT because I knew they were just images that anyone could view.
NFT’s, as you’re describing them here, were just a money-laundering scheme. But that’s not what NFT’s actually are. They’re a representation in a system that something is 100% unique (or part of a limited quantity). Since software engineering’s entire purpose is to model real-life in software, this concept was an absolute inevitability.
The story: someone generated a bored ape then sold it to themself for a 1,000,000% profit in an attempt to launder the ETH that person gained through illicit means in the shitcoin trades. It’s a tale as old as currency itsself: Beanie babies, trading cards, collectible art, collectibles in general. People are degenerate gamblers but NFT’s are actually an innocent technology co-opted by moonbois. Same deal with crypto in general. Greedy people ruin the reputation of anything they touch (or trade rabidly in this case).
I was kind of hoping hate filled communities wouldn’t be a thing on Lemmy. Sadly, everything’s the same everywhere you go.
Clarification: I think NFTs are really stupid. I would even say I hate them. But I don’t need a community based around hating something. No one should.
This was simply the first example of a “hate” community I’ve seen on Lemmy, so I spoke up.
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