Have you heard of Ethereum’s ERC721 tokens? The are also known as NFT – non fungible tokens, which means that they are one of a kind items, each one is unique and original. This is yet another new and innovative use of the Ethereum blockchain and platform, which might appeal to collectors, gamers and crypto investors who like to diversify their portfolio.
Fungible means that you can swap one for another, like a fiat currency, or even Bitcoin. One Bitcoin is the same as any other Bitcoin in value. So you can buy any Bitcoin and it will be the same as any other, regardless of where it has been, who owned it, who mined it or anything else. However, non-fungible means that each item is unique and original.
So the NFT ERC721 tokens on the Ethereum platform are original and one of a kind. Each one is the only one like it and it keeps its unique qualities throughout. The most popular such token is the CryptoKitties, where each “Kitty” or item is unique and will always remain as it is. Other such tokens now emerging are – for example – Flowers. An ideal place to see these interesting variety of non-fungible crypto tokens on the blockchain is at opensea.io. A brief glance showed over 170 various different types of non-fungilbe or collectible tokens available. They would appeal to gamers and many of the tokens are items a gamer can use in various games. Some are characters, some are objects your character might use and some tokens are plots of land.
Virtual reality platforms like Decentraland, which has its own cryptocurrency called MANA, trade plots of land available in the game. It is a VR platform (virtual reality) powered by the Ethereum blockchain. Another new one is Sonmium Space. These two are both VR game spaces where one can buy plots of land. And it’s not just about gaming, since the items bought can be invested in and later traded for a profit on the open blockchain market. Somnium has just over 5000 virtual spaces for sale while Decentraland has hundreds of thousands of items on sale. So now you can buy your land – albeit virtual!
(Pics from Sonmium Space and CryptoKitties)
The very first ERC721 – CryptoKitties – caused a stir when it first emerged because it slowed down the transaction speed on the Ethereum blockchain considerably. Enough to disgruntle traditional crypto traders. It seems they are challenging the transaction capacity and as a result the scaling requirements and challenges are being brought to the fore. Sharding and Casper are new implementations on the Ethereum blockchain which are hoped will speed transactions up. We need thousands of TPS (transactions per second) to really be a viable ecosystem, and to make the industry attractive to investors and also daily users – those who actually want to buy and sell using their ETH or other cryptocurrency as a means of exchange, not just a store of value.
A friend gave me some gifts this week of a CrytpoKitty and a Flower, so I’m amped to find out more about the mass of ERC721 tokens now available. Regular Ethereum is ERC20 and this is something similar but different. There are practically hundreds of thousands of individual such ERC721 tokens now available it seems. Their value ranges from 0.001 to 1 ETH or more, depending on their qualities, age, etc. The amazing thing about the actual CryptoKitties and the Flower, is that they can be bred with others and you can actually grow your collection by mating them together like a farmer.
What an amazing way to literally make new tokens. In this way they become an investment and there is money to be made breeding and then increasing your collection and thus your crypto holdings. Gaming has come a long way and this is the next level of a hybrid of activities available on the Ethereum blockchain. Somnium is actually auctioning their 5000 plots this week. There are three days left to make your bid to get a plot for yourself. Average price is 0.75 ETH and there are seaside as well as hilltop plots available on the virtual map. This brings gaming together with investing and trading, where real money is now involved with the chance of real profit, even though it’s in the gaming environment.
We have come a long way in crypto, thanks to Ethereum and this is still just the beginning. I think ETH will do really well still in future as a result. There are few platforms or blockchains like it today, with all the service it provides. In fact some experts I have come across are saying that it was the Ethereum platform that really spurred on the last bull run in late 2017, sending Bitcoin to its ATH of around $20 000. And the coming next level, called “DeFi” and further developments on the Ethereum blockchain are exactly the thing that is going to spur on the next imminent bull run and new ATH beyond $20 000 for Bitcoin. Hopefully it will also push ETH to new ATH too.
So check out the websites mentioned and find out more about the virtual reality available to us, where crypto is the currency and having fun while making money is the name of the online game.