The path to richness, part 15 - NFTs and the opportunity it brings ...

In this series of 17 posts my goal is to bring to the front the consciousness of your relationship with money.

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I am not going to explain in depth what the new investment craze is, but to use it as an example of a consciousness of abundance. I did a survey a few months ago on my blog and asked, "What advice would you give to your 25 yo self?". Most of the answers said "buy bitcoin". And this is true, because with the wisdom of retrospect many think "If only I had bought more" or "Why did I not listen to the young genius family member who told me about Bitcoin?!"🤦‍♂️

The point is that opportunities for abundance are always around us. How do you know what to invest in? Listen to yourself. If you connect with the idea, its essence, the people behind the investment, and you have a free sum to invest - then invest. On the other hand, if you hear in your head a voice scolding you, scaring you, pushing you to buy "so you would not miss", or because "otherwise you will remain poor forever", etc., then you should think twice and thrice if this investment is right for you.

So why NFTs?

Because it's new, because it's innovative, because the amount of interest is growing and because the content is diverse so that everyone can connect and invest in what they like. I will soon give an example of NFTs that I created, but before that a brief explanation of the idea.

Are you familiar with the famous Mona Lisa picture painted by Leonardo da Vinci?

If I were to tell you that I have such a picture at home, you would certainly believe me because over the years countless printed copies of this picture have been made. Everyone knows that the original picture is displayed in the Louvre Museum in Paris so any other picture showing the figure of the Mona Lisa must be a copy. This idea is clear, well assimilated into the consciousness of the masses and directly affects the value. Both of the original picture (about a billion dollars as of 2019) and of the copy I have at home (a few dollars if any).

Suppose that the same Leonardo da Vinci had traveled in time to our era, painted ten copies of the Mona Lisa, sold them to ten people (anonymous or not) and disappeared. And let's say one of those people would like to sell the painting in his possession. He will of course claim that "this is an authentic painting of the Mona Lisa painted by Da Vinci himself." We, the buying public, would like to see a proof. For example, a video presenting Leonardo and the seller together in which the former verifies the claim; or a proof from a third party, who is credible in the eyes of everyone, who confirms that he was a witness to the sale to the same seller, or any other type of proof that will verify the authenticity of that work of art that the same seller holds.

Why is authenticity important? Because it sets the price! The same Mona Lisa, one of the ten new copies, is worth a lot of money, much more than the copy I have at home for example.

So far the parable. NFTs are the mechanism that provides the necessary proof for the authenticity of any work. This is a great revolution because entire industries (economics, art, commerce, finance, etc.) understand that with the help of a line of code anyone who has bought a work of art (or any work of any kind) can now unequivocally prove that he holds the authentic work. This certificate will never expire! It does not depend on the testimony of a mortal person, does not depend on the records held in the safes of insurance companies, does not depend on anything outside that neutral code!

A practical example

I own 30 paintings I purchased about seventeen years ago. With them I created a collection on Opensea, a platform for NFTs, and I am now offering for sale copies of the works. Each piece has a limited number of copies (and I can no longer make more) and a pre-determined price (denominated in Etherium currency). For example, the piece Key of Will is offered for sale in the amount of 0.1 ETH.

From now on, the value of the work will be determined by its supply and demand, and this is where the potential for investment lies. If you see a work that you think will cost more in the future - and as mentioned, I recommend investing only in works that you like and connect to their design - you can buy it now at a low price and sell it in the future at a higher price.

But pay attention - as with any investment, there is a risk here. If the value of the work does not increase or even decrease, or if the work is not traded at all because it will not be in demand, you will be left with a digital file with no monetary value. While you will still be the proud owner of a work of art - you will be able to print it out, hang it at home and tell your guests that you own an original NFT from a limited collection - the money from this investment will not bear fruit. On the other hand, it is possible that the value of that work of art will skyrocket and in a few years you will have a valuable digital file in hand. The Mona Lisa was also not worth much in Da Vichi's time (in fact, he did not finish it and therefore did not receive payment for it at all).

You may ask - what's good in this NFT thing? After all, anyone can take a screenshot of the image. This is true, but when you buy the work on the site you get a code that links you to the image in a unique way. When you want to sell it in the future any buyer will agree to pay only after seeing your code that ensures that the digital file you are selling is authentic. Just as you would like to see a video of Leonardo da Vinci with the ten buyers of the Mona Lisa.

Are you enthusiastic? Are you curious? Want to invest? So remember my recommendations from previous posts:

Do not invest more money than you are willing and able to afford to lose!
Invest in something that speaks to you, in the case of NFTs - works you love.
Invest out of confidence and belief in yourself and not out of fear of being left behind in the investment trend!

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Links to previous posts in the series:

The path to richness, part 15 - NFTs and the opportunity it brings to your doorstep

In this series of 17 posts my goal is to bring to the front the consciousness of your relationship with money.

So why NFTs?

A practical example