As a follower of crypto news, there is something that constantly makes me scratch my head about every now and then. One that could change the I look at notions like "art", "beauty", and "value".
I'm of course talking about NFTs...And I'm probably not alone...
I'm sure that many of you guys are looking with popping eyes at the crazy prices we see for some random NFTs.
For instance, last April, we saw the "Disaster Girl" meme selling for $473k
Yea, it is a funny meme and everything but is it really worth about half-million dollars?
You may be saying that it is just a single outlier case, but the mere fact that there is a lot of similar non-effort images selling for incredible amounts of money...
Just last month, An "ether rock" invaded the crypto headlines after it was sold for 400 ether, or about $1.3 million at the time.
I know that beauty is often in the eyes of the beholder, but truly I still can't seem to understand what makes the most basic JPEG image worth that amount of money...No matter how you look at it, It's just a simple image of a normal rock. Even a ten-year-old can draw better than it.
To top it all, a few days ago, PleasrDAO purchased the original image of Doge as an NFT for 4 million dollars and then split it up into billions of individual tokens "in order to allow others to get a slice and have part-ownership of the artwork", which has given it a new valuation of $300 Million dollars!
In all seriousness, upon seeing these ridiculous valuations, one could start doubting themselves.
What on earth is going on? Is it me who lost the ability to see "value"? is there any money laundering going on there? or is it just a short-term bubble that could burst at any time?
Well, allow me to share with you guys my thoughts on the matter...
NFT is no doubt a revolutionary space that has the entire ability to change the traditional art world forever. That said, I still have a feeling that the main kicker of those huge evaluations is something beyond "art"- something instinctive in the depths of human beings, which is arrogance and ostentation.
Think about it. Are those buyers who are willing to throw hundreds of millions of dollars for an image of a rock, dog, or whatever- really doing so just because they like looking at it? Or they do this because they think it gives them the prestige needed to brag in front of their fellow millionaires?
I happen to think the latter, at least for most of the cases...
Just a single tweet of an "influencer" on a random NFT is more than enough to push those who love stature flexing to buy that NFT to tweet about it too... That way, they have the "bragging rights" among their billionaire gangs.
"Oh, you have paid one million dollars for a simple image? You’re so rich, man. Can't imagine how many mountains of money you're stacking"
So many people want to be told such phrases. They want to be highly respected and revered. This usually comes at a price, and oddly enough, the price itself may be the reason why they so much want it
I really can't think of another way that "justifies" the outrageous prices of some NFT products that randomly pop up out of nowhere. And it is in fact something not limited to NFT. Just take a quick glance at the traditional are market to find out that there is no shortage of unreasonable valuations too. And this is by the way the main reason that some people buy top-brand products such as Rolex, Rolls-Royce, or Apple. Not for its material superiority, but because of the esteem, it brings among the rich...
Despite all that though, I do not think NFT is a bubble that could burst at any time because while there are hundreds of people buying NFTs for bragging, there are thousands(and millions to come) who really appreciate art and are willing to engage with it for the long term. Moreover, NFT has already opened the doors for artists and designers to reach people directly without any interference from any third party. We have come to this point and the clock never turns back. So yes, I strongly believe that the NFT space is here to stay...
This is my mere humble opinion and I'd like to hear yours...
PS, Unless otherwise stated, all images in this post are either my own design or from free photo-sharing sites (e.g. pixabay.com)