Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)

[Saintsman]

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;;https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60121538

I’m seeing more and more of these being sold (and for lots of money too), but I’m not sure that even if I had the cash, I would but something that I can’t physically hold. To me, the King’s new clothes come to mind with this sort of investment. If you could afford it, would you?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-fungible_token

[Jhieminga]

Julie Nolke's attempt at explaining what it is.....

You Tube

[Dan Dare]

Not my explanation, but I think it explains it well

[treadigraph]

Isn't it a voucher for a full English breakfast with no mushrooms?

[jolihokistix]

For every ten million I earn there is surely nothing wrong with buying say $100,000 worth of NFTs.(surely?)

[pasta]

I can see one benefit of NFTs, which is as a mechanism to shift wealth from people who have lots of it, to other people who are prepared to work for it. From that perspective, it's a bit like a trophy home or a Lamborghini: no-one needs one, they don't have a practical use, but by buying one as a means to signal their wealth, rich people are feeding their money back into the economy.

[cameltruck]

So an NFT is just something that comes up in dinner conversation by the rich.

[Lonewolf_50]

Originally Posted by cameltruck

So an NFT is just something that comes up in dinner conversation by the rich.

A variety of creators of art and videos and such are apparently trying to glom onto this as a way to store value for their creations.
I'd like to explain that in more detail but the use of block chains and bit coins is still not something I have fully got my head around, so I won't take that further.
If someone wishes to sell me an NFT I'll likely pass. I may miss an opportunity here or there to make some money, but I'll also not feel like I am being targeted by a con.

[Out Of Trim]

Originally Posted by treadigraph

Isn't it a voucher for a full English breakfast with no mushrooms?

That can’t be right! NFT = No F….ing Tomatoes 🍅… Obviously 🙄!

[visibility3miles]

Listen, if any of you want to pay me a million dollars/pounds/yen whatever for a picture of some sort of art work or photo, just let me know, okay?

I promise that you will have the only NFT copy of whatever it is, and despite the fact that a million other people can look at it online, rest assured that you will have the only NFT, which makes it special.

[FullWings]

It just goes to prove that once the basics are sorted out: shelter, water, food, that kind of thing, humans will go for any shiny trinket. Mine!

[pasta]

Originally Posted by visibility3miles

I promise that you will have the only NFT copy of whatever it is, and despite the fact that a million other people can look at it online, rest assured that you will have the only NFT, which makes it special.

I largely agree with you, but...

Most people accept that the Mona Lisa is worth millions, even though we probably wouldn't be interested in buying it, even if it was for sale and we had the money.
Now imagine someone invents a machine that can reproduce it perfectly, at the atomic scale, and rattles off thousands of copies. Are they worth millions? Presumably not.
What about the original, the one that was actually painted by the man himself. Assuming we can be certain it really is the original, is it still worth millions, despite the availability of absolutely identical cheap copies? If so, why?

[Ninthace]

I looked up fungible as I have never funged as far as I know

1. Returnable or negotiable in kind or by substitution, as a quantity of grain for an equal amount of the same kind of grain.
2. Interchangeable.
3. Able to be substituted for something of equalvalue or utility; interchangeable, exchangeable, replaceable.

So non-fungible: none of the above. So pretty worthless then.

So then I looked up the root word funge to see if that helped and it did.
From yourdictionary.com: Funge meaning: a fool or simpleton (obsolete)

It also seems funge is also a traditional staple in Angolan and some other cuisines - but that's not important right now.

[pasta]

Originally Posted by Ninthace

So non-fungible: none of the above. So pretty worthless then.

The word Fungible is generally used to describe things like currencies or commodities. So, if you lend me a tenner I can pay you back with a different tenner and we're good. Ditto things like shares in ICI or barrels of Brent Crude; there's nothing special about a particular ICI share, or a particular barrel of Brent Crude, they're interchangeable.

So the whole point of a Non-Fungible Token is that they're unique. The GIF of a dancing giraffe that you've just blown a million quid on is made unique by the NFT, and is therefore not interchangeable with the otherwise-identical GIFs you can download for free. Back to my Mona Lisa analogy: there are thousands of perfectly identical copies, no copy is worth more than any other, so they're considered fungible. The original painted by Da Vinci, even though it can only be identified through its accompanying certificate, is non-fungible, because there's only one original, and it's that very uniqueness (non-fungibility) that gives it its value.

It makes no sense, and NFTs are also responsible for massive greenhouse emissions, but that's how it works.

[NutLoose]

A fool is easily parted from their money.

Hans Christian Andersen summed up the concept in the Kings new clothes.

This is the story of the King's new clothes. Now there was once a king who was absolutely insane about new clothes and one day, two swindlers came to sell him what they said was a magic suit of clothes. Now, they held up this particular garment and they said, "Your Majesty, this is a magic suit." Well, the truth of the matter is, there was no suit there at all. But the swindlers were very smart, and they said, "Your Majesty, to a wise man this is a beautiful raiment but to a fool it is absolutely invisible." Naturally, the King not wanting to appear a fool, said:

"Isn't it grand! Isn't it fine! Look at the cut, the style, the line! The suit of clothes is altogether, but altogether it's altogether The most remarkable suit of clothes that I have ever seen. These eyes of mine at once determined The sleeves are velvet, the cape is ermine The hose are blue and the doublet is a lovely shade of green

[Jhieminga]

The whole NFT story reminds me of this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania

[old,not bold]

South Sea Bubble, Tulips, dot.com companies with no assets and huge debts being valued by the stock market in billions, apartment developments offering "guaranteed 8% return" to investors, non-fungible tokens, you name it, there are always people around ready to suspend disbelief and give their savings away to lose the lot.

A greedy person can always be conned.

We who stand on the sideline muttering "he Emperor's got no clothes" are always vindicated in the long run, boringly, but take all sorts of abuse on the way.

[ShyTorque]

If things are non fungible there must be things that are fungible and can be funged and so there must be a verb “to funge”.

I can’t find it. Is there such a verb?

I already wish I hadn’t asked…..

[Ninthace]

Originally Posted by ShyTorque

If things are non fungible there must be things that are fungible and can be funged and so there must be a verb “to funge”.

I can’t find it. Is there such a verb?

I already wish I hadn’t asked…..

Funge it seems is not a verb but a noun. See #13 which is the result of several seconds of work with a search engine as I like to make an effort

[DaveReidUK]

Latin: fungor - perform, execute, discharge, exercise, do, transact.