Blockchain technology is claimed to be according to blockchain proponents to be one of the most impactfull discoveries in the recent history. It is promised to have a massive potential to change how we handle online transactions. Despite some skeptics, the majority of experts agree that blockchain has the potential to disrupt the banking and financial industry, and many other ones! To put it simply, blockchain enables decentralized transactions across a P2P network. There are applications where those propertied can be very useful, but there are many cases where blockchain migh not be the best solution even though it is hyped to be solution for very many application (remember to ask Do you need a blockchain? often).
This 16 Blockchain Disruptions (Infographic) by bitfortune.net tries to help you understand how the blockchain technology can and will improve 16 different industries, from music to government.
Infographic by bitfortune.net
1,206 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin_scalability_problem
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Last Word on Bitcoin’s Energy Consumption
https://www.coindesk.com/the-last-word-on-bitcoins-energy-consumption
When you consider Bitcoin’s energy intake, interesting patterns emerge. New data from the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance has confirmed what we effectively already knew: China is the epicenter of Bitcoin mining, with specific regions like Xinjiang, Sichuan and Inner Mongolia dominating. With the cooperation of mining pools, the Cambridge researchers were able to geolocate the IPs of a sizable fraction of active miners, creating a novel dataset giving us new insight into Bitcoin’s energy mix.
And the results are revealing: Sichuan, second only in the hashpower rankings to Xinjiang, is a province characterized by a massive overbuild of hydroelectric power in the last decade. Sichuan’s installed hydro capacity is double what its power grid can support, leading to lots of “curtailment” (or waste). Dams can only store so much potential energy in the form of water before they must let it out. It’s an open secret that this otherwise-wasted energy has been put to use mining Bitcoin. If your local energy cost is effectively zero but you cannot sell your energy anywhere, the existence of a global buyer for energy is a godsend.
There is historical precedent for this phenomenon. Other commodities have been employed to export energy, effectively smoothing out ripples in the global energy market. Before Bitcoin, aluminium served this purpose. A huge fraction of aluminum’s embodied cost is the cost of electricity involved in smelting bauxite ore.
This led to an Icelandic economist famously stating that Iceland “export[s] energy in the form of aluminum.” Today, Iceland is hoping it can replicate this model with the export of energy via data storage. This is why smelters are located in places where electricity is abundant, and where the local consumers may not be able to absorb all that capacity. Today, many of these smelters have been converted into Bitcoin mines – including an old Alcoa plant in upstate New York. The historical parallels are exquisite in their aptness.
ULTIMATELY IT’S JUST A MATTER OF OPINION AS TO WHETHER THE EXISTENCE OF A NON-STATE, SYNTHETIC MONETARY COMMODITY IS A GOOD IDEA.
As Bitcoin is a global buyer of energy at a fixed price, it makes sense for miners with very cheap energy to sell some to the protocol. This is why so many oil miners (whose business results in the production of lots of waste methane) have developed an enthusiasm for mining Bitcoin. From a climate perspective, this is actually a net positive. Bitcoin thrives on the margins, where energy is lost or curtailed.
It’s about the energy mix
Another common mistake energy detractors make is to naively extrapolate Bitcoin’s energy consumption to the equivalent CO2 emissions. What matters is the type of energy source being used to generate electricity, as they are not homogenous from a carbon footprint perspective. The academic efforts that get breathlessly reported in the press tend to assume either an energy mix which is invariant at the global or country level.
Both Mora et al and Krause and Tolaymat generated flashy headlines for their calculations of Bitcoin’s footprint, but rely on naive extrapolations of energy consumption to CO2 emissions.
Even though lots of Bitcoin is mined in China, it’s not appropriate to map China’s generic CO2 footprint to Bitcoin mining. As discussed, Bitcoin seeks out otherwise-curtailed energy, like hydropower in Sichuan, which is relatively green. Any reliable estimate must take this into account.
Eighty-seven percent of Bitcoin’s terminal supply has been issued already.
miners will have been collectively rewarded just over $17 billion in exchange for finding those coins (assuming simply that they sold their coins when they mined them), even though the coins are worth $160 billion today. This is because most of those coins were issued at cheaper price points.
Fees will necessarily grow to account for a much larger fraction of miner income. Fees have a natural ceiling to them, as transactors must actively pay them on a per-transaction basis. If they become too onerous, users will look elsewhere, or economize on fees with other layers that periodically settle to the base chain.
Now, despite all the caveats listed above, it’s undeniable that Bitcoin not only consumes a lot of energy but produces externalities in the form of CO2 emissions. This is not under debate. What Bitcoiners are often confronted about is whether Bitcoin has a legitimate claim on any of society’s resources. This question relies on a kind of utilitarian logic about which industries should be entitled to consume energy. In practice, no one actually reasons like this. The Bitcoin-energy supplicants are mum when it comes to the energy used to illuminate Christmas lights, to power the data centers behind Netflix or to distribute untold millions of single-serve meal kits.
Ultimately it’s just a matter of opinion as to whether the existence of a non-state, synthetic monetary commodity is a good idea. The truth is that blockspace is a service which is paid for, and that’s where its resource cost is derived. Something duly purchased cannot, by definition, be a waste. Its buyer derives benefit from its existence, regardless of anyone else’s subjective opinion of the merit of the transaction. These same arguments have been made countless times about perceived “costs” of the gold standard, and rebutted on similar grounds before.
Tomi Engdahl says:
In Nevada desert, a technology firm aims to be a government
https://apnews.com/article/us-news-blockchain-local-governments-cryptocurrency-nevada-e53b6c504ccaf9071cbfb607074eb719
In the Nevada desert, a cryptocurrency magnate hopes to turn dreams of a futuristic “smart city” into reality. To do that, he’s asking the state to let companies like his form local governments on land they own, which would grant them power over everything from schools to law enforcement.
Jeffrey Berns, CEO of Nevada-based Blockchains LLC, envisions a city where people not only purchase goods and services with digital currency but also log their entire online footprint — financial statements, medical records and personal data — on blockchain.
Blockchain is a digital ledger known mostly for recording cryptocurrency transactions but also has been adopted by some local governments for everything from documenting marriage licenses to facilitating elections.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Scallops, vaccines and Tesla: The wild world of blockchain and
cryptocurrency
https://www.zdnet.com/article/scallops-vaccines-and-tesla-the-wild-world-of-blockchain-and-cryptocurrency/
Tesla’s Elon Musk and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey have everyone’s interest
piqued in cryptocurrency and blockchain. However, these two
technologies are still not well understood. What are the prospects for
Bitcoin and its brethren on their journey to becoming, well, actual
money?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chainalysis Blog:
Research: $1.3B or 55% of all money laundering in cryptocurrency in 2020 was driven by just 270 deposit addresses owned by five illicit fund receiving services
270 Service Deposit Addresses Drive 55% of Money Laundering in Cryptocurrency
https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/cryptocurrency-money-laundering-2021
Money laundering is the key to cryptocurrency-based crime. The primary goals of cybercriminals who steal cryptocurrency, or accept it as payment for illicit goods, are to obfuscate the source of their funds and convert their cryptocurrency into cash so that it can be spent or kept in a bank. Of course, thanks to the efforts of law enforcement and compliance professionals around the world, cybercriminals can’t simply send their ill-gotten cryptocurrency to an exchange and cash out as a normal user would. Instead, they rely on a surprisingly small group of service providers to liquidate their crypto assets. Some of these providers specialize in money laundering services while others are simply large cryptocurrency services and money services businesses (MSBs) with lax compliance programs. Investigators could significantly damage cybercriminals’ ability to convert cryptocurrency into cash by going after these money laundering service providers, thereby reducing the incentives for cybercriminals to use cryptocurrency in the first place.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://100trillionusd.github.io/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://konsensus.network/product/bitcoin-standardi/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bitcoin briefly breaks the $50,000 barrier as Coinbase’s direct listing looms
https://techcrunch.com/2021/02/16/bitcoin-briefly-breaks-the-50000-barrier-as-coinbases-direct-listing-looms/?tpcc=ECFB2021
The hodl-crew are having quite the moment as bitcoin passed the $50,000 mark earlier today for the first time. Data pegs the peak at just over $50,500.
The price of bitcoin, the world’s best-known cryptocurrency, has historically proven a reasonable proxy for consumer interest in the cryptocurrency space, and for trading activity amongst blockchain-based assets. Bitcoin’s price has retreated since the milestone, and is now worth just over $49,000.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Elon Musk offers money to help Dogecoin become ‘currency of the internet’
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/elon-musk-dogecoin-currency-internet-b1802319.html?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=Echobox&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1613398693
Just 20 people own more than half of all of the meme-inspired cryptocurrency in existence
Elon Musk has said he will buy out major Dogecoin holders in order to help make the fringe cryptocurrency the “currency of the internet”.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Usman Pirzada / Wccftech:
Nvidia announces dedicated crypto mining GPUs and says RTX 3060 GPU will detect the Ethereum cryptocurrency mining algorithm and limit the hash rate by 50% — NVIDIA has finally conceded to the overwhelming mining demand facing the GPU market right now and launched a lineup …
NVIDIA Announces CMP 30HX, 40HX, 50HX and 90HX GPUs For Mining, Cripples Hash Rate Of RTX 3060
https://wccftech.com/nvidia-launches-cmp-30hx-40hx-50hx-and-90hx-gpus-for-mining-cripples-hash-rate-of-rtx-3060/
NVIDIA has finally conceded to the overwhelming mining demand facing the GPU market right now and launched a lineup of dedicated cryptocurrency mining GPUs (can we even call them that considering they have no display port?) called CMP. This is short for Cryptocurrency Mining Processor While AIBs have previously rolled out mining variants of GPUs without display ports, this is the first time we are seeing an official product launch straight from NVIDIA itself. It is accompanied by an action that will likely be very controversial: software limiting the hash rate of NVIDIA’s RTX 3060 GPU (which will be launching on the 25th) to just 50% of its actual rate.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nvidia says its cryptocurrency mining limiter ‘cannot be hacked’
https://www.pcgamer.com/nvidia-ethereum-mining-limiter-cannot-be-hacked/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=news_tab&utm_content=algorithm
Nvidia says its Ethereum mining limiter requires a secure handshake between drivers, GPU, and BIOS.
Tomi Engdahl says:
GeForce Is Made for Gaming, CMP Is Made to Mine
https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2021/02/18/geforce-cmp/
We’re limiting the hash rate of GeForce RTX 3060 GPUs so they’re less desirable to miners and launching NVIDIA CMP for professional mining.
RTX 3060 software drivers are designed to detect specific attributes of the Ethereum cryptocurrency mining algorithm, and limit the hash rate, or cryptocurrency mining efficiency, by around 50 percent.
That only makes sense. Our GeForce RTX GPUs introduce cutting-edge technologies — such as RTX real-time ray-tracing, DLSS AI-accelerated image upscaling technology, Reflex super-fast response rendering for the best system latency, and many more — tailored to meet the needs of gamers and those who create digital experiences.
To address the specific needs of Ethereum mining, we’re announcing the NVIDIA CMP, or, Cryptocurrency Mining Processor, product line for professional mining.
CMP products — which don’t do graphics — are sold through authorized partners and optimized for the best mining performance and efficiency. They don’t meet the specifications required of a GeForce GPU and, thus, don’t impact the availability of GeForce GPUs to gamers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Letter: ‘Mining’ bitcoin emits same CO2 as 1M transatlantic flights
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/09/26/letter-mining-bitcoin-emits-the-same-co2-as-1-million-transatlantic-flights
Bitcoin mining, an unnecessary and artificial industry, is an inexcusable source of CO2 emissions. Built into the definition of bitcoin (a cryptocurrency: book-entry virtual money) is a means of increasing supply of bitcoin, via a computation-intensive race to locate a hidden number, with the newly minted coin as the prize. Competing for that prize has spawned an entire industry.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://jalopnik.com/bitcoins-annual-carbon-footprint-is-equal-to-one-millio-1828460235/amp
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://lifehacker.com/how-to-create-your-own-cryptocurrency-1825337462
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.tekniikkatalous.fi/uutiset/mika-ihmeen-lohkoketju-nain-toimii-bitcoinin-taustalla-oleva-tekniikka/b6515667-d96c-42c2-ba94-eeed6598d91e
Tomi Engdahl says:
Italian Wines Will Be Recorded on Blockchain, Authenticity Guaranteed
An Italian startup launches “Wine Blockchain EY”, a new project to protect “made in Italy” wines.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/italian-wines-will-be-recorded-on-blockchain-authenticity-guaranteed
EY creates the Wine Blockchain with the goal of certifying and communicating the quality and geographical origin of wines made in Italy. Involved in this project also the EzLab startup.
Thanks to a partnership between EY and EzLab, the Wine Blockchain was born to certify the whole traceability of wine production, allowing to guarantee quality, provenance and production.
How it works
This is the first case of a digital relationship between the producer and final customer who – thanks to a smart label on the wine bottle – can read about the wine producer (identified by a digital signature), the entire process of cultivation, production and processing of wine maximizing the trust of the consumer.
This process happens thanks to the Blockchain technology that provides all the information linked to the product so the consumer can verify its origin, organoleptic characteristics and the entire agri-food and industrial process anytime, by using his/her own smartphone to scan the QR Code printed on the wine label.
The first tracked and certified product is the Falanghina Wine produced by Cantina Volpone.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Ethereum Blockchain
Wine Blockchain uses a smart contract built on top of the Ethereum Blockchain.
This smart contract contains all the info that have been collected along the production process.
Gerardo Gabriele Volpone, Digital and Innovation Consultant, Volpone Winery Director, says:
“The whole thing was tied to the physical world through the registration of the digital signature of the company owner so that there is not another individual who can be able to register something by using the Volpone name.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/italian-wines-will-be-recorded-on-blockchain-authenticity-guaranteed
Tomi Engdahl says:
Though Bitcoin is the earliest application of blockchain technology, its implementation beyond cryptocurrencies positions it as one of the future’s leading technologies that will transform the way businesses operate in years to come.
The Technology Behind Bitcoin’s $1T Valuation And Its Application Beyond Cryptocurrency
https://trib.al/eBTx21Z
Now a trillion-dollar asset, bitcoin is paramount to cryptocurrency culture after its 60% hike this month, surpassing any traditional asset in this record-breaking milestone.
Since its introduction to the financial market in 2009, this first-of-its-kind cryptocurrency has been marked by high volatility and price fluctuations. Being a “highly speculative asset”, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has stressed the need for regulating any institution that handles bitcoins and investor protection in a recent CNBC interview. Despite the lack of regulation and vulnerability to scams and illicit transactions, a mixture of social proofing and celebrity endorsements has catapulted its popularity among investors and the masses.
But behind bitcoin is the ingenious blockchain technology that enables this unprecedented digital asset. The symbiotic relationship between bitcoin and blockchain is so apparent that people often confuse the two. Simply put, without blockchain, bitcoin is useless. With each bitcoin transaction, a digital trail is created on a shared ledger. Though the transaction itself is open and public, the person’s identity behind the bitcoin transaction is encrypted and remains private. As transactions are posted on this digital ledger, a perpetual “chain” of anonymous and real-time transactions is created.
Even with the most sophisticated ERP software, there is still a potential for information to be locked in silos, disparate processes, unnecessary paper trails, miscommunication between partners, and untraceable documents and activities. Streamlining the entire supply chain network would require integrating all software and systems across various suppliers, retailers, manufacturers, financial institutions, logistic providers, and regions to speak the same language. Essentially, all parties would be required to integrate the same system of record for every step of the supply chain process, which is highly impractical.
Blockchain solves this problem by greatly enhancing supply chain visibility and traceability within a complex supply chain network. All parties would have access to the blockchain with secure and synchronized data, including full transparency of every action being performed in real-time during end-to-end supply chain activity. As a result, leaders can quickly trace every single component of production and financial transactions, identify any existing bottlenecks, and quickly pivot to avoid certain risks that could cause disruption.
Blockchain is currently being used across various industries to transform supply chains ranging from food and agriculture, retail, aerospace, and even COVID-19 vaccinations!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bitcoin uses more electricity each year than Argentina and Ukraine due to energy-intensive mining, Cambridge University has found.
Bitcoin’s energy use is ‘staggering’ and a worry for big investors, Kleinwort investment chief says
http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/bitcoin-s-energy-use-is-staggering-and-a-worry-for-big-investors-kleinwort-investment-chief-says-1030131653
Bitcoin uses a “staggering” amount of energy each year, the chief investment officer of Societe Generale’s UK private bank said.
Fahad Kamal said it means bitcoin clashes with the new focus on environmental investing.
Yet advocates say that bitcoin mining can be powered by renewable energy.
The energy use of bitcoin is a key factor that makes the cryptocurrency unattractive to institutional investors, the chief investment officer of Société Générale’s UK private bank has said.
“We are very alarmed, I’m sure as others are, by the environmental aspects of bitcoin,” Fahad Kamal, the investment boss at SocGen’s Kleinwort Hambros bank, told Insider. He said the energy it used was “staggering.”
As the price of bitcoin has soared in recent months, a number of investors have raised questions over bitcoin’s energy consumption. Yet others argue that bitcoin increasingly uses renewable energy – and will do so more in the future.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NFTs and a Thousand True Fans
https://a16z.com/2021/02/27/nfts-and-a-thousand-true-fans/
In his classic 2008 essay “1000 True Fans,” Kevin Kelly predicted that the internet would transform the economics of creative activities:
To be a successful creator you don’t need millions. You don’t need millions of dollars or millions of customers, millions of clients or millions of fans. To make a living as a craftsperson, photographer, musician, designer, author, animator, app maker, entrepreneur, or inventor you need only thousands of true fans.
A true fan is defined as a fan that will buy anything you produce. These diehard fans will drive 200 miles to see you sing; they will buy the hardback and paperback and audible versions of your book; they will purchase your next figurine sight unseen; they will pay for the “best-of” DVD version of your free YouTube channel; they will come to your chef’s table once a month.
Kelly’s vision was that the internet was the ultimate matchmaker, enabling 21st century patronage. Creators, no matter how seemingly niche, could now discover their true fans, who would in turn demonstrate their enthusiasm through direct financial support.
But the internet took a detour. Centralized social platforms became the dominant way for creators and fans to connect. The platforms used this power to become the new intermediaries — inserting ads and algorithmic recommendations between creators and users while keeping most of the revenue for themselves.
The good news is that the internet is trending back to Kelly’s vision. For example, many top writers on Substack earn far more than they did at salaried jobs. The economics of low take rates plus enthusiastic fandom does wonders. On Substack, 1,000 newsletter subscribers paying $10/month nets over $100K/year to the writer.
Crypto, and specifically NFTs (non-fungible tokens), can accelerate the trend of creators monetizing directly with their fans. Social platforms will continue to be useful for building audiences (although these too should probably be replaced with superior decentralized alternatives), but creators can increasingly rely on other methods including NFTs and crypto-enabled economies to make money.
NFTs are blockchain-based records that uniquely represent pieces of media. The media can be anything digital, including art, videos, music, gifs, games, text, memes, and code.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Likaista rahaa
Kun bitcoinin hinta nousee, sen ilmastopäästöt kasvavat. Nyt ne ovat jo samaa luokkaa kuin koko Suomen.
https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11807872
Kryptovaluutta bitcoinin hiilijalanjälki on mittava. Sen ilmastopäästöt ovat viimeistään nyt nousseet samaan luokkaan kuin koko Suomen.
Näin arvioi ilmastotaloustieteilijä Christian Stoll, joka on perehtynyt kryptovaluuttojen hiilijalanjälkeen yhdysvaltalaisessa MIT-huippuyliopistossa ja Münchenin teknisessä yliopistossa.
– Bitcoinin lisäksi on satoja muita kryptovaluuttoja, jotka lisäävät tähän lukuun vielä puolet lisää, Stoll sanoo sähköpostihaastattelussa.
Päästöt aiheutuvat kryptovaluutan kovasta energiankäytöstä, joka nousee ja laskee samassa tahdissa kuin bitcoinin hinta.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/bitcoin-s-energy-use-is-staggering-and-a-worry-for-big-investors-kleinwort-investment-chief-says-1030131653
Tomi Engdahl says:
Satoshi Nakamoto owns about 5% of the bitcoin market. If their 1.1 million cache was transferred, bitcoin prices could plummet, Coinbase said.
Coinbase says the entire crypto market could be destabilized if Bitcoin’s anonymous creator is ever revealed or sells their $30 billion stake
https://trib.al/KDX6rMX
Coinbase on Thursday released its documents for going public through a direct listing.
In the filing, the trading platform cites Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity as a risk factor.
The creator’s cache of bitcoins could wreak havoc on the market if Nakamoto sold their collection.
In the filing, the digital trading platform cited as a risk factor Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto — the pseudonym used by the person or group of people who created bitcoin.
If the identity of the creator was revealed, it could cause bitcoin prices to deteriorate, according to the filing.
Nakamoto could negatively affect Coinbase, the company said, and destabilize the entire crypto market if the creator decided to transfer his bitcoins, which are valued at over $30 billion.
Bitcoin’s value has largely been driven by its deflationary tendencies. If 1.1 million bitcoins were released into the market, the digital currency’s price would almost surely fall.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bitcoin’s Long-Term Value Doubted Due to ESG, Tighter Rules
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-01/bitcoin-s-long-term-value-doubted-due-to-esg-tighter-regulation
‘Stay away’ from largest cryptocurrency, BCA Research warns
But Citi remains bullish, saying Bitcoin is at a tipping point
Bitcoin is nursing losses after its worst weekly plunge in almost a year and on one view its longer term outlook could be even worse because of environmental concerns and tightening regulations.
The sheer amount of energy needed to mine Bitcoin and the prospect that governments will create more obstacles for the largest cryptocurrency point to the token losing “most of its value over time,” BCA Research Inc. said.
The expense and slowness of Bitcoin transactions make it “unsuitable as a medium of exchange,” BCA Research Chief Global Strategist Peter Berezin wrote in the report released Friday. In addition, environmental, social and governance-focused funds are likely to shun companies associated with Bitcoin due to the large energy consumption by miners on computer networks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Goldman Sachs To Launch Crypto Trading Operation This Month After Bitcoin’s Big Surge
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2021/03/01/goldman-sachs-to-launch-crypto-trading-operation-this-month-after-bitcoins-big-surge/?utm_campaign=forbes&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_term=Gordiey
Banking powerhouse Goldman Sachs is setting up a cryptocurrency trading desk after backing away from a previous effort to enter the market after bitcoin crashed in 2018, making it the latest institutional player to plow into cryptocurrencies amid an eye-popping surge in their values.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New York Times:
China’s electronic yuan or eCNY is now being tested in Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Beijing; no major country is as far along with a homegrown digital currency
China Charges Ahead With a National Digital Currency
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/01/technology/china-national-digital-currency.html
The electronic Chinese yuan is now being tested in cities such as Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing. No other major power is as far along with a homegrown digital currency.
Annabelle Huang recently won a government lottery to try China’s latest economics experiment: a national digital currency.
After joining the lottery through the social media app WeChat, Ms. Huang, 28, a business strategist in Shenzhen, received a digital envelope with 200 electronic Chinese yuan, or eCNY, worth around $30. To spend it, she went to a convenience store near her office and picked out some nuts and yogurt. Then she pulled up a QR code for the digital currency from inside her bank app, which the store scanned for payment.
“The journey of how you pay, it’s very similar” to that of other Chinese payments apps, Ms. Huang said of the eCNY experience, though she added that it wasn’t quite as smooth.
China has charged ahead with a bold effort to remake the way that government-backed money works, rolling out its own digital currency with different qualities than cash or digital deposits. The country’s central bank, which began testing eCNY last year in four cities, recently expanded those trials to bigger cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, according to government presentations.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bitcoin surges toward $50,000 amid China’s latest crypto crackdown
https://www.rt.com/business/516952-bitcoin-surges-china-ban-mining/
The world’s top cryptocurrency, bitcoin, continued to rally on Tuesday, pushing above $49,000 during early trading. The rally comes as the Chinese government plans to ban crypto mining in the country.
The Chinese northern region of Inner Mongolia, the global crypto mining hotspot, is banning cryptocurrency mining. Regional authorities are expected to bar all new projects and to shut down existing activities.
According to the draft plan, revealed by the Inner Mongolia Development and Reform Commission, the mining operations will be halted in April 2021. The ban comes as part of broader measures to cut down consumption of energy by the world’s second biggest economy.
Inner Mongolia, which has become a favorite among the crypto industry players due to its cheap power, aims to hold down energy consumption growth to some 1.9 percent in 2021. The ban involves reassessing such energy-intensive sectors as steel and coal.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samantha Hissong / Rolling Stone:
Kings of Leon to be one of the first bands to debut an album as part of an NFT package, with tokens unlocking perks like limited-edition vinyl and concert seats — The band’s revolutionary tokens will unlock special perks like limited-edition vinyl and front row seats to future concerts
Kings of Leon Will Be the First Band to Release an Album as an NFT
https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/kings-of-leon-when-you-see-yourself-album-nft-crypto-1135192/
The band’s revolutionary tokens will unlock special perks like limited-edition vinyl and front row seats to future concerts
On Friday, Kings of Leon will release their new album, titled When You See Yourself, in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) — becoming the first band to ever do so.
The band is actually dropping three types of tokens as part of a series called “NFT Yourself,” people involved in the project tells Rolling Stone. One type is a special album package, while a second type offers live show perks like front-row seats for life, and a third type is just for exclusive audiovisual art. All three types of tokens offer art designed by the band’s longtime creative partner Night After Night; the smart contracts and intelligence within the tokens were developed by YellowHeart, a company that wants to use blockchain technology to bring value back to music and better direct-to-fan relationships.
A quick rundown: NFTs are a type of cryptocurrency, but instead of holding money, they can hold assets like art, tickets, and music. NFTs operate on a blockchain, which is a publicly accessible and transparent network — meaning anyone can see the details of any NFT transaction. Computers involved in the transactions become part of the network, which keeps updating and can’t be hacked due its nature as many-headed hydra. In the case of NFTs, their value becomes subjective and therefore fluctuates, kind of like stocks.
NFTs previously had a a relatively underground following made up of DJs and producers. But these digital tokens have gone mainstream in the last year, as many musicians sought out additional revenue streams in the concertless era of the pandemic. The likes of Portugal. The Man, Shawn Mendes, Grimes, and Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda have gotten on board in recent weeks.
Kings of Leon’s album will be released everywhere albums are released — Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon — but the NFT version available on YellowHeart will be the only product with special perks. The token, priced at $50, includes enhanced media — kind of like an alternate, moving album cover — as well as a digital download of the music, and limited-edition vinyl. The sale of the album NFTs opens on Friday at 12 p.m. E.T. and continues for two weeks. After that time, no more will be made, and the NFT becomes a tradable collectible.
“Over the last 20 years — two lost decades — we’ve seen the devaluation of music,” Katz tells Rolling Stone. “Music has become great at selling everything except music. There’s been a race to the bottom where, for as little money as possible, you have access to all of it. Previously, it cost $20 to go get one song.” He believes streaming’s subscription-based pro rata model irreparably hurts artists, and NFTs will make modern fans want to own music again: “It’s early stages, but in the future, I think this will be how people release their tracks: When they sell a 100,000 at a dollar each, then they just made $100,000.”
YellowHeart is minting 18 unique-looking “golden tickets” as part of the Kings of Leon NFT release. Out of the 18, the band will auction six and vault the other 12 like a painter would do with a rare piece from a series of art.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What Uses More Power Than Argentina But Doesn’t Dance The Tango?
https://hackaday.com/2021/03/03/what-uses-more-power-than-argentina-but-doesnt-dance-the-tango/
There’s been a constant over the last few weeks’ news, thanks to Elon Musk we’re in another Bitcoin hype cycle. The cryptocurrency soared after the billionaire endorsed it, at one point coming close to $60k, before falling back to its current position at time of writing of around $47k. The usual tide of cryptocurrency enthusiasts high on their Kool-Aid hailed the dawn of their new tomorrow, while a fresh cesspool of cryptocurrency scam emails and social media posts lapped around the recesses of the Internet.
Tomi Engdahl says:
MK Manoylov / theblockcrypto.com:
Amazon Web Services announces that Ethereum is now available on its Amazon Managed Blockchain service, allowing its users to set up Ethereum nodes
Ethereum now an option on Amazon’s managed blockchain service
https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/96875/amazon-managed-blockchain-ethereum
Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing platform providing subsidiary out of the multinational technology company Amazon, announced today that Ethereum is now available on its Amazon Managed Blockchain service.
AWS users can now set up Ethereum nodes and join the public Ethereum main network on the Amazon Managed Blockchain.
“With this launch, AWS customers can easily provision Ethereum nodes in minutes and connect to the public Ethereum main network and test networks such as Rinkeby and Ropsten,” Amazon said in its blog post. “With Amazon Managed Blockchain, customers get secure networking, encryption at rest and transport, secure access to the network via standard open-source Ethereum APIs, fast and reliable syncs to the Ethereum blockchain, and durable elastic storage for ledger data.”
Amazon first began providing blockchain-related services back in 2019, which gave customers initial access to blockchain networks, nodes, decentralized applications, and smart contracts. In addition to Ethereum, Managed Blockchain also supports Hyperledger, a permissioned blockchain software developed by a consortium of companies and organizations.
Announcing General Availability of Ethereum on Amazon Managed Blockchain
https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2021/03/announcing-general-availability-of-ethereum-on-amazon-managed-blockchain/
Tomi Engdahl says:
NFT art: the bizarre world where burning a Banksy can make it more valuable
https://theconversation.com/nft-art-the-bizarre-world-where-burning-a-banksy-can-make-it-more-valuable-156605
A blockchain company has bought a piece of Banksy artwork and burnt it. But instead of destroying the value of the art, they claim to have made it more valuable, because it was sold as a piece of blockchain art.
The company behind the stunt, called Injective Protocol, bought the screen print from a New York gallery. They then live-streamed its burning on the Twitter account BurntBanksy.
But why would anyone buy a piece of art just to burn it? Understanding the answer requires us to delve into the tricky world of blockchain or “NFT” art.
Tomi Engdahl says:
I really don’t understand these NFTs
Twitter founder’s first tweet draws $2.5 million bid at auction
https://www.dw.com/en/twitter-founders-first-tweet-draws-25-million-bid-at-auction/a-56797125
Twitter boss Jack Dorsey’s iconic first tweet on the platform is up for sale at a digital memorabilia auction. Bidding for the tweet has already reached $2.5 million.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is auctioning his first ever tweet on a website that sells tweets as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Bidding had reached $2.5 million (€2.1 million) on Saturday, indicating the potential in selling virtual objects that have been authenticated through blockchain technology.
Even after it is sold, Dorsey’s tweet will remain online for all to see as long as he and the social media platform leave it up.
NFTs are digital files that act as digital signatures to certify who owns online media.
According to the “Valuables @Cent” platform, buying a tweet entails purchasing “a digital certificate of the tweet, unique because it has been signed and verified by the creator.”
“There is only one unique signed version of the tweet, and if the creator agrees to sell, you can own it forever.”
The popularity of NFTs has soared over the past few months. In February, prestigious auction house Christie’s sold an entirely digital artwork.
Tomi Engdahl says:
He could have just sold the copyright of the tweet via a license typed in a simple e-mail. Blockchain is often just useless polution, let alone something that makes art and culture more open, collaborative, social, accessible… https://everestpipkin.medium.com/but-the-environmental-issues-with-cryptoart-1128ef72e6a3
Tomi Engdahl says:
HERE IS THE ARTICLE YOU CAN SEND TO PEOPLE WHEN THEY SAY “BUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES WITH CRYPTOART WILL BE SOLVED SOON, RIGHT?”
Cryptocurrencies and NFTs are an absolute disaster for so many more reasons than the ecological.
https://everestpipkin.medium.com/but-the-environmental-issues-with-cryptoart-1128ef72e6a3
Tomi Engdahl says:
Remember that the fact that something is new and appears to be people spending good money total nonsense doesn’t mean that it is a scam. It just means that is by far the most likely explanation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
So since stupidity is infinite, this can go a long way.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Digitaalisista tiedostoista taotaan uniikkeja kappaleita, joita myydään miljoonilla euroilla
“Mä olen sataprosenttisen varma, että nyt ollaan kuplassa. Mutta sen puhkeamisen jälkeen kaikki teokset eivät menetä arvoaan”, sanoo kryptotaiteilija Vesa Kivinen.
https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11831377
Tomi Engdahl says:
A JPEG Has Sold For $69 Million As NFTs Become The Latest Cryptocurrency Craze
https://uproxx.com/viral/nft-sold-for-69-million-christies-beeple-everydays-the-first-5000-days/
Just like the financial world found itself disrupted by online traders organizing on Reddit to force a surge on GameStop stocks, the art world is having its own technology disruption after a JPEG image sold for $69 million on Thursday.
The piece, “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” by digital artist Beeple, is a “non-fungible token” or NFT that scored a multi-million dollar sale price after being auctioned off by Christie’s. The piece went through two weeks of bidding, and when it ended on its astronomical price, it became the “third-highest auction price for a work by a living artist.” Beeple’s reaction on Twitter pretty much matched the rest of the world.
In a nutshell, think of it as buying an “original print” of a painting, only the painting is the original file for the digital image. And if that sounds like the makings of a very volatile and risky investment, it is. According to The New York Times, NFTs had a brief heyday back in 2017 before the market for them crashed. However, they’ve since come roaring back in recent weeks thanks to Elon Musk’s Tesla company making a $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin. Somehow, it always comes back to Elon.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Just a few months ago, this artist had never sold anything for more than $100. Now the blockchain has changed everything.
An NFT Painting Just Sold For $69 Million
https://futurism.com/nft-painting-sold-69-million
A work by digital artist Mike Winkelmann, better known as “Beeple,” has sold for an astonishing $69 million at world-renowned auction house Christie’s.
The work, titled “The First 5000 Days” was, according to Christie’s, the “first purely digital work of art ever offered by a major auction house.”
“The First 5000 Days” is a non-fungible token, or NFT for short. That means it’s a unique, purely digital asset that is stored on a blockchain, the type of ledger that powers cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, using unique identification codes and metadata.
In other words, it’s a truly one-of-a-kind digital representation of a digital asset — even if the work has been copied a million times online. It’s an official claim to the ownership over the original of a given piece.
That makes it fundamentally different than a simple video or image file you could download from the internet. Since the NFT itself is unique, art collectors are hoping their NFT assets will be able to hold value. They also have hard-coded information embedded in them to always make sure the piece of art can be traced back to its rightful owner — a strong selling point in the theft-prone world of fine art.
The popularity of NFTs has skyrocketed in 2021, signaling that blockchain-based digital assets could become the ownership model of the future. Just this month, Canadian artist Grimes made over $5.8 million in just 48 hours from selling her “WarNymph” digital collection in the form of NFTs. One 50 second file went for a cool $390,000.
“I do view this as the next chapter of art history,” Winkelmann said, according to The Verge. “Now there is a way to collect digital art.”
Critics of the rise of NFTs, however, question the trend and see it as monetizing hype surrounding digital art.
It might also not be as secure as it is made out to be. In exactly the same way NFTs allow artists to sell unique pieces of art, digital works can be sold off as authentic even if they aren’t.
Relying on blockchain technology is also inefficient, and can be environmentally harmful.
There’s always the chance that this is all a fad that will go away, particularly when we’re able to visit art collections and museums in person again once the pandemic eventually comes to a close.
But the immediate excitement over a new approach to art collection has already infected the minds of some very influential — and wealthy — people in the art space.
Does that mean we’ll still be talking about NFTs as much as we are right now in a matter of years? That’s arguably unlikely. When was the last time you heard about CryptoKitties?
Beeple sold an NFT for $69 million
Through a first-of-its-kind auction at Christie’s
https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/11/22325054/beeple-christies-nft-sale-cost-everydays-69-million
Tomi Engdahl says:
Likaista rahaa
Kun bitcoinin hinta nousee, sen ilmastopäästöt kasvavat. Nyt ne ovat jo samaa luokkaa kuin koko Suomen.
https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11807872
Tomi Engdahl says:
Beware Of A Central Bank Digital Currency
7 March, 2021Sin categoríaDaniel Lacalle
https://www.dlacalle.com/en/beware-of-a-central-bank-digital-currency/
In recent weeks Jerome Powell at the Federal Reserve and Christine Lagarde at the European Central Bank have commented on the likelihood of implementing digital currencies in the next years. The positives have been well explained. More transparency, ease of use and lower cost.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Buyer behind $69m record-breaking art sale revealed
https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/beeple-first-nft-artwork-at-auction-sale-buyer-intl-scli/index.html
The buyer of a digital artwork sold for $69 million was named as a crypto asset investor known by the pseudonym “Metakovan,” auction house Christie’s confirmed on Friday.
“Everydays: The First 5000 Days” — the first virtual Non-Fungible Token (NFT) artwork to be sold at a major auction house — closed at $69,346,250 during an online auction on Thursday.
On Friday, Christie’s announced that Metakovan, founder and funder of Metapurse, the largest NFT fund in the world, was behind the astronomical purchase.
The record-breaking sale catapults the artwork’s creator, Mike Winkelmann, who goes by Beeple, near the summit of the most expensive living artists to date, placing him just below David Hockney and Jeff Koons. Hockney’s painting “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)” sold for $90.3 million in 2018, while Koons’ stainless steel sculpture “Rabbit” topped the list at $91.1 million in 2019.
Winkelmann’s collage of 5,000 images that took 13 years to make had a starting bid of just $100, but the high-profile auction drew fevered bidding from over 350 prospective buyers.
Its sale drew heightened attention in the past weeks as more NFT works, including digital art, GIFs and even tweets, have been thrust into the spotlight in what many are calling a digital art boom.
An NFT is a digital token encrypted with the artist’s signature on the blockchain
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Hacker Was Selling a Cybersecurity Exploit as an NFT. Then OpenSea Stepped In
https://au-finance-yahoo-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/au.finance.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/hacker-selling-cybersecurity-exploit-nft-210454908.html
With all the attention currently on non-fungible tokens (NFTs), there may be a new, darker side emerging – the auctioning of cybersecurity exploits.
In a tweet Monday, Matthew Hickey of Hacker House introduced the “zero-day collection,” an “exclusive HackerFantastic authored [zero-day] exploit as part of our NFT proof-of-concept sale series.”
The first digital asset for sale in the collection is for Quake3, and Hickey termed it “highly collectable hacker artwork.”
While it may seem harmless, the idea of selling a cyber exploit raises questions about ethics and identity when in the wrong hands.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jeff John Roberts / Decrypt:
A look at issues arising around digital ownership and NFTs: while they can be a source of revenue for creators, they are spurring new forms of piracy — If there was a contest for acronym of the year, “NFT” would be the clear favorite for 2021. Short for non-fungible tokens …
The NFT Craze Offers Easy Money—And Hard Copyright Questions
https://decrypt.co/60394/nft-craze-easy-money-hard-copyright-questions
NFTs are giving rise to new forms of copyright infringement, but could also provide artists with a means to earn more money on the Internet.
In brief
NFTs have already given rise to new types of copyright infringement, frustrating artists.
In the bigger picture, the problems could be offset by new revenue streams.
If there was a contest for acronym of the year, “NFT” would be the clear favorite for 2021. Short for non-fungible tokens, NFTs are having a moment as fans scramble to “own” pieces of digital art or pop culture moments.
While many people are baffled by the trend, no one can deny it’s been lucrative. In recent weeks, buyers have laid down millions of dollars to acquire NFTs issued by the likes of the artist Beeple and the musician Grimes.
But along with the money and hype, the NFT craze has spurred a debate over what it means to own digital property, and the role of copyright on the Internet. Some suggest NFTs might soothe long-running tensions between creators and tech platforms—while others point out the trend has already given rise to new forms of piracy and rip-offs.
What exactly are people buying?
NFTs are not new. They’ve been around since 2017 when a company called Dapper Labs began selling NFTs in the form of unique digital cat cartoons called CryptoKitties. Those kitties were the subject of a short-lived craze, and some sold for tens of thousands of dollars before the fad quickly fizzled. Now, in 2021, NFTs have come roaring back as the phenomenon has expanded well beyond digital cats.
Today, the range of NFTs for sale includes just about anything that can be captured as a digital file. The band Kings of Leon, for instance, dropped NFT versions of their new album, while the NBA is selling NFT basketball highlights. An original work by street artist Banksy has been burned and turned into an NFT. And last week, the bidding for an NFT of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s first tweet topped $2 million.
All of this raises the question of just what are people buying? After all, any of these NFT artifacts can be easily copied—legally or otherwise—by anyone with an Internet connection and a basic familiarity with software. Why pay to “own” Jack Dorsey’s tweet when you can print out or embed the same tweet on a website like I’ve done below?
NFT enthusiasts will tell you that the artifact they bought might look (or sound) identical to copies on the Internet, but their version comes with a unique ownership certificate. That certificate is inscribed on a blockchain to create a tamper-proof transaction record to show the world that the artwork—or song or sports highlight—belongs to someone. Think of it as a serial number or a signature from the artist.
What this means, at least to NFT boosters, is that they own something unique. Just as an original painting signed by a famous artist is worth millions, even though thousands of college students tape the same image to their dorm room, NFT owners claim that their piece of digital art is the “real” one.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/sijoituskerho/permalink/5222970047744376/
Bitcoin on nyt arvokkaampi kuin maailman kaksi suurinta maksupalvelua yhteensä, Visa ja Mastercard. Tää oli väistämätöntä.
Kukaan ei tietysti voi varmaksi tulevaisuutta ennustaa mutta epäilempä että tässä on kehittymässä kaikkien aikojen krapula finanssialalle…
Tomi Engdahl says:
‘We have seen no indication of compromise of the Nifty Gateway platform’
Hackers stole NFTs from Nifty Gateway users
‘We have seen no indication of compromise of the Nifty Gateway platform’
https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/15/22331818/nifty-gateway-hack-steal-nfts-credit-card
Over the weekend, some users of NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway said hackers stole digital artwork worth thousands of dollars from their accounts. Some people who were hacked also said their credit cards on file were used to purchase additional NFTs, also costing thousands of dollars, which were then transferred away to a hacker’s account.
Nifty Gateway confirmed in a statement to The Verge that some accounts without two-factor authentication had been hacked and that it has been in touch with those affected, but it said it has not seen evidence that its platform was breached. Nifty Giveaway suggests the hackers may have successfully reused login credentials that leaked from other services.
Over the past few weeks, many NFTs have suddenly become high-value assets; Grimes sold a series of 10 digital artworks for around $6 million, for example, and digital artist Beeple sold an NFT for $69 million at Christie’s. So it’s unfortunately not altogether surprising that NFT platforms have become targets for hackers looking to steal the digital artworks or take credit card information to buy more.
WHAT’S AN NFT?
NFTs allow you to buy and sell ownership of unique digital items and keep track of who owns them using the blockchain. NFT stands for “non-fungible token,” and it can technically contain anything digital, including drawings, animated GIFs, songs, or items in video games. An NFT can either be one-of-a-kind, like a real-life painting, or one copy of many, like trading cards, but the blockchain keeps track of who has ownership of the file.
NFTs have been making headlines lately, some selling for millions of dollars, with high-profile memes like Nyan Cat and the “deal with it” sunglasses being put up for auction. There’s also a lot of discussion about the massive electricity use and environmental impacts of NFTs. If you (understandably) still have questions, you can read through our NFT FAQ.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NFTs, explained
I have questions about this emerging… um… art form? Platform?
https://www.theverge.com/22310188/nft-explainer-what-is-blockchain-crypto-art-faq
Tomi Engdahl says:
The NFT market is just getting started, but where is it headed?
Part 1 of 3: Building a new economy on the blockchain
https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/15/the-nft-market-is-just-getting-started-but-where-is-it-headed/?tpcc=ecfb2020
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jonty Wareing / @jonty:
[Thread] Most NFTs’ JSON metadata files point to normal URLs or IPFS gateway URLs run by an NFT startup; if the startups shutter, those NFTs will likely break — Out of curiosity I dug into how NFT’s actually reference the media you’re “buying” and my eyebrows are now orbiting the moon
https://twitter.com/jonty/status/1372163423446917122
Out of curiosity I dug into how NFT’s actually reference the media you’re “buying” and my eyebrows are now orbiting the moon
The NFT token you bought either points to a URL on the internet, or an IPFS hash. In most circumstances it references an IPFS gateway on the internet run by the startup you bought the NFT from.
Oh, and that URL is not the media. That URL is a JSON metadata file
The NFT token is for this JSON file hosted directly on Nifty’s servers:
https://api.niftygateway.com/beeple/100010001/
THAT file refers to the actual media you just “bought”. Which in this case is hosted via a @cloudinary
CDN, served by Nifty’s servers again.
So if Nifty goes bust, your token is now worthless. It refers to nothing. This can’t be changed.
“But you said some use IPFS!”
Let’s look at the $65m Beeple, sold by Christies. Fancy.
That NFT token refers directly to an IPFS hash (http://ipfs.io). We can take that IPFS hash and fetch the JSON metadata using a public gateway:
So, well done for referring to IPFS – it references the specific file rather than a URL that might break!
…however the metadata links to “https://ipfsgateway.makersplace.com/ipfs/QmXkxpwAHCtDXbbZHUwqtFucG1RMS6T87vi1CdvadfL7qA”
This is an IPFS gateway run by http://makersplace.com, the NFT-minting startup.
Who will go bust one day
You might say “Just refer to the IPFS hash in _both_ places!”
Well …no. IPFS only serves files as long as a node in the IPFS network _intentionally_ keeps hosting it.
Which means when the startup who sold you the NFT goes bust, the files will probably vanish from IPFS too
In short: Right now NFT’s are built on an absolute house of cards constructed by the people selling them.
It is likely that _every_ NFT sold so far will be broken within a decade.
Will that make them worthless? Hard to say
“NFT startups are long-game blackmailers” is an entertaining concept
This creates a pretty solid exit plan for makersplace if they run into financial problems – whoever owns the $65M Beeple is going to pretty motivated to buy the site or fund it
It’s astounding how they’re being successfully marketed as a non tangible proof of ownership forever disconnected from anything that might happen in the real world
I def look forward to the day when we find out that the video/image files being referenced in the .json were hosted in a public cloud “bucket” someplace, w/ insufficient security, so someone deleted/encrypted them..
Out of curiosity, since the NFT just refers to a json blob that’s supposed to represent an asset, could I create an NFT using a different json blob that represents the same asset?
Is there any logic preventing that or proving the duplicate NFT is a fake?
I’m assuming if you knew about both NFTs, you could see that one came before another on the blockchain. But if I’m selling a duplicate NFT, the other person would need to scour the blockchain to see if any other NFT’s represent the same item (since the hash and json would differ)
Do NFTs imply rights to redistribute? Digital property ownership, aka buy an art and then mass-produce replicas including to other art galleries?
I don’t think so. I understand them to be less useful and more expensive than just buying the copyright and having a notarized legal contract.
Exactly – depends on the legal rights you are obtaining to the art. For example withFND – you do not actually own anything. “Collectors receive a cryptographic token representing the Creator’s Digital Artwork as a piece of property, but do not own the creative work itself.”
I don’t know how buying physical art without the attendant copyrights ever became normalized. It’s ultimately the same problem where I don’t actually own my car because of the software.
My eyes started orbiting when I saw this (someone selling NFT of art without the artist’s consent).