Greetings, programs! Oh, what an occasion we have here before us. Because your rumors are true. We do indeed have in our midst a Gameboy!
The NFT craze is taking over artist and collectors as of late, but what is it about NFTs that is so appealing. NFTs are the current cryptocurrency phenomenon due to go mainstream. If you are new to this whole crypto and NFT’s mumbo jumbo, we got you covered.
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) are digital content that gets recorded and transferred via blockchain technology the same as Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH). Those two tokens are fungible, meaning they can be replaced or exchanged for an identical one of the same value just like fiat money.
NFTs however, are unique and not mutually interchangeable. Meaning that its value is not tied to anything else because of its uniqueness and quantity available. No two NFTs are the same.
But how does that work? Well, people collect all kinds of things like coins, trading cards, sneakers which there exist also a limited quantity, creating scarcity. NFTs are usually used to buy and sell items like skins, trading cards, gifs and images, art even music. Still with me?
As of now we have seen images, gifs, videos and even music. Digital artist Beeple recently sold a collage of his images for a note worthy 69.3 million (roughly 38,500 ETH) just a week ago. NFTs are just getting started with interest growing with each passing day. Not always do NFTs have a physical counterpart, most are just the digital image and smart contract on a blockchain ledger.
It is important to note that depending on what network (market) you use to create your NFT, there is a chance its worth and transferability will exist and remain only on that network. There are several types of tokens which an NFT can take form. The leading is through the Ethereum network marketplaces and purchased with ETH but they can also be purchased with other ERC-20 tokens. Keep in mind that the process of each market and wallet compatibility may vary. The more widely known markets currently are Rarible and OpenSea. More info can be found here.
It is no secret video games hold a place in our hearts. Who can resist nostalgia, memories of blissful childhood past. Mario, zelda and link, sonic, even computer games. Available there is a lot of art in the NFT world. But how will it all or does it hold value?
Run that back
Looking through the market, there is plenty of video game themed art. However, who would just upload a picture of a controller? A photo of a trash can, candle melting, all of whom could hold some sort of value in the future maybe? Looks like supply and demand would not apply to a digital picture, but you would be wrong. Not everything that glitters is gold. Value is in the eye of the beholder they say, but what if an NFT was just the proof of ownership on a decentralized network. Essentially is what crypto is trying to accomplish. Trust less contracts ruled by no one, where no party can go back on their word or state a transaction is fraudulent since there is a blockchain of computers to say the transaction did in fact take effect in the way the contract specified.
Scrolling through Rarible there is an inconspicuous picture of a Rare Gameboy. Cool right. Keep swiping, but wait, one look at the description and in fact what many will just scroll past is in-fact the first tokenized gameboy ever! This is historic to say the least. Not only is there and extremely limited number of this rare gameboy ever produced (2,000 to be exact), but less then 40 have been found in the last 10 years and are in the hands of collectors who will not let go.
The “Imagineer Gameboy Pocket” was a limited edition which GLOWS in The dark, released and only available in japan through imagineer magazine insert. Who knows how many have survived and will surface.
What will happen with this NFT? No one knows, but i bet there is an Ethereum holder somewhere that would love to own the first ever Gameboy sold Via NFT and Ethereum. Why is this important, should we all rush and try to sell our belongings on crypto markets? Not quite. One can argue the value is not the physical gameboy but the NFT itself.
Rare Gems
In the art world, even forgeries can fetch a pretty penny. We all remember the first ever Banksy counterfeit, which in turned gained value in the art world for Banksy collectors. I recommend checking out “exit through the gift shop”, a documentary on Banksy if you are unfamiliar with the artist. You wont regret it.
The first ever rare and tangible gameboy to be listed for exchange in the Rarible crypto NFT market. That is headlines on its own, don't take it from me, but i suspect more will follow. Will we see a trend in the selling of actual collectibles via NFT which include a physical counterpart?
Who will own the first ever NFT Gameboy. Who will help the seller of this historic listing transcend into the digital world. A collector in the future will have the rights to say “this is the first NFT Gameboy that ever existed, its part of history”, and its also an already rare and highly coveted item IRL. Most people that have not transcended into the digital world may not see the value, but someone in the Ethereum realm might see it as a steal or an investment opportunity perhaps. Time will tell. Where will this rare gameboy end up? What does the future of the NFT world look like. It takes only a basic understanding of crypto to see what will happen. Just remember, the pieces of paper in your pocket are not worth the paper its printed on.
