Non-fungible tokens (NFT) are one of the essentials in the metaverse culture these days. Current teenagers who can be actual users of the metaverse are naturally exposed to NFTs born in their culture, but generations after, millennials often encounter it as a type of investment. The problem here is that the NFT that people perceive is changing from a culture to an investment.
Recently, interest in non-fungible tokens (NFT) has been growing in the stock market, and there is talk of a rise in stock prices just by mentioning NFTs.
NFT uses codes generated by blockchain technology to give uniqueness to tangible and intangible assets to have artificial scarcity. Since NFTs have intrinsic values, they should be viewed as assets, not currency. In addition, there is a hash value, which is a unique identification mark, so it is an advantage that it is impossible to forge or falsify an asset. This makes it possible to price digital files, such as photos, video images, and audio, and anyone can sell their own NFTs. Because of the advantage of building a creator-centered economy, NFTs are increasingly being used in the fields of culture and art. However, just because the stock prices have risen does not necessarily mean that the business is excellent. Other than the high expectation that NFTs will be used as goods in the digital economy, there is no proof of how they will generate profits in the future. In addition, as anyone can issue NFTs at no cost, supply will likely exceed demand in the future.
If we interpret this from the point of view of modern business here, there is a possibility that companies trying to survive oversupply in the market will come up with a specialized strategy. There is also the view that if companies have conflicting strategies and competition starts, people will think that NFTs will be established as a culture rather than speculation, just like SNS or cafe culture did. This is essentially the same as those who initially thought that blockchain would disappear, now creating a culture of investment and new assets such as NFTs based on this technology. It is an undeniable fact that COVID-19, over the past three years, has played a significant role in the spread of metaverse culture. In addition, the NFT created within it will also be established as one of the digital assets in our lives.
One of the adverse effects of the pandemic on us is the deepening of the digital divide. The information gap between generations can also act as a problem of cultural differences and generational differences. If we can use NFTs, a new technology, as a cultural element, I hope that it will establish itself as a fused culture where we can see and talk about fused culture and art from each other’s point of view.
Reference list
Bang, J. and Kim, S. (2021). The Creative Destruction of Schumpeter in NFT Art. The Korean Society of Culture and Convergence, 43(8), pp.417–435.
Choi, I. (2021). 디지털경제 재화 NFT…풀어야 할 숙제와 문제점. [online] 한스경제(한국스포츠경제). Available at: http://www.sporbiz.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=602851 [Accessed 17 Feb. 2022].
Chris, C. (2021). NFT art and collectibles for beginners : the must have guide for understanding non fungible tokens (NFTs). Publishing Forte.
Kim, B. and Yong, H. (2021). Issues and Perspective on the NFT Art Market. Journal of Digital Art Engineering and Multimedia, 8(3), pp.325–337.
Park, K.-S. (2021). A study on copyright issues as regards NFT art under the Korean copyright system: Focusing on Works of Art. Korea Copyright Commission, 34(3), pp.5–43.
