Taking the fun out of fungible

Let’s cut to the chase: a lot of people who think they’ve recently bought digitally verified unique artworks will soon discover these artworks are not as permanent or as verified as they’d hoped.

The whole non-fungible token craze is a mess. The technical concept? Very sound. Entirely valid. Blockchains are a genius solution to questions of digital validation. There’s major concerns over energy demands, but that’s its own problem.

No, the issue with NFTs is the proliferation of startups minting tokens that aren’t actually storing anything remotely as permanent as buyers think they are.

So what’s in an NFT? Not the actual artwork, if that’s what you thought it might be. No, what you ‘own’ is a link to a place online where the thing you own is meant to be stored. And all too many of these links are being created with a direct reference to the server of the company that created the NFT.

If that company doesn’t outlive the NFT hype cycle? That thing you bought will become a dead link. And that blockchain reference point can never be changed – that’s the beauty of how blockchains work, and that’s the huge issue with what’s happening right now.

Even the massive US$69.3 million sale of the Beeple artwork is an NFT that references one of the NFT startups that could go belly up one day. And some researchers are already finding links to some of the big NFT sales from the past two months are ALREADY failing to load properly.

If you want to buy digital permanence, you need to know what you’re actually buying.

What’s a ‘good’ NFT reference? If the file lives on Arweave.org, and the blockchain reference goes there, the thing you bought isn’t going anywhere. A deeper look at the ‘permaweb’ is a discussion for another time… but it’s a good example of the right way to do NFT art.

Byteside supporter giveaway for March: EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid

Please support Byteside! This month’s supporters are in the running to win these wireless earbuds from EPOS, a very nice prize indeed.

www.byteside.com  •  Share

Must Read

Non-fungible tokens are revolutionising the art world – and art theft

More thoughts on the wider questions of what’s going on with NFT art right now.

www.theguardian.com  •  Share

Crypto art carbon calculator shuts down due to 'abuse and harassment'

Cryptoart.wtf, a popular crypto art carbon calculator that allowed us to see the real impact the NFT buying craze is having on our poor planet, is shutting down.

earther.gizmodo.com  •  Share

Podcasts

One week of Bits is in the books

Check out the first week of Bits bulletins wherever you like to get your podcasts. From California making ‘dark patterns’ illegal to Adobe’s Super Resolution and the environmental costs of one hour of Netflix, we’ve covered a lot of interesting tech news in just four minutes a day.

www.byteside.com  •  Share

Exclusive: Ruslan Kogan on the 15th anniversary of his online retail empire

From failing to launch one of the first Android phones to battles with Gerry Harvey, we exclusively talk to Kogan himself about all things Kogan.

www.byteside.com  •  Share

The future of the Australian games industry in 2021

We talk to Ron Curry, CEO of IGEA, about the Australian video game development survey for 2020, covering the good, the bad and the politics.

www.byteside.com  •  Share

Interesting

How does the brain interpret computer languages?

Neuroscientists detect a distinct brain network that grows stronger with practice.

arstechnica.com  •  Share

AbleGamers COO is on a mission to raise $1 million by his 40th birthday

A million dollars can go a very long way when put to the right purpose. For Steven Spohn it’s about building an accessiblity legacy.

www.byteside.com  •  Share

These fancy Bluetooth dice are perfect for your online D&D group

Bluetooth dice made by a former triple-A game developer promise to make your online D&D and tabletop games even easier - and stylish.

www.byteside.com  •  Share