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on-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have exploded in popularity over the last year. And, if you’re anything like me, it took three articles, two YouTube videos and one finance-bro to finally understand what they are and why it already feels like a gendered conversation—or a marketplace catered to men. Once you get past all the lofty jargon, they’re really not as complicated as they seem. NFTs are “cryptographic tokens,” or digital works of art. They can be completely original or represent real-world objects, such as studio art. Or, most commonly, they take the form of digital creations that already exist on the internet—like the Nyan Cat, celebrity tweets or video clips of NBA games.1 According to Jazmin Goodwin, a writer for CNN Business, “NFTs transform digital works of art and other collectibles into one-of-a-kind, verifiable assets that are easy to trade on the blockchain.”2 But if the digital art that is typically used in NFTs already exists elsewhere, whether in the real world or online, how can it be a one-of-a-kind? This is where NFTs get tricky, and where the “non-fungible” aspect comes in.
What
Finance-Bros Won't Tell You About
NFTs
MISOGYNY AND WOMEN’S POSITION IN THE NFT MARKETPLACE Written by Kora Quinn, Arts Editor Graphic by Riya Shah, Contributing Graphic Artist
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Something that is “fungible” is interchangeable, like trading a one-dollar bill for a different one-dollar bill: they’re valued exactly the same. Alternatively, something that is “non-fungible” can’t be replaced with something else because it is completely unique. This applies to NFTs in that they have unique identifying codes, or digital signatures, with built-in authentication that makes it impossible for them to be exchanged for something else.3 Even if people can view that artwork online for free, only the owner of the NFT will have the bragging rights to it. ¹ Robyn Conti & John Schmidt, “What Is An NFT? Non-Fungible Tokens Explained,” Forbes, Feb. 15, 2022. ² Jazmin Goodwin, “What is an NFT? Non-fungible tokens explained,” CNN Business, Nov. 10, 2021. ³ Robyn Conti & John Schmidt, “What Is An NFT? Non-Fungible Tokens Explained,” Forbes, Feb. 15, 2022.