If only Da Vinci had a computer (NFTs Explained)

Let's imagine for a moment that the greatest artists that we all so cherish were all pirates. Da Vinci was a thief who stole art works of a great artist and named them his! Because if we go into the realm of possibilities, the concept is not very farfetched and as it happens, there are several conspiracy theories about artists and the artworks attributed towards them. We have no instrument of proving the authenticity of these works, rather we blindly trust experts of the field who have a norm of making statements like, 'the manner of the strokes of the painting suggest that it was 'most likely'​ painted by so and so artist'​ . The problem has existed to date and if you consider writing an art, this article might not have been written by me and it will be very difficult to prove if I am or am not the real author.

Blockchain technology provided a solution to this problem. It is by definition a public ledger of transactions and transfers which is duplicated on the several computer systems across the world. The solution is what has come to be known as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). These are artworks in digital formats like images, videos, text or audio that are registered by the author or artist as a Non-Fungible piece (not exchangeable, rare) on a blockchain ledger and all transactions after the registration are recorded and public.

So, if Da Vinci had a computer and had created a digital art piece and registered it as an NFT, the tenth or hundredth owner of that piece would be able to trace it back to Da Vinci or if another artist would have created an art piece and registered it as an NFT, Da Vinci wouldn't be able to steal it.

Since NFTs have hit the market, many people have been flocking to buy them and we have seen sales amounting to millions of dollars at platforms like like Cryptopunks, Crypto Kitties, NBA top shot, etc. Why are people paying so much? The answer is simple; it is for the same reasons one buys physical art. The millionaires and billionaires out there who buy paintings from Picasso or Da Vinci buy them because they are rare, because they want to say and prove that they own it and because they are good investments and can be sold for huge profits (I recently sold an NFT that I bought for $500 for a staggering $20,000).

If you want to know more about what NFTs are and how the process works or if you want to get started by buying or selling NFTs, you can visit some the top Digital Asset marketplaces out there like Nifty Gateway, Super Rare, Rarible, Artsy or NBA Top Shot. You can also check our project, The Infinity Collection where we are featuring needy but deserving artists from third world countries like Pakistan in order to fund the expansion of The BIG. Ventures (Blockchain Innovation and Goodwill). A huge part of The BIG. Ventures will work towards charity and making the world a better place with the power of blockchain.