The internet of assets
Non-fungible tokens (NFT)
A way to represent anything unique as an Ethereum-based asset.
NFTs are giving more power to content creators than ever before.
Powered by smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain.
What are NFTs?
NFTs are tokens that are individually unique. Each NFT has different properties (non-fungible) and is provably scarce. This is different from tokens such as ETH or other Ethereum based tokens like USDC where every token is identical and has the same properties ('fungible'). You don't care which specific dollar bill (or ETH) you have in your wallet, because they are all identical and worth the same. However, you do care which specific NFT you own, because they all have individual properties that distinguish them from others ('non-fungible').
The uniqueness of each NFT enables tokenization of things like art, collectibles, or even real estate, where one specific unique NFT represents some specific unique real world or digital item. Ownership of an asset is publicly verifiable on Ethereum blockchain.
The internet of assets
NFTs and Ethereum solve some of the problems that exist on the internet today. As everything becomes more digital, there's a need to replicate the properties of physical items like scarcity, uniqueness, and proof of ownership in a way that isn't controlled by a central organization. For example, with NFTs, you can own a music mp3 file across all Ethereum based apps and not be bound to one company's specific music app like Spotify or Apple Music. You can own a social media handle that you can sell or swap, but can't be arbitrarily taken away from you by a platform provider.