Why NFTs Are Having An Arty Moment

Art’s valuable digital future, a recent boom in NFT sales and blockchain with an important role in preserving an artist’s legacy.

- Tiana Cline

DEFINITION OF NFT (NON-FUNGIBLE TOKEN) IN THE MERRIAM-WEBSTER DICTIONARY: A unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership (as of a specific digital asset and specific rights relating to it).

THE FIRST THING I TELL PEOPLE when I’m talking to them about NFTs and crypto art is ‘don’t overthink it. When I first entered the space, I didn’t fully understand what I was doing. I had to learn by doing,” says Nigerian-born Prince Jacon Osinachi, a self-taught digital artist who found his voice using Microsoft Word.

Years before NFTs became a thing, Osinachi entered the crypto art space in 2017 when he discovered the R.A.R.E Art platform.

“As an artist, I wanted to show my work beyond Instagram. I wanted to reach a wider audience,” he explains. “They were talking about something called crypto art which means you put your art on the blockchain. A lot of people get to see it and you also get the chance to sell it.”

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are a way of buying or selling anything digital – like art – using cryptocurrency. As little as four years ago, people were not collecting art on the blockchain but Osinachi saw its potential, and the following year, his work was taken to Ethereal Summit (where Edward Snowden was a key speaker this May).