The Rise of NFT: A Breakthrough of Blockchain Technology

In the Blockchain field, there is always a buzzword each year that represents the main trend of that year. In 2017, it was ICO, which triggered a major bull market; in 2019, it was IEO, becoming the focus of exchanges; in 2020, it was DeFi, with liquidity mining attracting significant attention. And in 2021, the undisputed annual keyword is NFT.

The popularity of NFTs can be seen from the following example:

A limited edition pair of socks released in 2019 (UNISOCKS), with an initial price of $12, had risen to $160,000 by 2021.

A rainbow cat GIF meme from ten years ago was made into an NFT and auctioned for $580,000.

Twitter CEO Jack's first tweet was made into an NFT auction, with bids reaching up to $2.5 million.

The player card pack launched by NBA Top Shot has caused a sensation. The animated NFT of James dunking over an opponent sold for a high price of $208,000.

According to data platform statistics, the NFT market transaction volume exceeded $340 million in February 2021, setting a historical record. NBA TopShot accounted for the largest share, with a transaction volume exceeding $225 million.

The popularity of NFTs has expanded from the cryptocurrency sphere to multiple fields such as sports, art, and gaming. Google Trends data shows that the search interest for NFTs first surpassed DeFi at the end of February, and even exceeded ETH in early March. This is undoubtedly the explosive period for NFTs.

Compared to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, NFTs have unexpectedly gained widespread participation and recognition from outsiders, successfully bringing blockchain technology out of niche circles.

The reasons why NFTs have gained such attention are mainly as follows:

1. The uniqueness of NFT. Each NFT has a unique identifier, is non-fungible and indivisible, and can represent a one-of-a-kind digital asset.

2. Blockchain technology ensures the authenticity and ownership of NFTs.

3. NFT allows digital assets to be collected and traded like physical items.

4. NFTs involve fields that the public is interested in, such as sports, art, and gaming, making them easy to understand.

5. NFT provides creators with new monetization channels.

6. The development of trading platforms has made NFT trading more convenient.

7. The cryptocurrency bull market and the pandemic home stay provided fertile ground for the development of NFTs.

8. The celebrity effect has driven the popularity of NFTs.

For ordinary investors, there are mainly two ways to participate in NFT:

1. Invest in cryptocurrencies related to the NFT concept, such as ENJ, FLOW, CHZ, etc.

2. Directly invest in specific NFT products, such as CryptoPunks, NBA Top Shot cards, and crypto artworks.

NFT is changing people's perception of digital assets. It allows traditional artworks to be sliced and circulated, enabling ordinary people to participate in high-end collections. In the future, NFTs may bring revolutionary changes to more fields.

Overall, NFTs represent an important direction for the expansion of blockchain technology into broader fields. Its development potential and influence deserve our continued attention.