Recently, I've been seeing plenty of people joining the NFT bandwagon. I was terribly disappointed by their actions because I am fully aware of its high drawbacks and risks of partaking it.
So um, what is the big deal with NFTs, and what are they, you ask?
Disclaimer: While I may be a student of School of Computing and Informatics in UTB, my knowledge about cryptocurrency is still at best, a noob level as this technology is not taught in my course. I will try to explain this in the simplest of manners in a way everyone will get it.
WHAT THE HELL IS CRYPTOCURRENCY?
Cryptocurrency is a form of currency where transactions are secured using an online ledger technology called blockchain.
Blockchain is a system where a complex string of numbers called nodes are connected and verified by computer networks around the world to create a 'block' (hence, 'blockchain').
Most cryptocurrency require you to pay an up-front fees to 'mint' these virtual currency, which can vary depending on the transaction volume.
There are many kinds of virtual currency, but the most popular ones are Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH).
SO, WHAT ARE NFTs?
(this is a perfect summarization of it but i will explain it myself below as well)
NFTs are Non-Fungible Tokens for short, which is basically an asset that cannot be altered or replaced by something else, which is verified using the blockchain technology.
It does not always have to be art. NFTs can go from music, in-game content or even a website.
Think of it like buying a one-of-a-kind Pokemon Trading Card Game.
WHY IS IT TRENDING?
NFTs allow you to transfer ownership rights to anyone who buys it. Although, the person who owns the NFTs still have the copyrights and the right to reproduce the work itself. Also the value of each copy of NFTs are not the same as the original copy.
WHY AM I AGAINST IT?
I can just say that it destroys the environment for short, but the thing is, not everyone agrees to that statement. I know I won't be able to convince everyone but I'll do my best to elaborate my personal reasons to not partaking in NFTs.
1 - It's not officially approved by the local monetary authority.
I was being told that AMBD (Authoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam) does not endorse any form of cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin and ETH. While I can see the potential in the technology behind it, I personally think that how cryptocurrencies is run on decentralized system and high economic risks are the factors on why it is not approved by the local monetary authority.
2 - NFTs are not protected under any law.
Because of the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency (NFTs included), you cannot sue the NFT platform if you're making a loss from selling NFTs or your art is stolen and sold as NFTs.
3 - It's not worth investing unless you're rich. Like, VERY RICH.
Investing in NFTs require you to pay huge amount of 'gas' fees to mint them, and not to mention that the prices fluctuate overtime. Aside from that, it's also not economically and environmentally sustainable at the moment due to the frequent crashes and cryptocurrency uses A LOT OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND TONS OF GPUs (looks at the rising prices of GPUs). If you're not financially well-prepared, be prepared to go broke.
A lot of people compared investing in NFTs and cryptocurrency to Ponzi scheme and pyramid scheme, which all promises high rewards but ends up scamming the financially insecure victims more.
It's like investing in stocks but you have higher chances of earning losses than gains, which is absolutely not fair!
4 - I don't like the culture built into it.
A lot of the NFT art I see are always the same trend, from abstract but nonsensical 3D art, ugly pixel art of the same dude in hoodies to ugly, eye-destroying art of the same monkeys, just with different colours. There is no creativity and fun in NFTs, people only care about the monetary value. It's not fun!!
5 - NFTs don't buy me cat food or anime merch!!
What good does NFTs are if it's not even approved by the local monetary authorities? Even if 1 ETH is equivalent to thousands of bucks here, I can't use it to buy anything here because we do not accept bitcoins or any form of cryptocurrency in this country just yet.
6 - [NEW] The use of cryptocurrency (NFT trading included) is forbidden according to the Islamic Law.
As a muslim myself I'm fully aware of the uncertainties in cryptocurrency transactions, and given how recently the Indonesian fatwa declared cryptocurrency haram (aka forbidden), I do not wish to get myself involved with financial trading that is solely relied on unpredictable results and may lead to losing a lot of money. To me, like I said above, NFT trading is like paying for gacha with real money but you only get the character details and not being able to use it in-game for battles.
IN CONCLUSION
Unless there is a way to minimize the energy consumption of using blockchain technology, and a law is enforced to protect buyers and sellers from fraud in cryptocurrency, I do not wish to delve into NFTs or any form of cryptocurrency.
I make art to have fun and to share my love of telling stories visually. If I make art to worry about the monetary value of it, then it's no longer fun!
I'm also not even into business, but even if I sell my art for money, I still prefer if people genuinely would buy it because they love my art.
I don't like that the NFT culture is built entirely on profits. It's not fun.
If you want to support an artist you can just buy from their shops and commission them. Simple. Plus, Bruneians, you can now receive money internationally by linking your Payoneer account to your Buymeacoffee account (Check out my guide here). No need to use some shitty crypto BS.
ARTICLES WORTH READING:
fuzzyren is an illustrator from Brunei who is currently in her second year of Creative Multimedia degree in UTB. When she is not drawing, she indulges herself in video games and watching anime.