[Book Sip] Find a New Investment Method... 'NFTs Are New to Me'

Some sentences encapsulate the entire content of a book, while others instantly resonate with the reader’s heart, creating a connection with the book. Here, we excerpt and introduce such meaningful sentences from books. - Editor’s note

Money is pouring into the world through NFTs, which turn digital images that can be copied into unique, one-of-a-kind works. The author, who actively works as an NFT artist releasing works on Bithumb and MetaGalaxia and receiving love calls from leading domestic NFT platforms, says, “Just like the era of YouTube creators, the era of NFT creators has arrived.” It is now an era where anyone can easily buy or create NFT works. This book contains ways to recognize good NFT works and invest in them, as well as how to create NFT works, aimed at investors considering NFT investment and those dreaming of becoming NFT creators. It comprehensively analyzes and organizes the trends of the NFT market, told only by Korea’s top pop art artist and active NFT professional artist.

YouTube brought changes to the video media realm, and NFTs are bringing changes to the art world. Beeple, who became the center of attention through NFT art, was previously an artist who did not receive much attention in the mainstream art world. This figure quickly rose to be mentioned alongside global star artists like Jeff Koons and David Hockney, with his work’s price ranking third in the global art market.

This change will expand beyond the art world to everyone. It has truly become a world where a person who has never even held a brush until yesterday can receive more attention than professional artists. In an era where everyone can be both consumers and creators, NFTs are leading this change.

There is a saying that ‘Otaku’ change the world. A fan-based consensus means the collective empathy held by people who passionately love a certain subject. As with all collectible markets, forming a fan base is very important in the NFT market’s collections as well.

Recently, a single nugget sold at McDonald’s was auctioned off for $99,997 (about 110 million KRW). From a general public perspective, this might be hard to understand, but because the shape of this ‘McNugget’ resembles a character from the game Among Us, fans of that game competed fiercely to win the auction. The same goes for the cat-raising game CryptoKitties mentioned earlier. The reason rare newborn cats could be sold at high prices was because of the game’s fan base.

-03 How can the value of NFTs be known? From the factors of popular consensus

You need to look at what kind of thematic awareness the artist has, how long they have studied that theme, and what techniques they use. It is good to try changes with various techniques, but it is better to have affection for artists who develop with consistent thematic awareness rather than those whose themes are inconsistent. Also, how much that thematic awareness can gain popular empathy or whether it holds the seeds of new change is important.

Alternatively, it is good to find out which artists your favorite artists like. There may be so-called ‘artists known to those in the know’ who are not yet widely recognized by the public.

When releasing NFT works, the edition quantity (the total number of releases for one work) must be strictly managed. Once you decide the total number of releases for the image you created, no more than that number should be released. This is a basic rule and courtesy that creators must keep for collectors. For example, if an image is released as a total of 100 editions, the total number of that work released worldwide must never exceed 100.

Before I register a work, someone might secretly steal the image file from my computer and release an NFT under their own name. Then, from the start, the issuer would be ‘someone else,’ and there would be no way to prove that it was originally my work. If any profit arises from this image, it would be even more frustrating.

To prevent this, it is necessary to publicly disclose from before the NFT release that ‘I am the original creator of this image.’ The easiest way is to post your working process on social media like Facebook or Instagram. If you can implement larger-scale measures, holding events such as exhibitions and getting media coverage is also good.

Written by Kim Ildong | Sejong Books | 268 pages | 17,000 KRW