"Fungible" is a word you don't hear often in conversation, but the main premise is simple: when something is fungible, it indicates it can be swapped or traded for an identical object of the same value.
Fungible assets include physical money and bitcoin. This implies they have three broad characteristics:
There are obviously other factors in determining what makes something a fungible asset, but for the purpose of understanding NFTs, these are the three most important concepts.
Non fungible assets are different from physical currencies and Bitcoin since they have a completely unique value and can’t be easily traded or bartered for another non fungible assets (unless both parties involved decide they share the same value, which probably never happens).
If I order a customised birthday cake for a friend, I cannot return to the bakery and swap it for another cake since the cake I have is one-of-a-kind. Similarly, if I own an NFT, I have a one-of-a-kind digital thing that cannot be replaced with an identical one.
So, now that we understand the difference between fungible and non-fungible, what are NFTs?
The official definition of an NFT (Non-Fungible Token) is a blockchain-based monetised record of unique noninterchangeable information that represents a piece of digital media. In simple terms, an NFT is computer code known as a proof of ownership certificate that represents ownership of digital items. The certificate contains a series of specific elements that denote its uniqueness and record of ownership, found in its identification code and metadata.
You might wonder why any of this is important. Well, it's what distinguishes each NFT as a valuable collection piece. How much value, specifically? That differs greatly. An NFT can represent the ownership of anything, whether a GIF file, a work of art, a character or skin from a video game, or even a piece of land.
They are bought and sold online, frequently with cryptocurrency, and they are stored in the Blockchain. Why is this important?