Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been the buzzword across social networks for quite some time. Although around for years, they rose to mainstream popularity between 2020 and 2021.

In 2021, digital artist Mike "Beeple" Winkelmann sold his NFT collage of 5000 pictures titled 'Everydays: The First 5000 Days' for $69.3 million. Mirroring Beeple's success, other popular collections like Cryptokitties, CryptoPunks, HUMAN ONE, and hundreds more raked in millions of dollars during the frenzy.

Rapid adoption echoed the high valuations, sending trading volumes of NFTs surging by nearly 21,000% in 2021 to cross more than $17 billion – an enormous increase compared to the $82 million in comparable volume reached in 2020.

With the emergence of blockchain games, Web3, and the Metaverse, NFTs are quickly becoming the glue that connects these expanding ecosystems. NFTs aren't traditional cryptocurrencies, but an intriguing form of digital assets that are powering new novel use cases.

The Basics

The acronym NFT stands for non-fungible token. Each NFT contains a piece of identifying information that distinguishes it from all others. Since no two NFTs are the same, they can't be traded or exchanged at an equivalent price or broken down into smaller units.

Additionally, they can't be interchanged or replaced, unlike fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies. Although one Bitcoin can be exchanged for another at a 1:1 ratio, just like a dollar bill can be replaced by another dollar bill of equivalent value, NFTs are not interchangeable.

Each NFT has its own cryptographic signature, meaning it can't be forged or manipulated. Although NFTs aren't directly exchangeable for other NFTs, you can trade NFTs on secondary marketplaces, and use them across blockchain games, Web3, and the Metaverse.

How To Get Started?

To get started with NFTs, you'll need a digital wallet and cryptocurrency. The wallet will store your NFTs, and the cryptocurrency will be used to pay for the gas fees required to move the NFT from one wallet address to another. Gas fees vary depending on the network and NFT platform you choose.

Among the available NFT on-ramps, one of the easiest ways to get started is by entering the Binance NFT Marketplace, and even more so if you are an existing Binance user. You can simply log in to your account, access the Binance NFT marketplace, and use your Binance wallet to buy NFTs. You can even list your NFTs for auction on the platform.

One of the most defining characteristics of the Binance NFT marketplace is its cost-efficiency. While most other platforms charge 2.50% to 5.00% transaction fees on secondary transactions and as much as 15.00% on primary transactions, Binance NFT Marketplace has a flat fee of 1.00%, helping users maximize the value of each transaction.

Moreover, compared to other platforms, you can mint your own NFT at a nominal fee of 0.000001 BNB (less than $0.001 at today's market value of BNB).

The Road Ahead

While art, music, and collectibles have a niche audience, gamified NFTs like the ones used in Play-to-Earn (P2E) games, Web3 ecosystems, and Metaverse projects offer new avenues for NFTs to flourish. By introducing true asset ownership and unlocking monetary potential, NFTs harbor the ability to create untold value for their holders.

For instance, the first-ever mafia-themed Metaverse RPG game MOBLANDS recently introduced a new revenue-generating model called "NFT 3.0." This approach unlocks additional utility and business models on top of the game's virtual land and real estate. The first iteration of NFT 3.0 is the game's Digital WEED Farms. These farms are upgradeable and come with revenue-generating business licenses to produce in-game weed. Farm owners earn in-game rewards by simply operating the farm and can also lend their farms to other players to earn a share of the revenue from the borrower.

Another emerging initiative, Fashion League, is a female-led P2E game that aims to unlock new utilities for NFTs by leveraging Web3 and the Metaverse. The game offers an RPG experience focused on fashion alongside a platform to display and monetize digital products. To empower first-time users to enter the world of NFTs, Fashion League offers social play elements and grants players access to a proprietary 3D design tool to create unique clothing designs without prior knowledge.

With the sheer number of emerging platforms and no-code NFT infrastructure flooding the market, it has never been easier to get started. More importantly, NFTs have applications in almost every industry.

New projects are unlocking even more use cases for NFTs, such as NFTs for real estate, healthcare, supply chain management, identity verification, and more. Because they represent a unique source of value, anything of value can theoretically be tokenized, which is precisely where NFTs are heading.