The world is changing faster than ever before - prompting many of us to stand up and take stock of the situation while others race to line their pockets selling things like Tweets. You know - bite-sized messages sent via the hugely successful Twitter social media platform.
Confused? You're not alone.
What is a Blockchain?
Not dissimilar to notaries, blockchains are like building blocks for data storage. Each "block" contains information on itself along with the blocks directly linked to it, which in turn hold their own data. Validation is a pre-requisite of the system, with blocks continuing to validate one another ad infinitum.
Relying on peer-to-peer (P2P technology), new entries to the network (otherwise known as "nodes") are then provided entire copies of the blockchain.
Nodes validate one another whenever a new block joins the chain, which then get copied to each other's respective node.
Tampering with a block in any way affects its properties - and consequently its "hash". After it is changed, the hash is deemed invalid as it no longer in sync with every block sharing its hash.
Here's where NFTs come in...
The New Kid on the Block: NFT (Non-Fungible Token)
"Non-fungible" is crypto parlance for something unable to be copied. For the first time, it's possible to own an entirely original digital entity - or piece of code. Think of NFTs as digital tokens made up of slightly different data.
Can We Turn Anything into an NFT?
Pretty much. It's possible to tokenise anything digital and add it to a blockchain - from pieces of art, to Tweets, and music.
After a digital piece of code has undergone tokenisation, immaterial sequences made up of 0s and 1s can exchange for eye-watering sums of money.
It's all part of a brave new world, and we're only just beginning to understand it.
NFTs and Online Casinos
It hasn't taken long for NFTs to penetrate the crowded online casino space. One of the first to merge the two was Evolution-owned Red Tiger Gaming, who infused four art pieces of the CryptoPunks franchise into their 2022 innovate online slot release, NFT Megaways.
A couple more studios have jumped on the crypto bandwagon recently, too - like NetGaming with their aptly titled Mutant Ape-inspired creation, Aped, complete with #WAGI multipliers for that added touch of authenticity.
In Summary
Everything in a free market is a considered a commodity. Skin pigments, cars, TVs - you name it - everything holds inherent value determined by their relative cost of exchange. Look at Melanin - which is changing hands nearly 10 times the price of gold.
Whatever next will get the NFT treatment is anybody's guess, but we can't wait to find out.