Tech
A Lil Nas X video will be turned into a TikTok official NFT
We're so very tired.
Lil Nas X, ever one to release a stunt project, is going to get an official TikTok NFT, according to Variety. The NFT will be based on the “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” video. It’s unclear if the artist plans to sell said NFT, but if he does, history suggests he probably stands to make a pretty penny.
Grimes and other celebrities are also getting NFTs from TikTok. But on top of some recent flattering comments about him made by Dolly Parton, Lil Nas X is having a good week.
Pyramid scheme — Even though NFTs are just digital objects of inscrutable value, a huge market for them has boomed. Just one marketplace for buying and selling NFTs, OpenSea, last month reported it surpassed $1 billion in sales in a single week. But an insider trading scandal at that company highlights a reality of NFTs, which is that there’s a lot of scamming going on. People hope by jacking up the price of an NFT, other people will see the potential to make some money and themselves purchase the NFT off the last buyer, and so on and so forth.
Either way, maybe someone will see value in buying the “exclusive” right to say they own the Lil Nas X NFT. Anyone can view it, but only one person will have the certificate of authenticity. That could have some inherent value to someone, but more likely a person would buy the NFT in hopes that they can flip it on the open market for a profit.
Hype cycle — There’s hope in some corners that the hype cycle surrounding NFTs will die down, celebrities will stop auctioning off meaningless artwork, and we’ll be left in a place where small creators are able to make something of a living by selling creations to their biggest fans. You could imagine supporting your favorite creators and collecting items like you might have baseball cards in the past. But we’re still in a period where everyone is seeing the mega sales of NFTs and hoping they can get in on the action. A lot of inexplicable sales, like the $1.3 million purchase of a rock picture, are really just people hoping that they can create artificial demand and sell their NFT to the next sucker.
