in the world of crypto, and that some of our illustrated guides may no longer represent ongoing conditions on the ground by the time you read this book.
Finally, we assume that you know we are not fiduciaries, and we do not provide investment advice. The marketplaces we describe and the step-by-step guides we provide for buying and selling NFTs are meant to be demonstrative and informative.
Icons Used in This Book
Throughout this book, we use the following icons to guide your expectations and direct your attention to certain pieces of information.
Beyond the Book
In addition to the material in the print or ebook you’re reading right now, this book comes with a free access-anywhere Cheat Sheet with some additional tips for your learning pleasure as well as access to copy-and-paste-able code that should prove helpful in your pursuit to join the nifty world of NFTs. To get this Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and type NFTs For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the Search box.
Where to Go from Here
As obvious as this sounds, we recommend that you begin with Chapter 1. From there, you can choose your own adventure based on whether you’re more interested in trading, minting, or thinking up imaginative uses of NFTs.
You don’t have to read the entire book to understand select topics. We guide you as appropriate if certain sections or chapters require knowledge from an earlier section or chapter in the book.
Let’s get started!
Part 1
Getting Started with NFTs
IN THIS PART …
Discover the world of non-fungible tokens.
Meet the very first NFT: CryptoKitties.
Find out how to own your own NFTs.
Learn about current and potential uses for NFTs.
Chapter 1
Introducing Non-Fungible Tokens
IN THIS CHAPTER
It all starts with Bitcoin: the original blockchain-based cryptoasset. With the latest run-up in Bitcoin prices (see Figure 1-1), the Internet is buzzing about crypto again. In fact, Google search trends within the US show that Googlers are now as curious about Bitcoin as they are about the country’s new president (see Figure 1-2), and interest in NFTs has naturally surged with the Bitcoin tide (see Figure 1-3).
With wild and exciting accounts of art-burning ceremonies and million-dollar NFTs, a mix of amazement, confusion, and even disdain surrounds this mostly “normal” but misunderstood digital creature.
In this chapter, we walk you through the basics of NFTs — what they are, how they work, and what they’re used for. The purpose is to provide you with a roadmap to decide which aspects of NFTs you would like to learn more about so that you can customize your reading selections in the chapters that follow.
From https://coincap.io/assets/bitcoin.
FIGURE 1-1: Bitcoin price chart.
FIGURE 1-2: Google Trends comparison of searches for bitcoin versus Biden.
FIGURE 1-3: Google Trends comparison of searches for nft over time.
Beginning at the Beginning: What Is a Non-Fungible Good?
As you’ve likely learned from friends or Google searches before even purchasing this book, NFT stands for non-fungible token. Although tokens themselves are a relatively new development, the idea of grouping fungible and non-fungible goods is not.
Think of dollar bills, shares of Microsoft stock, and Bitcoin — each represent a defined set where items within the set are fungible. Put simply, we don’t care which dollar bills we receive as long as we receive the right quantity, since each dollar bill fulfills the same purpose and obligations as another.
Non-fungible goods are also a regular and far more prevalent part of our lives. Apples at the grocery store, orchids from the florist, and tickets to an upcoming concert — we inspect our fruit and our flowers to select the ones that are less wilted or bruised. With concerts,
