The Rise of NFTs: A Digital Revolution in Ownership and Creativity

                                                        Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash                                                        

You’ve probably heard of NFTs and blockchain technology. But you might not know how the technology works. 

After looking at the multiple pump and dump schemes, it’s hard to take NFTs seriously. After their peak in 2021, NFTs have been on a decline. 

But the truth is that NFTs have great potential, especially in the creator economy. 

NFTs and blockchain technology has the ability to make platforms more transparent and censorship-free. Let us understand more about NFTs and how they can positively impact the creator economy. 

What is an NFT?

First, let’s look at Bitcoin. One Bitcoin is the same as another Bitcoin, similar to currencies. These are fungible tokens. 

An NFT is a non-fungible token. Every NFT is different in some way. 

I will use the example of one of my favorite Pokemon, Charizard, to explain NFTs. Every Charizard looks the same, but each differs in level and moves. One Charizard might have flamethrower while the other has overheat instead. 

NFTs also provide proof of ownership for users using an Ethereum address. 

How NFTs are stored on the Blockchain

NFTs are stored on EVM blockchains using smart contracts. A smart contract is code that is stored on the blockchain and can be run. An NFT is created using an ERC-721 contract.

In the above example, we have created an NFT contract called MyPokemon, which inherits ERC-721.

Every time the owner calls the safeMint function, the _tokenIdCounter is incremented by 1, and the token is sent to the desired address.

NFTs and the Creator Economy

Social media platforms of today have all the power. They can remove a person’s account because of conflicting views. 

It’s important to hear opposing views for everyone to make their opinions. With censorship, we get manipulated into believing one side of the story. 

With NFTs, content cannot get deleted as it remains on the blockchain. NFTs also provide proof of ownership of content linked to the creator’s account. 

NFTs allow for a fairer, more transparent internet. 

How dArticle.io uses NFTs

dArticle stores your article on the blockchain using NFTs. Writers can create or mint these NFTs for free. Writers get rewarded for the views their NFTs get in crypto. 

dArticle provides equal earning opportunities for writers across the world. Articles are ERC-721 tokens on the Polygon chain.