We have enough sweaters. Nobody wants physical media anymore except for vinyl, and good luck finding that if you’re not an Adele fan. Giving someone an experience like a restaurant gift certificate sounds like a good idea, but have you seen those variant spread numbers?
So like it not, this holiday season you may have no choice but to give your loved ones an NFT.
All jokes aside, the popularity and value of non-fungible tokens have exploded this year. But not everybody has gotten on board, and many people still aren’t quite clear on what NFTs even are.
Give a Unique Digital Gift
NFTs stand for non-fungible tokens, which are digital assets that are one of a kind and can’t be replicated, and are stored on a blockchain, which is a decentralized, shared database.
An NFT can be a piece of music or a film, but at the moment, the excitement on NFTs are about one-of-a-kind pieces of digital art, such as a portrait of Edward Snowden that sold for $5.4 million dollars. Like bitcoin (BTSC) , or like investing in analog artwork, NFTs can go up in value and are becoming a hot item amongst investors.
How to Gift NFTs and Crypto
Because NFTs are gaining attention for eyeball capturing sales amounts, they’ve developed a reputation as the plaything of the ultra-wealthy and the technology-obsessed, but a former Google scientist is seeking to level the playing field by making them more accessible to everyone.
Hossein Azari is the CEO of the decentralized crypto platform CMORQ, “a safe, secure, and easy to use service,” he says, that you can use to buy and exchange NFTS and cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.
The main thing you need to buy and give NFTs is a digital wallet, which is software that you can use to store your assets online. Generally, you can get your digital wallet set up when you sign up on a crypto exchange platform like OpenSea or CMORQ, which Azari says will be connected to the marketplace “soon.”
“NFTs are uniquely time-stamped and they memorialize the event and time and capture it in an image,” he said. “You can gift an NFT by purchasing it through an online marketplace. You’ll have to connect your existing wallet to purchase the NFT and then transfer it to the wallet of your recipient.”
If that sounds complicated, Azari insists that whoever you gift will get the hang of it. “You don’t need to know about blockchain, you just need to appreciate the art and get a wallet, which anyone can do if they have access to the internet.”
You Get An NFT! And You And…
He expects NFTs to be a very popular gift this year, and CNBC recently reported that Millennials and Gen Z are planning to spend thousands on cryptocurrency gifts.
So if you have someone in your life who is unsure about this whole thing, Azari says now is the time to introduce them to the wonderful world of cryptocurrency. If nothing else, they’ll at least be surprised.
“There is always a first, and letting the world know about a new technology is the best thing we can do to help it change lives.”
If you don’t have the cash on hand to spend thousands of dollars on an image of a jaded primate for your special someone, Azari says that his platform offers NFTs under $25, designed by the artist Sara Nemati “to help more people learn and join the space”
He adds that “there are many NFT’s to choose from that are under $100, it’s also interesting to browse the collections, just as you would at a gallery. There is likely an NFT to match anyone’s personal preferences. You can see a wide range on OpenSea or follow along with trending collections on Instagram or Twitter. “
If you are a big spender and wildly generous, you might be pleased to learn that while the IRS will generally tax gifts over $15,000, it hasn’t issued specific guidance on NFTs just yet.
Yes, You Can Re-gift an NFT
Even if they’re unsure about NFTs, it’s a gift that at the moment is a bit more unique than a gift certificate to Starbucks. And if the person you get it for just isn’t into it? Well, Azari says that just like a tie or a book, you can always exchange it.
“Yes, our product and others support transferring it and you would even be able to list them in markets to sell them,” he says. “You need a buyer though!”
