NFTs are virtual art certificates that can't be forged in theory. They are an extension of the idea of limited editions.
For example, you can have a Warhol screen print that is signed in pencil and inscribed 21/40 - he made 40 and this is serial number 21. The smaller the edition, the rarer it is, over time increasing the price, in theory. There are all kinds of provenance and authentication schemes to minimize forgeries. The famous-infamous religious painter Thomas Kinkade supposedly mixed some of his blood in the paint, though that could theoretically be overcome by PCR DNA amplification.
To this day, art forgeries can be successful, and it's good movie material. There is even a whole town in China devoted to copying paintings for collectors, though they are not intended to pass for authentic.
Well now burners El Pulpo Mecanico are retiring their art car, and selling 100 commemorative NFT "certificates" for cash/crypto money.
https://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/tittd ... eless-nfts
Up in my area we have a big shoe company. They got the idea to launch an NFT with a picture of a shoe they designed for a specific athlete. That's the exact opposite idea of the idea in contemporary art, and in BMart, of decommodification and non-collectability: pure idea and experience.
NFTs are a perfect example of "the next big thing" in "Late Stage Capitalism."
