NFT VS CRYPTO

 NFT VS CRYPTO

Along with the 4th industrial revolution, we will look at the paradigm shift that is taking place in various fields such as politics, economy, society, and culture based on the platform, and consider ways to secure competitiveness in the platform-based economy.

Collins, one of the UK's leading dictionaries, has selected NFT (Non-Fungible Token), meaning 'non-fungible token', as the word of the year for 2021. NFT is a virtual asset that manages information such as ownership and sales history through blockchain, a data distribution processing technology that cannot be forged. In the case of existing cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, all tokens issued by the same entity have the same value, so one-to-one exchange is possible. One-to-one exchange is impossible, as each object has a unique value. NFT can be described as a guarantee that proves the originality of content that can be reproduced indefinitely, such as photos, characters, videos, and game items created in digital space, such as a real estate register copy.

The concept of NFT was introduced to the market in 2017 when Canadian startup Dapper Labs launched an Ethereum-based virtual cat breeding game, 'Crypto Kitty'. Users can collect and breed various virtual cats to create their own rare kitten, then give it a unique serial number and trade it in cryptocurrency. At the end of 2017, a cat named 'Dragon' was traded in cryptocurrency worth 110,000 dollars, and it became a topic of discussion. On March 11th, the NFT created on the work of digital artist Beetle was sold at Christie's, a global art auction house, for $69.34 million, surprising the market once again.

 

It is not easily convincing that digital content that can be copied indefinitely becomes an asset of great value just by giving it a unique identification number. However, in that the value of assets comes from scarcity and can satisfy differentiated ownership needs, NFTs clearly have the potential to create value. And the growth of the MZ generation will become a driving force for the growth of the NFT market.

Generation MZ enjoys work, consumption, and investment. Fun is an important factor that defines their work and life. They see life in the present as an end rather than a tool for the future, giving meaning to process as well as outcomes. If you can enjoy the process even if you don't achieve your goals, you feel satisfied. However, if the value of an item created in the process of enjoying the game or a video edited in the process of enjoying the video can be evaluated and traded in the market through NFT, the MZ generation can enjoy a life of creating economic value while enjoying play. There is. NFT will become a cultural product that can grow together with the MZ generation's devotee culture.

In addition, the MZ generation constantly attempts decentralization and decentralization while rejecting life as a tool given to them in the framework of a huge industrial society. They value their own values ​​more important than the standardized values ​​imposed by society, but want to accept diversity while respecting the values ​​of others. They want to be recognized as a unique being by owning something unique. Also, they want to define the value of the unique object they own by their own standards, not the currency standard used in the market. The limited edition culture of the MZ generation will be another growth engine for NFTs.

Of course, when institutional supplementation that can remove the bubble of the initial market and minimize speculation, and technical supplementation to protect creators' rights from problems such as theft and double sales between platforms for content, and secondary processing, NFT will It will grow into a place of experimentation that can motivate creativity.

Hee-Jun Park, Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering, Yonsei University