The most Googled questions regarding NFTs – and the answers to them

A new study by CoinGecko analyzed thousands of NFT-related search terms to see which are the most Googled, with the most common phrase asking what an NFT is, averaging 948,000 searches around the world each month.

In second place is the phrase “How do you make an NFT?”, receiving an estimated 287,000 average monthly online searches.

In third place is “Where can you buy and sell NFTs?”, which on average Googles 116,400 times a month.

The top five is rounded off with “What is the most expensive NFT?” in fourth place with 102,000 monthly searches, followed by 64,000 searches each month for “Why are NFTs valuable?”.

“Are NFTs bad for the environment?” ranks as the sixth most searched NFT question, with an estimated average of 32,000 searches each month globally, followed in seventh by “What does coinage mean?” of 29,800 monthly searches.

Number eight and nine, “Why can NFTs be so expensive?” with 27,000 global monthly searches and “Are NFTs a better investment than crypto?” with 19,200 global searches each month.

With a range of answers presented to users via a stream of Google results, Zhong Yang Chan, Head of Research at CoinGecko weighs in with his own thoughts:

1. What is an NFT? – 948,000 monthly global searches
NFTs are unique, non-fungible tokens on the blockchain, often used as digital representations of assets such as art, collectibles, music, video game items, and real-world assets such as real estate deeds, luxury items, diamonds, and more.

2. How do you create an NFT? – 287,000 monthly global searches
NFTs can be generated through the distribution of smart contracts. NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea, x2y2 and Magic Eden make the NFT creation process more user-friendly, where the user can upload files and create them as NFTs on the blockchain.

3. Where can you buy/sell NFTs? – 116,400 monthly global searches
NFTs can be traded on a number of marketplaces across different blockchain networks such as OpenSea, Magic Eden, LooksRare, and even on some centralized exchanges such as Binance or FTX.

4. What is the most expensive NFT? – 102,000 monthly global searches
While most attention on NFTs is focused on profile picture collections like ‘Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)’ or ‘CryptoPunks’, the most expensive individual NFT is Beeple’s ‘The First 5000 Days’, a collage of art created daily for over 13 years, which sold for $69 million.

The most expensive collection ever sold on the primary market was that which raked in $92 million.

5. Why are NFTs valuable? – 64,000 monthly global searches
As with physical art and other collectibles, an NFT becomes valuable if others perceive it to have value. The creator, the community around the NFT, along with other factors, all affect the intrinsic value of the NFT. In the case of game NFTs, it can represent ownership of game assets in the game or metaverse, and the game development or metaverse roadmap can drive the NFT value up or down.

6. Are NFTs bad for the environment? – 32,000 monthly global searches
Environmental concerns around NFTs are because NFTs are imprinted on the blockchain. However, the most popular chains for NFTs such as Ethereum (post-Merge), Solana and Polygon are now based on the Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, which are energy efficient. Users can choose more energy-friendly networks to create NFTs.

7. What does minting mean? – 29,800 monthly global searches
Minting is the act of generating a record of an item, such as an image or audio file, on the blockchain as an NFT. Typically, the record consists of a path to retrieve the item from a database, as well as valuable metadata—such as the original creator, timestamp of when it was created, properties, and more.

8. Why can NFTs be so expensive? – 27,000 monthly global searches
Selected NFTs have achieved sky-high prices due to their exclusivity – through the blockchain, an NFT holder can verify that they are the sole owner of an item. When it comes to NFT collections, NFTs with popular or rare traits are usually more sought after and will fetch higher prices due to higher demand. Some NFTs also provide special privileges or rights, such as access to an exclusive club or community, which may be attractive to some.

9. Are NFTs a better investment than crypto? – 19,200 monthly global searches
NFTs are neither better nor worse than crypto as an investment. Just like traditional art, luxury goods, stocks, derivative products and so on, NFTs are just one of the many asset classes available. Like crypto, NFT prices can be extremely volatile and we advise everyone to do your own research (DYOR) before investing.