The History of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

Surprisingly, Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs for short, have had quite an interesting story. While they gained notoriety during the entire crypto boom between 2020 and 2021, NFTs have actually been a thing for a bit longer than they date back to those years.

The NFT story has evolved quite a bit over the years. Although many know them to be expensive JPEGs, the history of NFTs has diverged from just profile pictures and weird CGI monkeys.

There are several forms of NFTs now, including in-game elements for crypto games, collectibles which offer real incentives for those who hold, artwork and videos to mention a few.

Although prices have dropped for NFT collectives like CryptoPunk and Bored Ape Yacht Club, the love for them and the community that drives their mainstream adoption is still rife. Don’t believe the headlines and misconceptions! NFTs are here to stay and their history will hopefully live on.

With this in mind, let’s delve deeper into some moments in NFT history and why they are about to become another breakthrough concept coming from the blockchain!

What is an NFT?

To set the stage for this article, we will give a generally accepted definition of what a Non-Fungible-Token is.

This gives readers who may be new to this concept a clear understanding of what the article covers and covers any gray areas in knowledge and understanding.

“non-fungible token (NFT), a non-fungible digital asset such as a photograph, song or video whose ownership has been authenticated and stored in a database called a blockchain and which can be collected, sold and traded on various online platforms.” – Mark Cuban for Britannica

When was the first NFT minted?

Believe it or not, the first NFT was released back in May 2014, so it took a long time before we saw them plaguing our Twitter feeds.

The first NFT that was technically minted was one called “Quantum” and was done so by Kevin McCoy at Namecoin. At this point, Bitcoin was only worth around $318 at the end of the year, so the whole space has come a long way since then!

Quantum NFT is just a still image JPEG and can generally be considered just a work of art. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and when you consider the nature of artwork, it is more than just a file on a computer screen. It is the birth of a modern phenomenon that has already swept the globe whether you like it or not.

Quantum has had a good legacy. In 2021 it sold at a Sotheby’s “Natively Digital” auction for a staggering $1.47 million.

Once the sale was completed and NFT was acquired, some controversy ensued when a company named, Nameless, went to court and claimed that they were in fact the rightful owner.

Kevin had reportedly let his ownership expire a few years after the digital collectible was created.

Despite the legal system and the legal battle, sales are still standing and Quantum is proud of the top of the most expensive NFT sale so far recorded.

Can it be beaten? Only time will tell I guess.

What came next on the NFT timeline?

What happened in 2014 was a catalyst for a new generation of online subcultures and media. Whether Kevin knew it or not at the time, he created a monster (a good one at that).

Currently in 2023, there have been some amazing projects coming and going, and a lot of laughs too. The good that has come from NFTs is groundbreaking to say the least.

Below, we’ll cover some of the most notable projects and when they actually burst onto the scene.

2015

The very first official NFT game was released back in 2015. It was called “Incantations of Genesis” and it comes as no surprise that this project was a trading card game.

It is currently still active and has also moved over to mobile devices. It is the first of its kind and every NFT has a reference to the blockchain culture.

2016

2016 was the year that gave birth to NFT art collections as we saw “Rare Pepes” born. These were NFT cards released with images of Pepe the Frog, the popular online meme.

Originally this project was released on Counterparty, but after the NFT boom it was migrated to Ethereum blockchain by the founders of the project.

2017

One of the world’s most remarkable NFT projects, CryptoPunks was released in 2017 by Larva Labs.

Each punk is different and unique to its owner, which is why flocks of celebrities and retail investors jumped on this project. It is still prominent today, and the ecosystem is still growing, like many other of the early projects.

Did you know that CryptoPunks is actually the earliest collection on Ethereum in the history of the blockchain list?

2018

Axie Infinity, everyone’s favorite sprite battle card, was created in 2018 and has truly revolutionized blockchain gaming.

While still a card game it has opened up doors to the possibilities blockchain games have as e-sports was brought to light by the blockchain through this game.

While token prices have plunged, Axie Infinity shows no signs of slowing down their development.

2021

Award-winning sandbox builder and VR experience Sandbox was brought to the blockchain in 2021 and proved to be a HUGE success through their marketing efforts.

Many people won’t know this, but The Sandbox was actually a 2D mobile game released back in 2012, but it made the transition over the blockchain on the Ethereum network and hasn’t looked back since.

NFTs and user-generated content are at the core of this game, and the immersive gameplay is brought to us by a number of world-renowned brands and celebrities. A great introduction to NFT trading and the blockchain if you haven’t gotten to know it yet!

What’s next for NFTs?

In the last year, we have seen the rise of common organizations using NFT technologies such as Nike, Adidas, Starbucks and soon Amazon!

The gaming sector is really pushing NFTs as always along with the music industry as we see live experiences and collectibles being released by bands and DJs.

One thing we are looking for is legislation. Many still fall victim to scams via space, and there are little or no consequences for those who perpetrate these nefarious acts. As we have seen the whip crack on staking legislation, we hope a similar one can be done for NFTs.

Going forward, this will further legitimize this new concept and hopefully empower people to educate themselves more!