NFT'S (The The Stupid And The Absurd As Their Is Nothing Good To Say About It)

When I give my opinion on a topic, I'm not just going to say that this or that is stupid; I'm going to tell you why I think that a particular topic is dumb and stupid. NFT's have consumed our headlines the past couple months. While many try to put a positive spin on it, they been nothing but trouble. The wild speculation has caught the attention of grifters looking for that quick buck. The founders of the NFT marketplaces and collections are rapidly becoming the self-entitled oligarchs who are beyond the rules. Massive corporations already loaded with money see NFT's as yet another tool to squeeze even more money out of their customers. The typical customer doesn't want them and have voiced their displeasure strongly. It's a given why the major corporations have wholeheartedly embraced them despite its recent appearance and their general negative response. NFT's do not serve a benefit for us, the consumer. Yet, many are now Hellbent on shoving them down our throats, regardless of whether we want them or not.

Context

The term NFT has already transformed into yet another empty buzzword to be hyped by those consumed by it. What in the Hell is an NFT for those bombarded by it as if its the next best thing, but yet know absolutely nothing about it? An NFT or non-fundable token. It's a claim to a digital file that is linked to a blockchain, which is essentially an encrypted database. At the moment, NFT's mainly consist of images.

One could liken an analogy of an NFT to baseball cards. When a customer buys a baseball card for their collection, they become the possessors of that particular card. Thus they retain the right to sell that card at a later date if they choose to. Their are also various copies of that same card printed by the same company (TOPS in the case of baseball cards) that many others collectors can come into possession of as well. Thus, it's not dissimilar to someone opening their web browser, seeing an image of an NFT while thinking "How Cute", and then proceeds to right-clicking "Save As" to store that JPG or PNG copy of the NFT on their hard-drive. The digital file stored on the hard-drive is the exact same one held by the NFT claimant.

While NFT ownership covers actual possession, it does not grant copyright (unless specified by the parent company behind the NFT). Thus, under many cases, the copyright of that particular image is still held by the parent company. In most cases, the main things that NFT covers is the direct ownership of that particular image. Even in cases where intellectual property is given, the images can still be distributed under fair use if used in a non-commercial capacity. Thus, NFT claimant is in no position to harass those using copies of that NFT, unless if they are making money from it. 

The Bad (Reckless Speculation)

NFT's, like BitCoin, is part of that mystical beast called Web3. For the idealist, Web3 is the web technology going to democratize currency in a digital manner. For us common folk, Web3 is a tool make the rich even richer at our expense. Web3 is built around the Blockchain, which includes BitCoin and other cryptocurrencies. Now, their are legitimate merits behind cryptocurrency (in theory). Cryptocurrencies allows for digit currencies not tied to any government or real-world marketplace while allowing for anonymity for those who use it. As stated, Web3 is intended to promote the idea of currency democratization.

In practice though, Cryptocurrencies; like BitCoin, are having a hard time gaining creditability because of reckless speculation by those looking to become the next oligarchs. The unregulated nature of BitCoin is as much a detriment as it is a positive. Because the currency is in the hands of those who mine it, BitCoin is subjected to wild price fluctuations. Thus, the currencies value is completely arbitrary and simply determined by it's potential value and nothing else.

This is similar to when we determine the value of corporations. One could use Tesla and Theranos as examples. Tesla's value is determined by its future potential in the company. Shareholders are currently rallying around Elon Musk because they believe that he can deliver on the company's fortunes, despite his controversies. However, if a time come where the shareholders loose confidence in Musk's leadership for whatever reason; their going to kick him out of the company. Tesla's value is going to affected by the Shareholders level of confidence behind the company.

In the case of Theranos, the investors had horribly misplaced expectations in Elizabeth Holmes as she was making the most absurd of promises that weren't realistically feasible (putting it nicely) while knowing about it too. It would be very tempting to put Musk here as well except for the fact that he has delivered on his promises (so far).  When Theranos couldn't deliver, its value tanked as the Edison became vaporware (publicly) in the eyes of millions. Holmes simply used Theranos as a way to get rich quick.

As with their physical counterparts, the reckless speculation of BitCoin is going to have real-world consequences that aren't going to be restricted to the digital realm. The financial well-being and livelihoods of many will be affected by BitCoin

BlockChains Are Bad For Mother Earth Too

Anything connected to the Blockchain, like NFT's and BitCoin, need to be mined. As such, the mining is often done by computers that have very powerful processors and demanding power supplies (typically 1000 Watts if not more). Along with the CPU, the GPU are also used for number-crunching as well. For those with money, farms of these computers operate with the sole purpose of mining BitCoin, placing a heavy demand on the powergrid. In counties that still heavily rely on coal power, the demand placed by these farms have increased the demand of coal, leading to heavier pollution. The irony is that organizations like WWF (World Wildlife Fund) have received merited criticism because they wanted to raise money via NFT, even though this action would result in a very negative impact on the environment, which in contradictory to their goals. 

One would be tempted to demonize grid computing as well since Web3 data-mining is technically a offshoot of it. However, their are massive differences between the two technologies. Grids often offload to their workload to anyone running the client application, including those on energy efficient systems. Such low-powered devices, like smartphones, laptops, and Raspberry Pies, can partake in grid computing. Also, these grids often takes part in projects that actually serves a benefit for humanity, like cancer and virus research. Their is no noble partaking in the mining cryptocurrencies, other than getting rich.

Other's could be tempted to demonize PC gamers as well. However, this is an empty gesture as that isolated gaming PC isn't going to place a noticeable load on the energy grid. Gamers don't operate massive farms of energy-demanding PC's like the crypto-miners do. Also, gamers typically don't run their computers 24-7 either. Think of that energy bill!

I live here in Texas. Texas was horribly affected by the freeze that occurred in February 2020. The collapse of the energy grid was a result of it not getting enough power because the equipment froze up. Their was already a high demand on the grid to begin with, and when it couldn't cope when extra demand placed by the extremely cold weather (plus Greg Abbott's unwillingness to import power from other states), the grid collapsed. Since that time, BitCoin mining had been banned in China. Many of the operators have relocated here in Texas, bring their power-hungry computers with them. Time will only tell if our grid can cope with the demands placed on both these systems. Even if our grid can successfully handle this new influx, they're a unnecessary burden that is a detriment to the environment.

GPU War

Since data mining had been popularized by cryptocurrencies, tech users have been impacted by skyrocketing prices of computer processors and GPU's. As dictated by Moore's Law, the processing capability of a CPU doubles every 1-1/2 years. One of the side affects of this is that the price of the processing units halves over that same amount of time. Yet, the prices of lower-end/older CPU's and GPU's have started to artificially rise as a result of crypto mining. 

GPU's that were intended for gaming are instead being put to use mining BitCoin. With miners buying GPU's in massive bulk, this has resulted in smaller supplies with much greater demand from customers, resulting in higher prices. My PC has a Nvidia GTX 950 GPU that I spent $120 on 2018 is going for $180 new as of 2022. Now granted, the price is affected by the semiconductor shortage and tariffs as well. However, the demand driven by crypto-miners have helped matters either. We as consumers suffer because of their tomfoolery.

Theft and Lack Of Consent

For drifters looking for a quick buck, NFT's have enabled them to steal the works of artist and profit from them without their consent. Several artist on DeviantArt had to close their portfolios because these drifters have been stealing their work and making NFT's from them without their permission. It hasn't just been restricted to DeviantArt though. Many prominent people, tech advocates, and open-source developers had their image or likeness turned into an NFT without their permission either. While some might have done it in good faith as a tribute to those being honored, it's still in very bad taste as NFT's exist solely for profit and nothing else, and the content in question was still created without the consent of those referenced. Many others; like various open-source developers and tech advocates, don't have a very positive opinion of NFT's either.

Entitlement (The Bored Apes Become The New Oligarchs)

The NFT community became enraged when Katie Notopoulos of BuzzFeed published a story which exposed the real identities of the Bored Apes Yacht Club NFT. Any person on the street with common sense would think that it would be in the public's best interest to learn the identities of those who operate a company that generated over one billion in revenue. Especially when the company in question, Yuga Labs, generated that much wealth simply by flipping uninspiring and dull images of cartoon apes avatars. Yet for those who embrace their tasteless cartoon caricatures, the actions of Katie Notopoulos and BuzzFeed amounted to a war crime in there eyes. It should be noted at this point that the founders of the BAYC themselves weren't as truly anonymous as their  connection to Yuga Labs were stated in many public records.

Yet, for the self-entitled zealots of the NFT community, their would be Hell to pay for what Notopoulos did (despite Notopoulos fulfilling her journalistic duty). Notopoulos received numerous threats from people threatening to exposing the addresses of her parents and others connected to her. There were suggestions from many of these zealots that BAYC and various other NFT investors should pool their money together and buy BuzzFeed in a "hostile" takeover so they can shut them down afterwards as punishment. Have these NFT Bros become so entitled that they can simply buy out and shut down dissenting voice simply because they can't tolerate their opinion? 

The idea of NFT's being a tool to personalize the typical internet user rapidly became an empty joke. NFT's become a kitschy fashion product for celebrities like Paris Hilton and Jimmy Fallon who want us to celebrate their garish ape avatars. It's crap like that which is the reason why I don't watch late night shows! 

Matters have been made worse as political candidate Andrew Yang have promoted a idea of a lobbying group that distributes votes based on how many NFT tokens one owns. One could liken this to the "pay to win" (pay to vote in this case) microtransaction system in video games. Those with the most money could simply buy the ability to win regardless of skill, and it's the same thing here. While the stated aim of Lobby3, the organization in question, is to end poverty; at the very least, the method is very contradictory. Those who have the most money can simply buy more voting power (as if things weren't already bad enough). How Democratic!

Conclusion

Many, like myself, see NFT's for what it exactly is; just another method to milk customers even more. While one could successfully argue that their is merit behind BitCoin (theocratically), their is no merit behind NFT's whatsoever. As such, when various game/tech companies start jumping on the NFT bandwagon, the typical customer are already aware of that company's intent, and it's not for our benefit either. NFT's do not add to the gaming experience. Even when their was a massive backlash when Square-Enix announced that their would be NFT's in their games, the company ignored their criticisms. Except for the NFT diehards and those looking for a quick buck, nobody wants this. I don't want this either. I can make the safe assumption that anyone reading this document didn't want this either. Yet, companies are intent on making NFT's the future, regardless of whether we want it or not.

Articles of Interest

Web3 is going just great (One of the most awesome sites ever! A huge and valuable resource during the researching of this post. Check it out!) https://web3isgoinggreat.com/

Non-fungible token (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-fungible_token

Web3 (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web3

Blockchain (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain

Bitcoin (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin

Cryptocurrency (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency

List of Cryptocurrencies (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cryptocurrencies

Grid computing (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grid_computing

Moore's law (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law

BOINC (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Open_Infrastructure_for_Network_Computing

Bored Ape (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bored_Ape

Comic Artist Liam Sharp's Work Is Being Stolen, Sold as NFTs (CBR.com) https://www.cbr.com/comic-artist-liam-sharp-stolen-work-nfts/

We Found The Real Names Of Bored Ape Yacht Club’s Pseudonymous Founders (BuzzFeed.News) https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katienotopoulos/bored-ape-nft-founder-identity

Bored Apes, BuzzFeed and the Battle for the Future of the Internet (Vice) https://www.vice.com/en/article/akvn5a/bored-apes-buzzfeed-and-the-battle-for-the-future-of-the-internet

Paris Hilton and Jimmy Fallon showing off their NFTs is the longest 77 seconds ever (PCGamer) https://www.pcgamer.com/paris-hilton-and-jimmy-fallon-showing-off-their-nfts-is-the-longest-77-seconds-ever/

Square Enix president knows people who 'play to have fun' dislike NFTs, but he wants them anyway (PCGamer) https://www.pcgamer.com/square-enix-president-knows-people-who-play-to-have-fun-dislike-nfts-but-he-wants-them-anyway/

Kazakhstan internet shutdown sheds light on a big Bitcoin mining mystery (Fortune) https://fortune.com/2022/01/05/kazakhstan-internet-bitcoin-mining-mystery-crypto/

Bitcoin network power slumps as Kazakhstan crackdown hits crypto miners (Reuters) https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/bitcoin-network-power-slumps-kazakhstan-crackdown-hits-crypto-miners-2022-01-06/

Why China's bitcoin miners are moving to Texas (BBC) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58414555

2021 Texas power crisis (Wikipedia) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Texas_power_crisis

What Went Wrong With Texas’s Main Electric Grid and Could It Have Been Prevented? (Texas Monthly) : https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/what-went-wrong-with-texass-main-electric-grid-and-could-...

Texas leaders failed to heed warnings that left the state's power grid vulnerable to winter extremes, experts say (The Texas Tribune) - https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/17/texas-power-grid-failures/

The Rolling Chain of Events Behind Texas Blackouts (The Texas Tribune) - https://www.texastribune.org/2011/02/03/the-rolling-chain-of-events-behind-texas-blackouts/

Bitcoin protests in El Salvador against cryptocurrency as legal tender (BBC) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-58579415

Theranos (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theranos

Elizabeth Holmes (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Holmes

Andrew Yang's Web3 Lobbying Group Wants to End Poverty With Vote-Buying (Vice) https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvn5am/andrew-yangs-web3-lobbying-group-wants-to-end-poverty-with-vote-buying

World Wildlife Fund pulls conservation-focused NFT project after backlash (The Block) https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/133982/world-wildlife-fund-pulls-conservation-focused-nft-project-after-backlash

How the World Wildlife Fund tried — and failed — to create an eco-friendly NFT (The Verge) https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/8/22923530/world-wildlife-fund-nft-polygon-layer-2-blockchain-energy-emissions

New Nirvana NFTs to be launched to mark Kurt Cobain’s birthday (NME) https://www.nme.com/news/music/first-nirvana-nfts-launched-mark-kurt-cobain-birthday-3143941

Kris Nóva - Open Source Contributors (Twitter) https://twitter.com/krisnova/status/1473641634827059204