Aesthetic value of NFTs
This post is the first in the series of educational posts about non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Here we will talk about the sites where NFTs are traded, how to create and sell NFTs, interesting examples of using NFT and much more.
Let’s start with one of the most important and interesting questions for the crypto community — what is the value of NFTs? Why do some tokens cost less than a cent, while others are bought for hundreds of thousands of dollars?
In our articles, we fundamentally do not consider NFTs as a method of money laundering, but we admit that such situations may arise in this still quite wild and poorly regulated market. Our task is to approach this issue from the legal side and try to understand what is the value of NFTs for honest participants in the crypto community.
We have identified several possible value aspects of NFTs: aesthetic, historical, political, commercial, investment, gaming, collectible, social, legal, technical, and fan-based. This list is not intended to be comprehensive. Found another segment of NFTs’ value? Tell us about it, share it with the community!
In different NFTs, the above value aspects can be matched in any combination, or can be absent altogether.
The first value aspect in our list is aesthetic value. Intuitively, it is one of the most understandable, but at the same time it is extremely difficult to give a strict definition to it because everyone has different tastes and ideals. Take a close look at the NFT you are about to buy. Open it in full size mode (not as a preview on the marketplace). Answer yourself to the question — does this token evoke any feelings in you? Do you like composition, colors, animation, plot? If yes, this is a good sign, because there is no person with a unique taste, which means that this token may be liked not only by you, but also by hundreds, thousands (and maybe millions) of other people. All of you together already constitute an audience of potential buyers of this token, therefore, its value is already non-zero (although it can be difficult to determine how much).
By the way, it is not necessary to use only the “like it or not like it” principle evaluating a token for the aesthetic component. The main thing that a token with an aesthetic value should do — evoking emotions in you. Any. You involuntarily shuddered with disgust when you looked at it? Fine! Hang on for a couple of minutes, trying to answer the question “what the hell is drawn here”? Very good, this is a reason to think about buying.
Aesthetic value is a very vague parameter, it is difficult to estimate it in a specific amount of dollars. However, if, in your opinion, the token has aesthetics, then you can already think about buying it for your collection, especially if the price is not noticeable to you. Tokens with only aesthetic value are poorly suited for short-term and medium-term investments, and it is better not to treat them as investments at all. Treat them like a poster on your living room wall. Did you buy it to resell to your neighbor in the future? Likewise here — the fact of owning and contemplating such an NFT should already somehow compensate for the costs of its acquisition. If you feel that this is clearly not enough, then look for other values from the token or refuse to purchase it.
A great advantage of aesthetic value is its constancy, in contrast to gaming, commercial and many other value aspects. Pictures painted hundreds of years ago are still relevant and popular with people. The aesthetic value of things, as a rule, persists for many generations.
In conclusion, we will give several examples of NFTs, which, in our opinion, have an undoubted aesthetic value:
