Why Do People Buy NFTs
People buy NFTs for various reasons, but try justifying 69 Million Dollars. That's the price that Vignesh Sundaresan, also known as MetaKovan, paid for Beeples NFT "Everydays: The First 5,000 Days."
When Metakovan was asked why he spent millions on a JPG his response was quite simple, “to support the artist and showcase the technology.”
That may be one reason people buy them, but there's also people paying $250,000 for Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs and CryptoPunks! At first you might think theres absolutely no way in hell someone would pay that much for a picture of a monkey.
People have different reasons and motives to invest in the upcoming technology. This may be head scratching if you're new to the NFT space, but keep reading to find out some of the top reasons to why people buy NFTs.
To make money
One of the main reasons people do just about anything...to make money. According to a twitter poll by DEXter lab, a digital asset discovery platform, 64% of people were in it simply to make money.
Nothing more, nothing less. Can you really blame them when you're scrolling through crypto twitter and constantly see insane profits? Id want the same thing!
To put it into perspective Bored Apes were minted in April 2021 for .08 ETH or roughly $240 at the time. At their peak in April 2022 the cheapest one for sale was 150 ETH or roughly $450,000. Talk about hitting a bullseye...makes you wonder 'How can I Flip NFTs?
To secure IP rights & digital ownership
If you're reading this because you were bored & hungry we don't blame you, that's how we started this blog. (No, really.)
Jokes aside, Bored & Hungry is a great example of maximizing IP rights with NFT's. They are an NFT restaurant group bridging real-life experiences to web 3, through a collection of 10,000 unique tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.
The branding behind the restaurant is inspired by the founders Bored and Mutant Apes to which they own the intellectual property rights. The original NFT's are verified on a decentralized (Ethereum) blockchain, making it practically impossible to forge or steal. This is a big reason to why NFTs are valuable.
To access exclusive perks or content
NFT's have the ability to share 'unlockable content' that only the owner of the token can access. Other NFT's may grant the owner a special character or accessory in a video game.
One of the most popular Play 2 earn games, Axie Infinity, allows players to earn the games token "SLP" through winning battles and fulfilling daily quests. People can then swap it for USD on an exchange
Another example of NFT's providing exclusive perks is the Mutant Ape Yacht Club. In June they hosted Ape Fest which was a 3 day event in New York. Every holder was able to attend and bring a friend to enjoy unlimited free food, drinks, and performances from the likes of lil baby, future, and Justin Bieber.
It's also an amazing time to network with like minded individuals. Remember, there's only 10,000 Bored Apes and 20,000 mutant apes. Being put in the same space as some of these very wealthy entrepreneurs far exceeds any dollar amount, your network is your net worth.
To Collect & support
Some people just think the art is fucking dope. This may not be the majority of people, but it’s for sure a reason why people buy NFT’s. Collecting NFT’s could very soon be a normal thing like collecting sports cards, hot wheels, or jerseys. ! I bought my ex an NFT for Christmas and she loved it so much she printed it out and hung it on her wall. I guess you could consider her an ‘NFT collector’…kinda.
Collectors also buy NFTs to show their support for a cause, such as a greener future with NFTs. Other people may collect NFTs because they simply want to empower the artist. Just like in real life, it doesn't matter how you show your support, as long as you make it felt.
For example, the Bored Ape Yacht Club has donated over $850,000 to a charity saving orangutans called Orangutan Outreach. They have also donated over $1 million in efforts to help Ukraine with the Russian invasion.