For the true believers, NFTs are the tip of the spear for an exciting new economic order centred around artists and creators. The future is online, they say, and soon the division between the internet and “reality” will atrophy away, generating boundless economic growth — and, finally, the possibility for those artists to be properly compensated for their work. They envision a world where everything is associated with a corresponding blockchain token that can be sold, traded or lent out, from event tickets and club memberships to real estate. Critics say that’s all self-justifying bullshit, and that we’re in the midst of a speculative frenzy not unlike the tulip mania that gripped The Netherlands back in the 17th century. From this less charitable angle, the frothy NFT market is driven not by its potential to bring radical change to art and commerce but by a legion of housebound gamblers looking for ever more novel ways to secure their bag.
