As I continue my admittedly new exploration of the crypto world, I constantly run into arguments against NFTs, either as a terrible investment choice or a negative influence on society.
I should clarify that the intention of this piece isn’t to show all the valid arguments against the NFT community but only to present the contentions I have met these last many weeks. Nor do I offer propper counterarguments to these disagreements with the emerging NFT Marketplace.
Also, I have only included the arguments for which I have no rebuttal.
As always, I invite readers to share their ideas. I might write more in-depth statements about these issues – I don’t know yet.
Here we go.
The NFT Bubble
One of the most popular arguments against NFTs: It’s a bubble, and it’s going to burst as any other market bubble does. This argument seems to rely on investor perception. It usually holds that the NFT bubble is already beginning to burst as investors realise the lack of substance behind the blockchain and token ideas.
And by substance, they mean tangible goods or services that have real-life use. Aside from superficial entertainment value, NFTs offer no real utility to those who own them. But, one can argue that no artwork has utility outside of its emotional and psychological weight to its owners.
It’s All about Psychology
The NFT craze is about herd mentality. It results from mass communication platforms like social media and other Internet communities. Herd behaviour changes with trends, and the NFT sensation will disappear like any fad.
But this doesn’t make it a bad investment, only one limited by time and strategy.
Ecology and Climate Change
The number of computers necessary to run the blockchain is staggering. It is estimated that Bitcoin management uses 91 terawatt-hours of electricity annually.
“… consider this: The process of creating Bitcoin to spend or trade consumes around 91 terawatt-hours of electricity annually, more than is used by Finland, a nation of about 5.5 million.”
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/09/03/climate/bitcoin-carbon-footprint-electricity.html
Scarcity
NFTs are like diamonds – they are not scarce at all – it’s all about the hype and that herd behaviour mentioned in the second argument.
This point rings true on the surface, but I would argue that anything popular or expensive in the human realm is primarily so because of perception.
Moreover, this argument points to the issues of misinformation and disinformation, of which you know I’m fond.
Thank you for reading. I will consider expanding on these topics as I understand them better. Remember that I’ll give tokens away to anyone who helps the creative process.
— The Devil Unbound
