Whether you go down the non-fungible token (NFT) rabbit hole on Reddit or open a thread under a tweet posted by a new proud Bored Ape holder, there’s one question you’ll often come across: “Why would anyone buy an NFT when you can right-click & save the image?”
While initially sparking heated discussions, it’s now used almost ironically within the NFT community. That’s because those JPEGs are actually selling for millions of dollars, and they reached an impressive trading volume of $17.6 billion in 2021.
But it’s true that in the past, the ownership of digital goods didn’t really make much sense. If everything online was abundant and ubiquitous, why bother to pay, much less collect something? Well, NFTs have changed that. Their ownership and validity can be directly tracked and verified from the moment the data gets uploaded to a blockchain ledger.
NFTs make the internet ownable, meaning we can finally draw the line between using and owning a digital asset. This creates major money-making opportunities, but there are also interesting psychological dynamics suggesting that our attraction to NFTs goes way beyond their monetary value.
Scarcity draws us in
We could buy the precise replica of our favorite painting, but would it feel as special as hanging the original in our living room? Hardly. As humans, we simply love the concept of genuine authenticity and scarcity.
According to Mark Cuban, NFTs tick these boxes well. “The buyer knows how many will be made and has blockchain proof of ownership.”
When it comes to our collector instincts, rarer means better. The most sought-after NFTs are the most difficult to get. Interestingly, psychology claims that the hunt – the process of searching and trying to acquire the item – releases more dopamine than the ownership itself. It’s the apparent unattainability that our minds find both attractive and challenging at the same time.
We chase social status
In October last year, CryptoPunk …
Full story available on Benzinga.com