Should I Buy an NFT?
Words By Dylan Todd (he/him)
You’ve probably seen the buzz surrounding NFTs and you might be thinking, “Yeah, I’ll support an artist, make an investment in cryptocurrency, and have a cool new profile picture on Twitter!” But there are other ways you could spend the thousands of dollars you’d need to get a foot in the door other than acquiring an algorithmically-generated cartoon animal. Let me tell you a few ways you can get those same benefits, without the price tag.
1) Investing in NFTs doesn’t really do what you think it does for artists. Many of those unique, artist-driven NFT platforms actually are a Wild West of art thievery. So, if you’re really considering purchasing NFTs to support artists, you’d have a better time going straight to the source. Whether you’re looking to support the local artist community or casting your eyes abroad, everything you could imagine is already being produced by independent artists. Many artists sell prints and even offer custom commissions to those who want to support their art. This will give you a tangible, real piece of art to show for your financial investment.
2) However, if you’re getting into NFTs solely as a financial investment, I have another fun piece of news for you: the world of NFTs is an unregulated, lawless wasteland that resembles a pyramid scheme, and you’re probably not going to make back that money you paid on that crude JPEG a year from now. Plus, you’re probably at the very least conscious of the ecological and environmental damage the industry has, so you have to consider the implications of participating in and perpetuating the impacts made on the environment by the blockchain—and don’t forget, carbon-neutral crypto is a scam!
3) If you’re all about the clout and bragging rights of owning an NFT, there are—again—much better ways to show off that you have cool stuff. There’s a lot to see locally—local shops selling independent clothing, like Good as Gold, give you a good chance to spend the disposable income you’d need to buy NFTs on something unique or hard-to-come-by ,which will help you look and feel cool to real people, instead of just a weird assortment of hexagonal-profile-picture-having Twitter users.
4) And lastly, if you don’t really care about the environment, don’t care about artists, and don’t care about anything I might be saying beyond the word money, why stoop to buying NFTs? Go all out and put your nan’s inheritance into some shares in your friendly neighbourhood oil drilling corporation! Or go one step further, pour your money into Raytheon! Arms suppliers are a sure-fire win, and it only comes at the small cost of potentially assisting in enhancing the scope of nationalist genocide!
