NFTs, which certify ownership of digital or physical things in cryptocurrencies’ decentralized blockchain accounting, have boomed in the past year. Some of them changed hands for millions. However, IT pioneer and multi-billionaire Bill Gates doesn’t see this as a promising investment. According to the founder of Microsoft, the NFT market is “100 percent based on the theory of the bigger idiot”.
The statement was made at a conference of the IT news portal “Techcrunch”. When asked about the boom in NFT art, Gates replied sarcastically, “Obviously expensive digital images of monkeys will greatly improve the world’s situation.”
NFT Market Lives On “The Bigger Idiot Principle”
The NFT market thrives on the fact that the buyers of the certificates of ownership expect to find someone who will buy the dearly bought NFT from them at an even higher price. The NFT market operates “100 percent on the greater idiot principle,” Gates said. This principle states that buying an overpriced financial product is not a problem as long as you can find someone who is willing to pay more for it.
But as the IT portal “Heise” indicates, this principle also has its limits. This is reflected, for example, in an NFT certificate of ownership for the first tweet on short-messaging platform Twitter, which Twitter founder Jack Dorsey issued. An investor paid $2.9 million for it and tried to resell the certificate at an even higher price. However, he cannot find a buyer. Only $24 was offered on the “Open Sea” marketplace.
Gates has long been considered a critic of cryptocurrencies and NFTs. The Microsoft founder is conservative on “Techcrunch” explaining, “I’m used to investments like a farm that produces something or companies that make products.” Contrary to these values, crypto investments do not advance society.
Digital property deeds on the blockchain
NFT stands for “Non-fungible Token” – non-interchangeable property attribute. The idea of NFTs is to capture ownership of an asset in the tamper-resistant decentralized blockchain accounting of cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and sell those certificates.
Last year mainly NFT rights to digital art were traded, sometimes for millions. However, owning an NFT doesn’t change the fact that the NFT certified digital thing can be copied losslessly.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
