NFTs have been around since 2014 but only gained serious prominence in the past few years. The widespread popularity of NFT collections like Crypto Punks and Bored Ape Yacht Club have fuelled the growth, with multi-million dollar sales of works like Beeple's "The First 5000 Days" catapulting NFTs into the mainstream. Now a common feature at major auction houses like Christie's and Sotheby's, this bizarre blend of art and technology has become a household name.

In today's episode of Crypto Curious, your hosts Tracey, Blake, and Craig kick off the first in a series of three NFT-related discussions. Blake and Craig give us a brief history of NFTs, covering the relevance of digital rights and how NFT technology gives artists a way to earn royalties on their work without a third-party intermediary. Moving on, Craig covers the process of NFT minting and the importance of rarity, how NFTs are valued, and why some NFTs sell for millions of dollars.

Originally built only on the Ethereum network, NFTs are now being created on competing platforms like Solana and Avalanche and are available on hundreds of marketplaces like OpenSea, Rarible, Lavalabs, and SuperRare. In closing, Blake speaks about how NFTs and the metaverse are building bridges between art and communities, allowing people to virtually visit famous locations like Frida Kahlo’s studio at her home in Mexico.