Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are the latest cryptocurrency phenomenon to go mainstream. And after Christie's auction house sold the first-ever NFT artwork — a collage of images by digital artist Beeple for a whopping $69.3 million — NFTs have suddenly captured the world's attention.

So what are NFTs?

In the simplest terms, NFTs transform digital works of art and other collectibles into one-of-a-kind, verifiable assets that are easy to trade on the blockchain.

Although that may be far from simple for the uninitiated to understand, the payoff has been huge for many artists, musicians, influencers and the like, with investors spending top dollar to own NFT versions of digital images.

NFTs, on the other hand, are unique and not mutually interchangeable, which means no two NFTs are the same.

Think of Pokémon cards, rare coins or a limited-edition pair of Jordans: NFTs create scarcity among otherwise infinitely available assets — and there's even a certificate of authenticity to prove it. NFTs are typically used to buy and sell digital artwork and can take the form of GIFs, tweets, virtual trading cards, images of physical objects, video game skins, virtual real estate and more.

Essentially, any digital image can be purchased as an NFT. But there are a few things to consider when buying one, especially if you're a newbie. You'll need to decide what marketplace to buy from, what type of digital wallet is required to store it and what kind of cryptocurrency you'll need to complete the sale.

NFTs are also sold on marketplaces and the process can vary from platform to platform. You'll essentially upload your content to a marketplace then follow the instructions to turn it into an NFT. You'll be able to include specifics such as a description of the work and suggested pricing. Most NFTs are purchased using ethereum but can also be bought with other ERC-20 tokens such as WAX and Flow.

Anyone can create an NFT. All that's needed is a digital wallet, a small purchase of ethereum and a connection to an NFT marketplace where you'll be able to upload and turn the content into an NFT or crypto art. Simple, right?