Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) — also known as “nifties” — are unique, indivisible, and provably scarce digital assets that are useful in gaming, art, and ensuring the provenance of luxury goods. Since the success of CryptoKitties in late 2017, the application of NFTs has grown rapidly, proving the functionality of blockchain in sectors far beyond finance and cryptocurrency.

The NFT space has won the appeal of gamers, artists, luxury consumers, and digital-cat enthusiasts, yet uses for non-fungible tokens just keeps on expanding.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are unique, indivisible digital assets created on blockchains. Each NFT’s uniqueness can be proven by its unique label created by making use of specialized cryptographic code, and no token can be interchanged for another. In this way, NFTs are different from fungible assets like bitcoin or fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar. One bitcoin is always the same as any other bitcoin in circulation, and as such, units of bitcoin can be interchanged.

Most NFTs are built using the ERC-721 token standard, an Ethereum-compatible identifier that was created by the developers .Now, it is commonplace to find NFTs in gaming, collectibles, and art. NFTs are even used to ensure the provenance (historical record of ownership) of luxury goods. Non-fungible tokens can also be bought, sold, and traded on digital marketplaces like OpenSea and Nifty Gateway.