NFT - History

History of NFT

While many people today identify NFTs with the Ethereum blockchain, the fact is that the concept existed long before Ethereum.

Colored Coins 2012

Meni Rosenfeld published a paper on the notion of "Colored Coins" on the Bitcoin blockchain on December 4, 2012. Colored Coins are a collection of ways to represent and maintain real-world assets on the Bitcoin blockchain, and they can be used to establish ownership. They're standard Bitcoins with a mark on them that defines how they're used.

Consider the following scenario: you have four distinct bank accounts and wish to assign each one a use case. Assume you have a savings account, a billing account, a casino account, and a college savings account. The money is then separated and distinct. Even though the concept of Colored Coins was never fulfilled owing to Bitcoin's constraints, it provided the foundation for future NFT experiments.

NFT was first ever created in 2014

Kevin McCoy, a digital artist, created the first-known NFT "Quantum" on May 3, 2014. Quantum is a pixelated octagon with various forms that pulse in a fascinating pattern. The one-of-a-kind Quantum art sculpture sold for almost $1.4 million in a Sotheby auction on November 28, 2021.

Between 2014 - 2016

Platforms developed on top of the Bitcoin blockchain have seen a lot of growth and experimentation throughout the years. The Counterparty platform (Bitcoin 2.0) is the most notable, as it allows digital assets to be created. Later, Spells of Genesis followed in Counterparty's footsteps, pioneering the issue of game assets through its platform. Finally, in 2016, the meme era began with the Counterparty platform's introduction of Rare Pepes NFTs.

Ethereum Blockchain introduced in 2014

With the launch of the Ethereum blockchain in 2014 and its platform being live on July 30, 2015, a new era for NFTs began. The Ethereum blockchain established a set of token specifications that enabled developers to create tokens. 

Cryptopunks 2017

Following the success of Rare Pepes, John Watkinson and Matt Hall decided to launch an Ethereum-based generative project. With a limit of 10,000 pieces, no two characters would ever be the same. The project was called Cryptopunks.

Source : Cryptopunks

CryptoKitties 2017-2018

CryptoKitties is a virtual game built on the blockchain that allows players to adopt, breed, and sell virtual cats straight from their wallets. Axiom Zen, a Vancouver-based company, revealed it during the world's largest Ethereum hackathon. 

Source : Cryptokitties

NFT Gaming 2018 - 2020

NFTs have slowly but gradually received public attention since then, mostly as a result of NFT gaming and metaverse projects. With its decentralized Ethereum-based VR platform, Decentraland was the first to enter this space (MANA). Decentraland allows gamers to explore, create, play games, earn items, and do other things. Consider Minecraft, with the exception that everything you build, discover, and earn there is yours to keep.

Soon after, Enjin Coin (ENJ), a blockchain-based platform that allows developers to tokenize in-game products on Ethereum, began to appear in platforms and games. Axie Infinity (AXS), a blockchain-based trade and battle game that is partly owned and controlled by its users, has also emerged. During the crypto-winter (bad market), all of those platforms were in development, and many people were unaware of them. That is, until 2021 when NFTs became commonplace.

NFT Explosion & Metaverse 2021

In 2021, NFTs became more popular. Cardano, Solana, Tezos, Flow, and other Blockchains have entered the fight with their own versions of NFTs, adding additional restrictions to verify that the digital assets represented are actually unique. As word of Facebook renamed itself Meta and shifted to the metaverse spread, NFT demand rose in the fourth quarter, particularly in the metaverse.

Now, it's time to understand the blockchain.