NFTs, an emerging form of technology built on cryptocurrency, are online tokens that can be used for selling or trading. These non-fungible tokens, better known as NFTs, are basically art pieces or digital content that can’t be replicated or replaced. NFTs are unique, by acting as holders for any data. From a snapshot of a NBA highlight reel to an intricate multi-medium digital artwork, these pieces are stored into a blockchain.
Blockchains act as a form of digital folders for cryptocurrency transactions that’s organized in chronological order. There’s a good chance you haven’t heard of what an NFT is for, let alone what it is.
For starters, let’s define what NFTs are: they’re called “Non-fungible Tokens” where these assets cannot be traded with something of equal value. It’s like where a dollar is the same as any other dollar, a bitcoin is the same as any other bitcoin, however no two NFTs are exactly alike.
NFTs came into play as a way for digital artists to claim the originality of their artwork online. When the artwork is being minted online, it’s entered into a database to keep track of who owned what and where it came from. While the original artist of the artwork is able to earn a percentage for every resell or trade of the artwork, this digital token is passed through and logged onto a series of data ledgers.
When NFTs are purchased from the artist, they’re proof of the ownership.
“This blockchain entry is unique to the piece of work minted, so when it is purchased from the artist, it acts as a proof of your ownership. The actual digital art can still be copied in its usual file types (e.g. .jpeg or .png), but not the associated NFT,” said Jiahui Qiu, a journalist from Earth.org.
In order for buyers and sellers to cash-out their currency is through Ethereum, a platform that houses a digital currency and global payments. NFTs are paid with ether, the cryptocurrency on Ethereum, which equates to 4,441.97 U.S. dollars. However, with ether the prices fluctuate, and share the same same-risks of stock fluctuations. Ethereum is only one type of cryptocurrencies, similar to bitcoin and dogecoin, NFTs are a part of the Ethereum blockchain.
However, NFTs pose a threat to our planet. While NFTs are in their early stages, it’s energy transaction is similar to powering a single U.S. household. The energy consumption is measured by the miners, people who can earn cryptocurrency without dishing money out for it, that run on concentrated machines that are used to verify and add the purchases to the blockchain 24/7.
“According to the Digiconomist website, a single Ethereum transaction consumes more than 70.32 kWh, enough to power 1 U.S. household for 2.5 days. This is equivalent to a carbon footprint of around 34 Kg of carbon dioxide (CO2),” said Vikram Barhat, a journalist from Morningstar, “Compared with traditional sources of consumption, this carbon footprint is equivalent to watching more than 5,700 hours of YouTube video or over 76,000 credit card transactions. Ethereum consumes more energy per year than all of Denmark and has a carbon footprint the size caused by Lithuania, according to the site.”
While the purpose of NFTs is to serve ownership on pieces of digital media, it drives the need to want more sustainable approaches. This should raise red flags when reading into the process of NFTs. It involves minting and officiating the NFTs into a digital ledger, then the interlocked webbed transactions of who bought what, then currency transaction of ether into USD, which basically leads to more carbon emissions.
Carbon emissions, not only encourage deadly global climate change, but enforces the greenhouse effect. NFT users are actively producing a carbon footprint that builds on top of the snow caps melting and light pollution in the sky.
Why should you worry about the impacts of NFTs and ongoing carbon emissions into the atmosphere? Everyone lives on one planet, we cannot procrastinate and push these environmental concerns to the side. Bitcoin, NFTs, or cryptocurrency use electrical energy and carbon.
While a single penny doesn’t weigh against a large purchase, when collected slowly it builds overtime. This should be applied to the same process, while NFTs are in their early stages, it’s important to recognize that these small electrical waste emissions or carbon production will continually pile up.
Time doesn’t wait for everyone, and we sure as hell do not have enough time to push Earth to the side.