I have to admit, I don’t really get NFTs. I understand what they are, how they work, where to buy them, how to trade them. But I don’t get the “why”. Recently a Chia farmer and fan going by ChiaFarmers ran a contest handing out his “Farmers of Chialisp” collection on OpenSea, and he was kind enough to write a little bit about why he’s excited about NFTs on the Chia blockchain. Full disclosure, I was one of the winners of his contest randomly selected but I was curious regardless.
Due to NFT’s digital distribution, life-time royalties for artists, and the power of blockchain technology in general, the new NFT model looked to me as it has the potential to become a sustainable practice for artists.
That’s until I understood the magnitude of the environmental impacts of the current blockchain technology behind NFTs: It is a disaster. An average NFT has a carbon footprint equivalent to an EU resident’s electricity usage for two months. This is an ecological nightmare pyramid scheme and I was devastated to more and more understand that NFTs have an environmental footprint as stunning as the gold-rush Intoxication they’ve evoked.
This is fundamentally different to the idea why I support and truly believe in Chia. As much as it is financially enticing, I couldn’t expand my involvement in NFTs beyond the Farmers of Chialisp collection – as long as they are based on blockchain technology, which contribute to such a disaster.
Nevertheless, I recognize the indescribable success of the current NFT ecosystem and greatly appreciate its presence. It’s the first time in history that blockchain technology is adapted by masses. It’s a bless for all blockchain projects out there and has opened many windows of opportunities. And I am truly convinced that disruptive things never come along perfect. We still need to let them happen, to find their own primordial ways and to unfold their secrets about which path to follow. Otherwise we’d never see big changes happen.
And don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying NFTs, lets say based on PoST technology, would be perfect. But everything is in transition. Always. And as long as this transition leads a way towards a better solution for nature, humankind and the whole universe I think it’s damn worth fighting for.
And so I see the NFT art model. To grind a way to a more sustainable future of NFTs requires first to immerse yourself in its context. Become a part of it. Learn how it works. Build some audience. Leave a footprint as much as you can. And then support streams which pave the way towards a brighter future.
Don’t you ever look back. Focus on what lies ahead. Keep everything you have learned in your heart.
Happy farming y’all!
-ChiaFarmers.io
I still don’t really get it. I am not really sure what is so attractive about owning NFTs but I get what ChiaFarmers is saying here, about Chia solving one of the ethical issues about buying into the system from an artist’s perspective. I am not sure how widespread that feeling will be, but it might make Chia a very attractive platform for other artists looking to get into NFTs.
