WTF Is an NFT? (And Should You 'Invest' in One?)

You've probably heard about the NFT, but perhaps you don't fully understand why people are buying/selling them...you're not alone! Today we explain the topic and whether it really stands as the next "investment paradigm shift."

DISCLAIMER:
This channel is for education purposes only and is not affiliated with any financial institution, although Richard does work as an employee for an investment manager. Richard Coffin is not registered to provide investment advice and as such does not provide recommendations on The Plain Bagel - those looking for investment advice should seek out a registered professional. Richard is not responsible for investment actions taken by viewers.

[ThePlainBagel]

Just for fun, let’s start the (hypothetical) bidding at $0.01; what would you actually be willing to pay for the bagel NFT? (Completely non-binding but interested in genuine answers!)

[HowMoneyWorks]

But hear me out for a second here... what if we put the Szechuan Sauce... on the plain bagel?

Does this increase it's value?

Or is it now worthless because the sauce has been opened and the bagel is no longer plain...

Someone's gotta be asking these questions.

[edwinlor]

A long while ago, some people actually thought they could retire with beanie babies. Those dolls were arguably 'collectibles' and some were indeed rare. Long story short, most of them had to re-plan their retirements.

[josephmassaro]

As a comic book retailer I can definitely say, with some confidence, that scarcity does not necessarily create value. There are plenty of scarce comic books (low print runs) that are worth very little because no one wants them. People suddenly want it when there is some hype around the book or a character such as a movie or tv series or the return of a long abandoned or dormant character. But these books rarely retain that value since it was generated by an event. When the event is over, the value usually drops.

[lexslate]

Ah, NFTs. Amazing technology. Tremendously useful for doing things we could do already, at a greatly increased cost and with more buzzwords. Perfect for techbros. Pretty good for money launderers, too.

[kenj]

"Hopefully it's starting to make a little bit of sense as to why people are buying and selling these things."
No. No, sir, it is not.

[darthrevan]

The world really has gone crazy when investors are talking about virtual worthless collectibles which are crazy expensive

[TheEndsJustifyTheMemes]

This reminds me of that "I am rich" app that sold for $10 000 a pop before it got banned by Apple back in like 2009 or so.

[MattRoszak]

I think this video is too kind to NFTs - I've seen threads from programmers talking about how insecure they are - the data in them is often just a URL link to an image, or JSON file, and the NFT doesn't contain the image itself. Meaning that if the platform goes down, your NFT URL could point to nothing, or some new malware site!

Not to mention that a lot of artists are having their art stolen and turned into NFTs without their permission, and artists who are making their own NFTs often aren't making a profit - they're just paying the platform some fees and getting nothing out of it.

[karthik]

Imagine that your bagel digital art gets all the hype and gets sold for a million dollar. All your research, knowledge and hard work trying to invest is thrown out of the window.

[SwissSareth]

Whoever came up with the idea of selling a worthless amount of bits for a lot of bits that can easily be copied, is a genius.

[thewilltheway]

If you put that bagel on an nft it would be worth a lot.
There is so much value in it. You're popular. You drew it on your video. You told people not to buy it. Buying it would be ironic.
You could easily sell it for a $1000.

[angada]

As someone who’s in finance as well, I love your videos. Simple, comprehensive, and straight to the point. Keep it up!

[mjdh]

8:34 Never underestimate the power of a meme. I wouldn't be surprised if it reached a few hundreds just for the LOLs.

[gianmarcovescovo]

Best painters of history:
Van Gogh
Leonardo da Vinci
Monet
The Plain Bagel

[A_page_a_day]

A fool and their money are soon separated. I've been separated from mine for many things, but not on NFTs.

[aealaeddin]

You telling me not to buy that bagel makes me want to buy it O_O

[cryptoflippodcast]

*Why would I invest in one when I could sell one*

That's thinking in 3D 😎❤️

[ChandelierLeBlair]

My friend bought an NFT for 1800 bucks. Sold it for 30k a few days later. I knew I was never going to touch this game with a 10 foot pole because I know I'll end up being the last fool at the end of the conga line

[benjaminclehmann]

take art trading but make it less regulated and more liquid? Sounds like a money launderer's wet dream.