E94 - What are Digital Non-Fungibles 101 - with Sustany Capital


Today there are just 4 to 5 million active crypto currency consumers across the entire globe. Compare that to the 400 million + people who buy and sell skins — a consumer force 100 times greater than the active crypto currency user base! And then consider that the current skin trading community represents just 22% of the 1.8 billion people who play video games. 


With the emergence of the game CryptoKitties, blockchain-based virtual items in form of non-fungible tokens (NFT) have garnered public attention and even made mainstream media such as the New York Times. With some NFTs selling for as much as $170,000, game publishers can no longer ignore the opportunities to add digital collectibles to their game plan.


"The future is already here —
  it's just not very evenly distributed."
This quote from futurist William Gibson has never been more pertinent than today. Sustany's Protocol Fund invests in distributed, decentralized and disruptive technologies with long term viability.


https://sustany.co
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/18/style/cryptokitty-auction.html
https://chicagoblockchainproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/vob-voice-281x300.png
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Ethereum_logo_2014.svg/2000px-Ethereum_logo_2014.svg.png
https://www.vinboundmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Wine-Bottle-Shots-1.png



1.
What does non-fungible mean?
To fully appreciate what makes these tokens special, it’s worth taking a look at the difference between “fungible” and “non-fungible.”
When something is fungible, in this case a token, it means it can be easily replaced by something identical – and it is interchangeable with ease.
Real world examples of something fungible could include grains of rice, or the $1 bank note in your pocket. If you were to lend that $1 to someone, it wouldn’t matter if they didn’t return the exact same one.
This all changes when something is non-fungible. Although two items may look to be identical at a glance, each will have unique information or attributes that make them irreplaceable or impossible to swap.
One physical example of a non-fungible asset could be a plane ticket. Sure, they look the same as other tickets, but each one has different passenger names, destinations, departure times and seat numbers. Exchanging yours with someone could have serious consequences – not only could you end up thousands of miles away from where you wanted to be, airport security might not be too impressed either.

2.
Why are non-fungible tokens different from other tokens?
Because they can offer unique characteristics which make them different and digitally scarce.
Many tokens – and indeed cryptocurrencies – are fungible. If you send someone a Bitcoin, and get one back, you wouldn’t notice any difference.
A lot of the time, fungible tokens are built using a standard called ERC-20. For the sake of simplicity, let’s imagine each of these tokens is a $10 bill. If you sent a token to someone, and got another one back a week later, they would be identical. (That said, there might be some fluctuation in price.)
This all changes with non-fungible tokens, many of which are ERC-721 compliant. These can be compared to baseball cards, as each has unique information and varying levels of rarity. If you were to accidentally send one of these tokens to someone, and get a different ERC-721 token back, you might be very upset.
There’s one more crucial difference you need to bear in mind. Fungible tokens are divisible – meaning you can send a fraction of one ERC-20 token. (Like cash, where you can pay with a $10 bill and get change.) On the other hand, non-fungible ERC-721 tokens cannot be divided and must be bought or sold whole. (Like baseball cards, where no one in their right mind would want to buy half.)






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