NFTs aren’t just digital art — they’re also farts, weddings rings, songs and even porn

When the lockdown started in March last year, a Brooklyn filmmaker and his four friends needed something to pass the time. And, one of the first thoughts that crossed their minds was sending audio recordings of their farts to one another through a WhatsApp group chat.

One year later, the filmmaker — Alex Ramírez-Mallis — decided to auction 52 minutes of audio flatulence as an NFT called ‘One Calendar Year of Recorded Farts’, later selling it for a whopping $500.

Individual fart recordings are available too from anywhere between 0.005 to 0.05 Ethereum apiece, which is approximately $10 to $100 a pop.

If you think that’s ridiculous, you should know that Ramirez-Mallis would not disagree with you. Yet, there are many others following the same endeavour online.

Everyone wants their wedding ring to be unique, and what’s more unique than an NFT? In comparison to conventional wedding rings that lose value with wear and tear, an NFT is expected to increase in value over time.

At least that’s what a couple from California, Rebecca Rose and Peter Kacherginsky, believe. They got married in March earlier this year and exchanged virtual rings on their smartphone.

Unlike physical objects, blockchain is forever, according to the happy couple. And, the virtual rings now exist on blockchain "for all to see as proof of our commitment to each other," Rose said in a Tweet.

‘Making Vlad My Bitch’ — an image of a woman dragging Robinhood CEO Valdimir Tenev — is being sold on the cryptocurrency marketplace Rarible for 1 Ethereum — that’s a little over $1,772.

It was created by a dominatrix and artist called Cryptonatrix, who has also created other pieces like the one seen above. She’s only one of many in the adult entertainment industry catching onto the theme of not-safe-for-work (NSFW) NFTs. In fact, Pornvisory launched its own NFTs as early as October last year.

Not only do they bring in big money, but they’re also a new way for porn to distribute itself at a time when censorship on social media is at an all-time high.

Nyan Cat meme has been around since 2011. And its creator, Chris Toress, sold the NFT version for $580,000 in February, earlier this year.

The meme originated on YouTube and quickly became an internet sensation. It currently has over 200 million views on Google’s video streaming platform.

Throughout the three and half minute sequence, the cat — which has a Pop-tart for torso — does little more than fly through space, leaving a rainbow trail in its wake. Yet, it went viral in 2011 — and its current value is pegged at half a million dollars.

The band Kings of Leon — known for songs like Use Somebody, The Bucket, and Sex on Fire — has plans to release its next album called When You See Yourself as an NFT on April 9.

The normal version of the album will be released on the usual platforms — Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon — but three types of NFT versions will only be available on YellowHeart.

The first type of token, priced at $50, includes enhanced media, which the Rolling Stone magazine describes as ‘a kind of like an alternate, moving album cover’ along with as well as a digital download of the music, and limited-edition vinyl.

The second type of token is a ‘golden ticket’. There will only be 18 of these. Each token offers perks like front-row seats for life at every Kings of Leon concert, and a VIP experience at every tour including a personal driver and time-slotted to hang out with the band before a show.

The final option is a set of six unique-looking tokens that are standard NFTs with elaborate audiovisual art.

Over time, all of these NFTs are expected to increase in value.

Even though excitement around NFTs surged in late 2020 and early 2021, they’re officially been around since at least 2017.

There were some NFT-like projects before then — like Quantum by Kevin McCoy — but the launch of CryptoPunks by Larvalabs was the first time anyone thought to generate unique lines of code that would translate into 10,000 characters where no two were alike.

At the time, the aim wasn’t profit. All of these ‘punks’ were generated and claimed for free when the project launched four years ago. Now, nine of them are going to be up for sale at the Christie’s auction house in May. This is the same auction house that sold Beeple’s ‘Everydays: The First 5000 Days’ for a record-breaking $69 million.

Based on past sales, Christie’s estimates that the CyberPunks collection may sell for an estimated $7 million to $8 million.