The South Sea bubble burst in 1720 and investors lost their shirts because they invested in something that didn’t really exist. Now, because there are always mugs ready to be parted from their money, we have non fungible tokens.
The British Museum is cashing in on the NFT boom by putting 20 of JMW Turner’s paintings up for sale in digital form.
The artworks will be sold as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are unique digital tokens encrypted with an artist’s signature verifying its ownership and authenticity and are permanently attached to the piece.
However, those buying the digital tokens at next month’s auction will not have physical ownership of the paintings, and will not be allowed to touch them.
So the investor is paying something for nothing in the hope that this nothing will increase in value. This is the kind of thing I’d expect Douglas Adams to have written about and we would have all laughed at the stupidity of those falling for it. But, no, it’s a thing, not a piece of satirical fiction. While early adopters might make a killing, further down the line people are going to get wiped out. This has Ponzi written all over it.
Peak stupidity
Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?…………
I often think that crypto currency is the same, but then on further thought “The Pound In Your Pocket” is only slightly better.
Douglas Adams came close when a colony used tree leaves as a currency, and a management consultant proposed a programme of defoliation to revalue the currency.
I was probably subliminally thinking of that, because he came to mind when I was reading the story.
I was reminded of an art work I heard of about 40 years ago. It consisted of a pattern of thick black lines painted on a white wall and a certificate of authenticity. If you bought it you received the certificate, the seller painted over their wall and you painted the design on your wall. Ownership of the certificate showed who had the genuine painting.
This seems to be a step further. No need to paint anything on your wall, the certificate is the art.
I’d missed that one. As Oswald says below – one born every minute. Also, the confidence trickster’s maxim applies, a mark deserves to be parted with his money.
One born every minute: two there waiting for him.o