Is there any real difference between NFTs and rug-pulling schemes? A massive scam

[RichMedusa]

Outside of fancy explanations (and bullshit):

NFTs are basically a collection of stupid images with no real value that a group of people decided to give an artificial value. It becomes something real and tangible the moment that group starts convincing other people that these stupid images are actually worth some money.

Usually, the initial group and the first ones to buy bank and leave the project and you need to guess or predict the right moment to do the same, if not, in 2023 you will be holding a stupid image that is worth less than a popsicle.

Entering OpenSea these days is like visiting a graveyard full of dead 'projects' and ideas. Obviously there are a few collections with sales every second, but what about the projects from 2021 when this was a trend and these images were said to be worth a fortune in the future?

Well, those +2 years collections are pretty much all dead with a sale every three days for 0.0005 ETH. The vast majority of collections are like that. Normal collections, we are not talking about the famous monkeys that are still worth tons of money precisely because they are the exceptions that are within the reach of few people.

Many YT channels made videos about "buy this promising NFT", just because they were cheaper and more accessible, the average Joe Doe doesn't have the money to buy a fucking 4ETH monkey... and now, the vast majority of these collections are dead.

Oh, the chances of recovering the investment are higher if you bought some shitcoin, because possibly the price of that coin will rise along with BTC and maybe you can recover a higher percentage of your investment compared to believing that a 2021 project will emerge from the shadows and in 2025 will have some success.

Well, the NFT for me, was one of the biggest massive scams in history, was promoted even by the mainstream media and today is just a cemetery of dead projects. In the next bull-run, new scam-projects will emerge, there is no need to resurrect the dead.

If you have 10ETH to buy one of the few exceptions, feel privileged, because the vast majority have lost money trying to find a project that is promising, i.e. cheap and affordable and will increase in value.

 

[xReminisce]

NFTs isn't just limited to images though, it can be anything.
DC universe NFTed their comics and sell it through that now too.
There are songs that NFT'ed even albums that NFT'ed aswell.
NFT Domains exist too in web3
Yes, most "NFTs" we see are stupid images that was worth thousands 2 years ago are worthless today
but to me, i see a valid usecase of NFTs, it was just abused & quickly lost interest as a whole by quick-selling/scam/rugpull schemes

 

[RichMedusa]

NFTs isn't just limited to images though, it can be anything.
DC universe NFTed their comics and sell it through that now too.
There are songs that NFT'ed even albums that NFT'ed aswell.
NFT Domains exist too in web3
Yes, most "NFTs" we see are stupid images that was worth thousands 2 years ago are worthless today
but to me, i see a valid usecase of NFTs, it was just abused & quickly lost interest as a whole by quick-selling/scam/rugpull schemes

This is like a digital product created by DC, the actual value of that product is based on decades of work by DC. This has real value, it's from a giant brand. Obviously, if Guns and Roses start selling ''NFT'' albums and songs, that has real value based on the real world and the brand built.

Something completely different from 99% of NFT projects that people usually buy in the hope that they will have a real value one day.

 

[xReminisce]

This is like a digital product created by DC, the actual value of that product is based on decades of work by DC. This has real value, it's from a giant brand. Obviously, if Guns and Roses start selling ''NFT'' albums and songs, that has real value based on the real world and the brand built.

Something completely different from 99% of NFT projects that people usually buy in the hope that they will have a real value one day.

Does it matter?
an NFT is still an NFT regardless who makes it.
Why are you now changing the definition of an NFT to suit your argument?

 

[RichMedusa]

Does it matter?
an NFT is still an NFT regardless who makes it.
Why are you now changing the definition of an NFT to suit your argument?

Yes, that matters to me. Because these big brands that have built real value based on real life create digital products that fit the NFT concept to tap into a profitable trend. It's just another way to deliver content and real value that they were already producing before the trend. While the focus of this thread from the first post is not big brands, 5ETH monkeys or the project-exceptions that are the gigantic minority.

 

[AccKing]

I'm glad I didn't waste a penny and a second of my life waiting for some bionic monkey in a pink skirt to be more expensive than a monkey in a black skirt on some stupid project...most already said it was a scam, sometimes the truth is much simpler than trying to juggle to hide it behind nonsense

 

[Gogol]

This is like a digital product created by DC, the actual value of that product is based on decades of work by DC. This has real value, it's from a giant brand. Obviously, if Guns and Roses start selling ''NFT'' albums and songs, that has real value based on the real world and the brand built.

Something completely different from 99% of NFT projects that people usually buy in the hope that they will have a real value one day.

It totally depends on what is being "sold" as a NFT.

When you buy a DC NFT, are you buying some copyrighted image/pdf? Or are you just buying a transaction on the blockchain which anyone can see/access? I guess the later.

Some NFTs do have some real value. You could for example sell some concert tickets like this. In that case that would have real value because you won't be able to enter the concert without buying the NFT. Unfortunately for most cases, you get NOTHING except a transaction on the blockchain that shows you own the NFT. You DO NOT buy copyright of anything.

I personally wouldn't mind buying some Guns and Roses songs as NFT, but I don't see anything like that. If they are selling a picture of Slash's guitar as a NFT, then no thanks. I can download that from the internet.

 

[xReminisce]

Yes, that matters to me. Because these big brands that have built real value based on real life create digital products that fit the NFT concept to tap into a profitable trend. It's just another way to deliver content and real value that they were already producing before the trend. While the focus of this thread from the first post is not big brands, 5ETH monkeys or the project-exceptions that are the gigantic minority.

Like I said
NFT are NFTs.
Everyone finds value in different things.
Pictures are worthless? Then why are there pictures in the museum or even black markets of artworks going for millions in cash?
To me the Mona Lisa is useless, but everyone knows that is worth $$$$. So should I just call that a scam now?
It is up to you to ultimately to decide, if it is worth the $ when you buy any NFT.
If you are solely looking to flip, then sure, NFT is probably not the best marketplace currently with the marketplace infested with scammers.

Owning an NFT doesn't necessary mean, you have to make money off it.

I personally wouldn't mind buying some Guns and Roses songs as NFT, but I don't see anything like that. If they are selling a picture of Slash's guitar as a NFT, then no thanks. I can download that from the internet.

Nas sold some of their songs as an NFT as an example
You became joint owner of the actual song, gaining up to 2% of the royalties (or something). That's lifetime passive income if you can get an ROI. Once again, that would depend on the artist.
If you buy a song from a no-name and they stay no-name forever, and never make an hit, the nft probably remains useless forever. A scam? No, you still owned the song... You jst never profitable from it.
But if it's lets say you brought rights to an Ed Sheeran or Michael Jackson song, then yeah, you could see a ROI real fast right?
This seems to still be quite experimental & probably early stages and not sure how many artist would follow through, I seen quite alot of underground artist do it but thats just like the example.

 

[RichMedusa]

It totally depends on what is being "sold" as a NFT.

When you buy a DC NFT, are you buying some copyrighted image/pdf? Or are you just buying a transaction on the blockchain which anyone can see/access? I guess the later.

Some NFTs do have some real value. You could for example sell some concert tickets like this. In that case that would have real value because you won't be able to enter the concert without buying the NFT. Unfortunately for most cases, you get NOTHING except a transaction on the blockchain that shows you own the NFT. You DO NOT buy copyright of anything.

I personally wouldn't mind buying some Guns and Roses songs as NFT, but I don't see anything like that. If they are selling a picture of Slash's guitar as a NFT, then no thanks. I can download that from the internet.

Again, not the focus of the thread.

I thought I made it pretty clear that there are some exceptions, usually expensive and not very accessible ones that give you real value thanks to brand history in real life or simply allow you to access physical items or tangible benefits like tickets at concerts, like you said.

Like I said
NFT are NFTs.
Everyone finds value in different things.
Pictures are worthless? Then why are there pictures in the museum or even black markets of artworks going for millions in cash?
To me the Mona Lisa is useless, but everyone knows that is worth $$$$. So should I just call that a scam now?
It is up to you to ultimately to decide, if it is worth the $ when you buy any NFT.
If you are solely looking to flip, then sure, NFT is probably not the best marketplace currently with the marketplace infested with scammers.

Yes, images of dead projects listed on OpenSea that have 1 sale every 5 days are completely useless from a practical point of view and from a relative point of view.

I really don't understand why you are mentioning Mona Lisa, DC and big things when the focus of the post from the first comment is dead projects that were once touted as promising because they were affordable and supposedly had the potential to quadruple your initial investment.

 

[Gogol]

Nas sold some of their songs as an NFT as an example
You became joint owner of the actual song, gaining up to 2% of the royalties (or something). That's lifetime passive income if you can get an ROI. Once again, that would depend on the artist.
If you buy a song from a no-name and they stay no-name forever, and never make an hit, the nft probably remains useless forever.
But if it's lets say you brought rights to an Ed Sheeran or Michael Jackson song, then yeah, you could see a ROI real fast right?
This seems to still be quite experimental & probably early stages and not sure how many artist would follow through, I seen quite alot of underground artist do it but thats just like the example.

Yup like I said, it could be made to have real value. The problem though is the fact that a NFT is not legally binding. The artist is not legally obligated to give you anything after purchase, like royalties (unless ofcourse the royalties are distributed by the smart contract itself).

That’s where I think more work is needed. Unless we could make it legally binding, noone will take it seriously.

 

[Monzani]

Unfortunately I lost thousands of dollars buying NFTs from a project called Castle Kids from a famous music producer, it was also listed in some YT videos that said it was really a next big thing, that it would have real-world benefits, made by professional designs and blah blah blah... despite there being a community, social media promotion and budget, today it is a bankrupt project and even the rarest items are no longer worth much. But I'm still holding on to it, maybe next bullrun it will gain traction again.

 

[xReminisce]

I really don't understand why you are mentioning Mona Lisa, DC and big things when the focus of the post from the first comment is dead projects that were once touted as promising because they were affordable and supposedly had the potential to quadruple your initial investment.

Because you are generalizing an entire industry over the acts of bad actors.
You are literally discrediting the creation of NFTs because you don't see value of it anymore, because you can't make money off it anymore, because bad actors are now scamming with it.
If i see an NFT i like, i really dont care if i can sell it later, i'll buy it just cuz i like it.

So should I just call school an entire scam system? cuz you know, degrees are useless right?
Should I call BHW an entire scam forum? cuz you know, people get scammed right?
You can't just change a definition of something to suit your own needs then ignore any real or valid use case of anything. There are bad actors everywhere in the industry. You just need to look for it. Some are in the open, others are behind the scenes.

Yup like I said, it could be made to have real value. The problem though is the fact that a NFT is not legally binding. The artist is not legally obligated to give you anything after purchase, like royalties (unless ofcourse the royalties are distributed by the smart contract itself).

That’s where I think more work is needed. Unless we could make it legally binding, noone will take it seriously.

I agree, it's something that I felt was rushed and wasn't polished at all.
Probably why the industry right now is like what it is.

 

[RichMedusa]

Because you are generalizing an entire industry over the acts of bad actors.
You are literally discrediting the creation of NFTs because you don't see value of it anymore, because you can't make money off it anymore, because bad actors are now scamming with it.
If i see an NFT i like, i really dont care if i can sell it later, i'll buy it just cuz i like it.

So should I just call school an entire scam system? cuz you know, degrees are useless right?
Should I call BHW an entire scam forum? cuz you know, people get scammed right?
You can't just change a definition of something to suit your own needs then ignore any real or valid use case of anything. There are bad actors everywhere in the industry. You just need to look for it. Some are in the open, others are behind the scenes.

Now you are inverting the proportionality of good and bad actors. At BHW, the vast majority are honest people.

In OpenSea, the vast majority are dead projects. The good actors are the exceptions, they are few. The honest and good actors NFT industry is usually just an extension of something that already had real and tangible value.

And the point is not that most Open Sea collections are from scammers or bad actors. The point is that they really are silly, unnecessary projects without any kind of real value that can't sustain their prices and end up devaluing, even if there are good intentions.

 

[xReminisce]

Now you are inverting the proportionality of good and bad actors. At BHW, the vast majority are honest people.

In OpenSea, the vast majority are dead projects. The good actors are the exceptions, they are few. The honest and good actors NFT industry is usually just an extension of something that already had real and tangible value.

And the point is not that most Open Sea collections are from scammers or bad actors. The point is that they really are silly, unnecessary projects without any kind of real value that can't sustain their prices and end up devaluing, even if there are good intentions.

I'm doing exactly what you are doing
making exceptions whenever I want to to fit my needs.

 

[RichMedusa]

I'm doing exactly what you are doing
making exceptions whenever I want to to fit my needs.

It's simple, the NFT industry is taken over by dead projects with no real value, even if there are good intentions from the authors of these projects who are not necessarily bad actors. And since the first comment of this post, this is the focus here: dead projects, with no real value that were just forgotten and devalued 97% compared to the 2021 price.

The few exceptions are usually funded projects or those belonging to big brands that from before have real value and a solid brand that already gives them the possibility to create tangible items and benefits.

Unfortunately I lost thousands of dollars buying NFTs from a project called Castle Kids from a famous music producer, it was also listed in some YT videos that said it was really a next big thing, that it would have real-world benefits, made by professional designs and blah blah blah... despite there being a community, social media promotion and budget, today it is a bankrupt project and even the rarest items are no longer worth much. But I'm still holding on to it, maybe next bullrun it will gain traction again.

Sorry, but you won't get that money back, better to sell for $15 and buy a pizza to reflect on another investment than expect a triumphant return from a failed project.

 

[Ronin74]

NFT is a NON FUNGIBLE TOKEN.
Its a token, just like a bitcoin, or ethereum or any of those millions out there.
The standards are a bit different though, so you can only mint one at a time, whereas you can mint billions of erc20 tokens.

NFT's was never meant to be a virtual jpg image.
The tech is there to tokenize physical goods.
You can tokenize your house into an nft.
You can mint 1 million tokens, representing the value of your NFT (where hte underlaying value alwasy will be your house's market value).
You can sell off, do emissions, buy back and do whatever you want with your house.
Without the bank telling you that you cant do that.

Oh.. why you need the NFT ?
Its the actual document. Whoever hold that NFT, will stay in the house.
Whoever buy tokens, will buy it according to the deal (attributes whatever) in the NFT (its not like someone can buy all your tokens and toss you out.. you still hold your NFT... they will just get all the profit the day the house is selling).

Now.. NFT's...
The jpg ones...
Its just a funny flopp.
Theyll never be worth anything again, unless they have a great usecase.

 

[Ronin74]

Actually, the best present usecase i have found for NFT's now, is to be used as content lockers on websites.
Do some exclusive shit for your members, and your NFT's can be worth a bit (based on how greedy you are.)