4 years ago

6 NFT’s for Good Causes

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I am a Moroccan-American freelance writer who loves good vegan food, living consciously and dressing... Read More

An NFT, or non-fungible token, “is a digital asset that represents real-world objects like art, music, in-game items and videos.” These online art pieces are usually purchased with cryptocurrency and have similar software to cryptocurrencies, too.

While NFTs were first introduced in 2014, their popularity skyrocketed in 2017. Since November 2017, $174 million has been spent on NFTs globally. Every NFT has a built-in authentication so buyers know and can prove they have the only “real” online version of the piece. This doesn’t mean that other people can’t see the artwork on Google, though. Think of NFTs as a digital trading card.

Selling or auctioning off NFTs for charity is becoming more common and the profits are being used for different environmental and social causes. While the environmental impact of NFTs is significant, they are being used to Support good causes.

Here are five NFTs that were auctioned off for charities that Support communities, animals, and the environment.

1. Ellen DeGeneres – World Central Kitchen

Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres sold several NFTs to her fans, including a monologue of her talking about the digital art scene. The sales totaled $33,495 with the monologue alone bringing in $14,555. All the money from the sales was donated to the food relief organization, World Central Kitchen. WCK provides emergency food relief and resilience programs to countries and communities in need.

2. Carole Baskin – Big Cat Rescue

Carole Baskin, most well known for her part in the Netflix docu-series Tiger King, has released the $CAT token for fans and supporters to purchase. There are also plans for her to launch cat NFTs as well.

In an interview with BeinCrypto, Baskin said, “I see this as a kind of gateway to a much, much bigger thing that I want to do for the cats, and I could see any charity as kind of building their metaverse where they attract people of like minds together.”

3. The Drum – The Marching Cobras

The Drum magazine sold an NFT of their magazine’s cover art. The auctioned cover, created by their design team, “depicts the world’s shift into understanding a new normal, representing a historic moment for the marketing industry.”

The proceeds from the sale will go to The Marching Cobras, a marching band from the organization Cobra Performing Arts in Manhattan. The organization works with inner-city kids by giving them activities to do and aspirations to keep them motivated.

4. Save the Chimps

painting

Cheetah painting. Photo courtesy of Save the Chimps

Save the Chimps, the largest privately funded chimp sanctuary, auctioned off several chimp-painted pieces. The collection, named Primal Expressions, was created by several chimps with a passion for the arts. The charity decided to go with Truesy for their NFTs, which “consumes 2,000,000x less energy than first-generation blockchains like Bitcoin or Ethereum.”

All of the proceeds from the sales go to funding the sanctuary which provides food, companionship, and intellectual enrichment for the animals.

5. Beeple – Open Earth Foundation

The artist Beeple’s “EVERYDAYS” series is an NFT art collection that has had enormous success. The First 5,000 Days sold for $69 million. Beeple’s piece “OCEAN FRONT” was bought for $6 million and the proceeds from the piece were donated to Open Earth Foundation. The non-profit foundation combats Climate change by using technologies, and collaborations to help create a strong and healthier world.

6. A Better Tomorrow

While there’s no denying that cryptocurrencies have their downfalls, it’s always refreshing to see new technologies being used for the better good of the environment and communities. Hopefully, as NFTs and crypto become more mainstream, their philanthropic potential isn’t lost in the possibility for individual gain and profit.