"NFTs are scams" or so they say.

So, Twitter.

Yes, good ole Twitter.

I was minding my business, scrolling down and burying myself with SatoSugu and Jujutsu Kaisen content on Twitter until I stumble upon Ko-fi and itch.io's post.

If you do not, Ko-fi is a platform similar to Patreon that allows users to donate and tip (buying of coffee, in this case) creators while itch.io is a game distribution site.

TLDR: Ko-fi and itch.io stand against NFT and do not support NFT creators in their platform.

In itch.io's word, "NFTs are scams" and Ko-fi dismisses it as "No Flipping Thanks".

Let that sink in for a bit.

..

..

..

Alright, are we good?

Okay *clears throat*

Well, to be honest, what they stated stings a bit as I am pro-NFT. Of course, not everyone will and can understand, and accept cryptocurrency and NFTs.

Way back when I was struggling where to start my art career, Patreon was the IT girl of donation platforms. Maybe Patreon was the only donation platform at that time until Ko-fi came along. The downside of using Patreon was it was a monthly subscription platform. Yes, the merit would be that patrons receive rewards every month as a thank you for subscribing but it could be stressful for artists and creators who cannot produce content constantly. Also, patrons can cancel their subscription when they got the incentive they want even before the renewal of their subscription so that's quite a minus point for the platform (This could have changed now).

That's how Ko-fi came into the picture. Ko-fi is a similar donation platform as Patreon as I said earlier but the difference is artists and creators can choose to accept only donations through tipping or put on a paywall for every content they want to earn from.

itch.io, on the other hand, is a website where you can "host, sell and/or download indie games". I have not done deeper research and have not used to platform to speak about it so do your own little goggle search to know more.

(Pretty Bois NFT: Igarashi Yuuya, Token ID)

However, with the rise of cryptocurrency, especially NFTs and NFT games, people's opinions are divided.

I, myself, have been very vocal about my stance regarding NFT. I have once said that NFT is an opportunity for artists, whatever your medium is. NFT is a great way to eradicate the middle man in the art industry. You get to be your own marketing agent and seller because of the peer-to-peer transaction that NFT and cryptocurrency have offered. It is indeed the next chapter of art history.

NFT is also the new way of collecting art.

However, let's face it, the current move in the crypto space in terms of NFT is more of a way to earn than to collect art. Speed traders buy it at the lowest price they can and resell it 100x the original price. I can say that is the current status of NFT in the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. Anyone can make NFTs, don't get me wrong. But only a handful are here to collect NFTs and appreciate them as art.

It would have been nice if we get to have some sort of display feature in Noise or in other crypto-blogging platforms, where we can showcase the NFT collection we bought and own.

I am also very much aware of the mocking of NFT art and the "right-click, save as image" fiasco. So I understand when people ask "what's the point of NFT?". But what they also do not understand is that transaction, the digital signature, you are paying for the NFT is the proof that you won that art piece. It is the same as traditional painting. There is a lot of replicas of, let's say, the Mona Lisa, but with NFT, you have blockchain-backed proof of ownership.

I also read arguments about the "use case" of NFTs.

With the rising popularity of NFT games, many question NFT artists, who plainly make Crypto Art and sell them as NFTs, the usage or aim of releasing those NFTs. In the BCH-SmartBCH blockchain, many are asking for staking features when a token releases NFT collections. I am not against gaining profit, don't get me wrong; for some, that is the point why they jumped into cryptocurrency. But if people have not found a use case for traditional art pieces, again like the Mona Lisa, why debate about the use case of Crypto Art as NFTs? I just don't see the point.

(Korin Kre-at NFT: Furirin Cosplaying as Erza Scarlet, Token ID)

Going back to Ko-fi, they stated their negative stance against NFTs. However, there are also creators and artists that protest some adjustments in their policies to accommodate a wider variety of art categories, especially the NSFW community. To put it simply, Ko-fi is against anything that is NSFW (because Paypal is one of their payment options which means Paypal also does not support NSFW content).

Furthermore, itch.io blatantly dismissed NFT saying "NFTs are scams", exploitative and is "destroying the planet". I have to admit that I have not researched enough to know the effects of cryptocurrency and NFT on our planet. When I read more articles about itch.io on their statement against NFT, I understand their negativity since their aim is to support the game creators and their unique games rather than build the company into a huge game distributor.

NFT, in its current state, is not perfect but there is plenty of room for improvement. I am also squinting hard on those NFTs that sell at a ridiculous price. Again, don't get me wrong, even unknown artists sell NFT art in a value way higher than a traditional artwork of an unknown artist would sell in real life. For artists, it is a novel way to put their name out into the world. Have I mentioned that crypto is predominantly uncensored? NSFW artists are popping here and there so the crypto space is another option for them.

The world today may be driven by "hype" but as Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile, a major NFT collector who bought one of Beeple's NFT and co-founder of Museum of Crypto Art, stated in an interview, NFT "is not just a hype thing".

NFT isn't going anywhere. It will evolve to cater to our crypto needs and what do you know, maybe some will have no choice but to jump into the bandwagon.

That's it for now.

Remember, creativity is contagious. Pass it on.

Let's be nice to each other.

See you at the next one.

Disclaimer: Opinions stated in this article are of my own and do not reflect those of ArtPark CryptoArt Community or of my brand, Crimson Owl Studio.

Credits:
Images, except for the screenshots, are from my NFT collection.
Lead image is created on Canva.

I'm crimsonowl, a random otaku in the blockchain, creator of ArtPark CryptoArt Community, an artist-in-progress trying to make a living out of art, an NFT artist-creator, a crypto blogger talking about anime, art, and everything in between.

Find me in the Cryptoverse: Hive | Noise.cash | Read.cash | Twitter