How Are Women Making Their Place (And Filling Their Wallet) in the NFTs Space.
NFTs are the norm of the future, and you should not do the same mistake of underestimating NFTs that many of us have done with bitcoin. I wish I weren’t on the list, and now I would also have been a millionaire. Anyways, the NFTs have taken the digital world by storm, and it is the right time for you ladies to gear up, get creative and win your spurs.
Some women digital artists have already started creating NFTs, but we need more and more women to make hay while the sun shines. Not literally make hay. I mean, women should also get the benefit of NFTs.
What are NFT and its Blockchain
NFT stands for Non-Fungible Tokens; ooh, that looks like a heavy name. Hey, wait, wait, don’t close this page; it’s certainly not that difficult to understand NFTs as its name sounds. In simple words, NFTs are a piece of digital artwork. It can be a drawing, video, an article, music, or anything related to AI (Artificial Intelligence).
You will ask me who pays millions for a digital drawing or a video. Don’t you know many rich like to brag about owing an art (that cost them million dollars)? Ok, let’s get serious; NFTs are not all about rich and bragging. Many common people are also investing in NFTs, including those who love art and are only buying NFTs for investment purposes like they will resale them when their value rises.
So if the NFTs are just artwork, why are they called NFTs? Because they are non-fungible, each NFT is unique and cannot be replaced. If you swap cryptocurrency, you give one coin, and in return, you get another coin, but when you swap NFTs, you give one unique NFT, and in return, you get another unique NFT (you will never get the same thing).
Ethereum initially introduced non Fungible Tokens; that is why most NFTs today are backed by Ethereum Blockchain. NFTs are different from ETH, and some extra information is stored on the NFTs, making them valuable.
Eco-Sustainable NFTs and Blockchain
When NFTs got immense popularity, one of the biggest criticisms was their contribution towards carbon dioxide emission as we know that NFTs are backed by Ethereum blockchain, and they also work on the same technology as the cryptocurrency that is POW (Proof of work). Because of it, every aspect of NFT, from minting to mining to release it produces carbon emissions.
The alternative to the POW model is POS (proof of stake). The POS considerably reduces energy consumption because miners do not need to binge through electricity to acquire access to the blockchain constantly.
To move towards the eco-sustainable NFTs and blockchain, Ethereum has taken some major steps. With the ETH2 complete upgrade in 2022, Ethereum will transition from a PoW system to a PoS model. It would result in a 99 percent reduction in their energy use and a significant waste reduction. The market for CryptoArt and NFT may be better able to maintain itself if this transformation occurs
Women Have Started Entering into NFT Space
NFTs are becoming increasingly popular; however, many artists are men despite the impressive growth in blockchain-based digital artwork. Until recently, there were no female digital artists to create any NFTs, and if there were, they are not even worth mentioning.
This imbalance in the ratio of men and women is not limited to the creators, but there was a remarkable difference in the percentage of cryptocurrency and NFTs buyers. But this trend is changing now as a rising number of women in the creative fields embrace cryptocurrency and NFTs. They encourage more women to do the same to close the gender gap in this rapidly expanding industry.
Many women like Abidi and Sneha Chakraborty sell their NFTs on leading platforms. Many others have even launched full-fledged campaigns to motivate female digital artists and investors to participate in NFTs such as Women in blockchain conversion by Olivia Osborne, Women Rise by Maliha Abidi, and World of Women by Yam Karkai.
The hype of NFTs has even reached the showbiz world, too, and many famous female celebrities, including Reese Witherspoon and Eva Longoria, have entered the NFT space, and both of these celebrities have bought NFTs created by World of Women. Eva and Reese have made their owned NFTs their profile picture on Twitter.
How Can Women Invest in NFTs?
It is not wrong to say that now is the right time for more and more women to enter the NFT space before it gets saturated with men creators and investors. But here arises a question that how to invest in NFTs. The process is very simple, and there is no rocket science.
- The first step is to select a marketplace. Many online marketplaces are available, but some leading platforms are OpenSea, Nifty Mintable, Rarible, Foundation, and SuperRare.
- You’ll also have to set up an Ethereum-compatible crypto wallet. A cryptocurrency wallet is a digital account where you can save your coins. Wallets can be created on platforms like Metamask, Binance, and Coinbase.
- Create an account on the marketplace of your choice.
- The next step is to link your crypto wallet to your marketplace. The majority of markets include a straightforward ‘Connect wallet’ option on their platform.
- Choose an NFT from the marketplace. Your NFT will be sold through an auction on most marketplaces; you will need to bid for it.
- After a successful bid, the required money will be charged from your wallet.
How Can Democratizing Technology Empower Women?
The term “democratize technology” refers to the process through which technology becomes more accessible to a wider range of individuals. It means that women also get an equal chance to use technological resources and get the same technological opportunities as men. This practice can give women access to modern technologies and platforms to get more information and knowledge about their rights, to explore new ways of earning (cryptocurrency and NFTs), and ultimately women get empowered.
Final Thoughts:
The NFT and cryptocurrency market was initially saturated by men just like any other sector, but now many women have started participating as digital artists and investors in this market. Many women activists are working on motivating and bringing women’s power into the NFTs space, but there is a need to democratize the technology of NFTs for women. To make NFT space inclusive for women, it is necessary to launch different education and training programs
