Explore the phenomenon: NFTs and crypto currencies

Learning material about virtual currencies and especially about NFTs. Find out what the teacher and the student need to know about these phenomena with the help of the text, video and tasks.

NFT, Non-Fungible Token, is one of the latest internet trends. To understand what NFT means, you first need to figure out what ‘non-fungible’ refers to.

If an asset is non-fungible, it is unique and therefore not interchangeable. Money is fungible, interchangeable since a 20-euro note can be exchanged for another 20-euro note or two 10-euro notes. However, art is unique and non-fungible since a piece of art cannot be exchanged for another one.

There is also a big difference between owning an original work or its copy, and fakes can often be recognised. It is easy to make accurate replicas of digital works. An image, a video or an audio file can be downloaded onto a computer, at which point the piece of work exists as a copy on the computer. This is why other means, such as NFTs, are required for the verification of the ownership of original digital works.

NFT is a code that is used as the unique ownership certification of a non-fungible asset. NFTs can be linked to physical products, but usually they are used to verify the ownership of digital art, music, images, videos and computer game items that only exist in a digital format. Probably the most widely known use case is the use of NFTs in digital art sales (e.g. NyanCat on the OpenSea platform).

NFTs are bought and sold in crypto currency. Crypto currency is a virtual payment method which has no official issuer and which has no connection with any individual state. The value of the currency rises and falls depending on the price people are willing to pay for it at a given time. Generally speaking, however, the value has mostly risen in recent years.

Most NFTs and crypto currencies are based on block chain technology. In a nutshell, the technology works by logging all the transactions related to a particular object in a digital chain in a vast network of computers. The data is not in the possession of one or more organisations but decentralised so that they can be managed and updated everywhere simultaneously. Once a new link is created in the chain, it can no longer be removed or broken. In other words, when it comes to NFTs, block chains make it possible to trace the buyers and sellers of a particular piece of digital art. The spreading of copies does not affect the block chain or the ownership of the art work.

Although both crypto currency and NFTs are based on block chain technology, there is one important difference between them. Like normal currency, crypto currency is interchangeable. To put it differently, NFTs are unique and non-fungible and cannot therefore be exchanged for other NFTs. Their price is determined by the laws of supply and demand, just like all other property. Some NFTs are sold at incredibly high prices. For example, an NFT depicting a cat drawn by Paris Hilton was sold for approximately 17,000 dollars. The first tweet was sold for 2.9 million dollars in March 2021. Thus far, the most expensive NFT has been a digital piece of art that was sold for 69 million dollars.

Most of us would probably not buy one of these pieces of art, but NFTs are used to sell cheaper works as well. Highly popular NFTs also include digital collectibles, such as CryptoPunksCryptoKitties or Bored Ape Yacht Club. In addition, anyone can sell digital art pieces or photographs as NFTs. To start, you need a crypto wallet, in addition to which you will need to pay a so-called gas fee for your purchases since the technology consumes a lot of energy. You should also be aware of the fact that trendy phenomena and fast development always include risks since they attract dishonest and fraudulent actors.

Text: Linda Mannila

Image: Siru Tirronen

The media landscape of children and young people keeps changing, with new phenomena following each other back-to-back. Providing pupils with tools for understanding and processing these phenomena is important. This learning package is part of Pathways to New Media Phenomena – Information and Exercise Materials Series. The series includes information and exercises for the teacher and the pupils. You can explore new phenomena in a meaningful way with the help of the How to discuss new media literacy phenomena through pedagogical means method. 

CC BY 4.0

Material for the teacher

  • In the video Linda Mannila explains what NFTs are and how they are connected crypto currencies. The video has English subtitles.

    Consider the following questions:

    • What do NFTs and visual arts have in common?
    • How has the copying of Non-Fungible Tokens been prevented?

    Length of the video: 6.5 min, author: Linda Mannila

  • Teachers do not need to be experts and skilled at everything. Having a good control over one’s own speciality and pedagogics and being curious and enthusiastic about learning new things provide a great starting point for tackling new media phenomena. Approach to processing new media literacy phenomena encourages you to use your own expertise and competence when working with various phenomena.

    Examine the model and consider the following questions:

    • Based on your experience, what challenges does discussing new media literacy phenomena entail?
    • What things support the discussing of new phenomena in your own work?
    • How would you utilise the model to discuss the phenomenon at hand?
  • Media literacy is a transversal competence, whose promotion is required by the core curriculum of basic education (2014).

    The objectives based on the core curriculum have been expressed separately for each school grade in the national descriptions of media literacy (the New Literacies development programme 2021). Basic education concerns the descriptions of good and advanced competences. The descriptions clarify the meaning of media literacy and the related objectives expressed in the core curriculum texts. The descriptions have been divided into three main areas: media interpretation and evaluation, media production and acting in media environments. You can learn more about the descriptions here.

    Consider the following questions:

    • How is the phenomenon under discussion structured in the media literacy competence descriptions?
    • What kind of media literacy skills do the pupils learn in connection with discussing the topic?
  • You can refer to the materials of KAVI and the New Literacies development programme for support in the promotion of media literacy.

    Media Literacy School (mediataitokoulu.fi) The Media Literacy School website brings together various learning resources and materials for the media education purposes of different age groups also in English.

    The Media Literacy School – New Literacies brings together a range of materials that were created within the development programme to support the media education of basic education. The materials produced in the programme can be found on the open learning materials website at AOE.fi.

Material for the pupil

    • NFT, Non-Fungible Token, is one of the latest internet trends.
    • “Fungible” refers to a good or asset that can be interchanged with other individual goods or assets. Money is fungible, or mutually interchangeable, since a 20-euro note can be exchanged for another 20-euro note or two 10-euro notes. However, art is unique and non-fungible since a piece of art cannot be exchanged for another one.
    • NFTs are used to indicate the ownership of not mutually interchangeable assets, such as art, memes, music, photographs, videos or video game items. This what the NyanCat meme on the OpenSea platform is about.
    • NFTs are bought and sold using crypto currencies. Crypto currency is a virtual payment method which has no official issuer and which has no connection with any individual state.
    • Both NFTs and crypto currencies are based on block chain technology. All NFT and crypto currency transactions are logged into a digital chain in a vast network of computers. Once a new link is created in the chain, it cannot be removed or broken.
    • Each NFT is unique, and some of them are being sold at incredibly high prices. For example, an NFT depicting a cat drawn by Paris Hilton was sold for approximately 17,000 dollars. The first tweet was sold for 2.9 million dollars in March 2021. Thus far, the most expensive NFT has been a digital piece of art that was sold for 69 million dollars. Highly popular NFTs also include digital collectibles, such as CryptoPunksCryptoKitties or Bored Ape Yacht Club.
    • In addition, anyone can sell digital art pieces or photographs as NFTs. To start, you need a crypto wallet, in addition to which you will need to pay a so-called gas fee for your purchases since the technology consumes a lot of energy. Staying alert is a virtue when dealing with NFTs, as frauds do happen.

    Text: Linda Mannila

  • Exercises (alone or in pairs / small groups)

    Reflection exercise 1:

    Think about what your opinions are on NFTs.

    • What NFTs do you know? Would you like to own one of them? Why?
    • Which objects or things should be sold as NFTs, in your opinion? Why?

    Reflection exercise 2:

    With nearly 900 million views, Charlie Bit My Finger was one of the first viral videos on YouTube. In the video, a young boy named Harry is holding his little brother Charlie. Finally, Charlie bites Harry’s finger really hard, causing Harry to cry out in pain. Harry feels bad and Charlie laughs gleefully. In 2021, the original video was sold as an NFT for over 760 000 dollars, and the buyer was promised that they would become the sole owner of a beloved internet landmark which would be removed from YouTube. The video was removed from YouTube but copies of it remain in circulation even though the owner of the NFT has the original video.

    • What do you think appeal is for buying these kinds of NFTs?

    Why do you think some people find owning these things important although there may be numerous copies of the same thing?

    Text: Linda Mannila

  • Start by familiarising yourself with the NyanCat collection on the OpenSea platform.

    • Which NyanCat version currently on sale do you like the most?
    • What does it currently cost in ETH or Ethereum crypto currency? How much is it in dollars?
    • How much does the most expensive NyanCat version cost?

    Finally, first think about whether you would be willing to pay that much for owning a NyanCat and then discuss your thoughts in a larger group or with the entire class. Why / why not?

    Text: Linda Mannila

    1. Examine the picture and its parts as a whole. What is happening in the picture?
    2. What kinds of symbols can you find in the picture? What do they refer to in the picture?

    Text: KAVI

    Image: Siru Tirronen