Cryptocurrencies and Non-Fungible Token (NFT) Artwork have been big in the news this week, and in many ways they are the path forward into the virtual future that shall become us. I love NFT Art, and I buy, and collect it, using the Ethereum cryptocurrency. Ethereum has become the standard currency for purchasing NFT Art because ETH hovers around $3k USD for one ETH coin while Bitcon hovers around $40k for a single coin. You can see below a mashup of five separate “Tokyo Punks” I purchased from the Sabet collection and then included them all in a single animated GIF.

If you plan to live on the blockchain, purchasing Art and buying cryptocurrencies, you should legitimize your online presence by purchasing a .ETH name. My .ETH name is “boles.eth” and I use that identity to represent my online collecting life.

An .ETH name is not the same as a domain name because the blockchain is not centralized around a single landing. The blockchain is decentralized, and while you can associate a domain name you own with your .ETH name, I don’t recommend it because then your centralized domain name is now locked into your non-centralized .ETH name.

Keep it simple. Let the .ETH do the work.

The purpose of an .ETH name is to associate that name with your cryptocurrency wallet — “boles.eth” is much easier to remember than a 14 character string of alphanumeric numbers.

You can purchase Artwork online with Ethereum at places like OpenSea.io where you can find some really unique works of Art and collect them.

I have three rules I follow when I deal with NFT purchases. First, is the piece unique, like say, a 1/1 — or is it just 1/8,500? Next, can I use the Artwork as an avatar or a profile picture? Finally, might I employ the Artwork as a background image, or a banner? You’ll now see several headers here on BolesBlogs.com featuring my new NFT Art!

Twitter also allows some users to use an NFT piece of Art as their profile picture! You can tell which profile images are NFTs because of the hexagonal frame around the image.

Touch the NFT profile pic on Twitter, and you’ll get the provenance behind the NFT image.

This is a great way to demonstrate your love, and ownership, for a wonderful piece of Art that means something to you.

Finally, you’ll want to figure out a way to manage your files on the decentralized web — IPFS replaces HTTP — and using a service like Pinata makes it super easy to share your files, and even publish websites, in the glory of the decentralized blockchain.

Just be wary that if you decide to dive into the blockchain, and NFT Art, Ethereum, and Bitcoin — there’s no place to hide. Everything is out in the open. Every transaction is logged and linked to you.

Sure, some bad actors move around identities, and hide who they are — but for regular people like us, doing business on the blockchain is the right way of the future because you can track every when, where and how — but that’s a threat to the current financial establishment, and the IRS are always watching.

The big banks want to write the rules, and set the restrictions when it comes to what you own, but the blockchain is open, accessible, and trackable; and if the idea is to lead a free life, then that freedom must always include the freedom to buy, and sell, whatever you wish, any time you want — and that is the true beauty of crypto.