NFTs: the Ecological Moral Obligation vs the Paycheck

NFTs are turning countless artists into millionaires, but are they really just destroying our planet?

By: Sarah Jiang

Remember those memes of the 2010s that revolutionized internet culture? Well, now they’re making history and being auctioned off like a pair of worn Michael Jordan shoes or a Leonardo da Vinci painting. Just this year, Nyan Cat sold for over $500K. Similarly, Doge sold for a staggering $4M. Why are they being sold now, and for such a high price? Can't anyone just right-click and save it? There's only one answer: NFTs and the blockchain. 

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are items stored on the blockchain and traded with cryptocurrency. When artists put their work on the blockchain (known as minting), it gives that work a unique metadata (or code). Think of the blockchain as a giant book that records the provenance of any digital item minted. This unique code will prove the validity of the item by recording  the transaction made from the original artist to the new owner upon being sold. Already, media outlets are awashed with success stories about paid-off mortgages and loans through selling NFTs.

In spite of this success, there are consequences. Due to the amount of energy required to enable transactions, NFTs minted through crypto  release enormous amounts of CO2. “I think for a lot of NFT artists, the environmental effects of creating and selling NFTs is something that is often purposefully overlooked, out of guilt. It needs to be addressed because although the money is amazing, our planet is more important.” said Hup, a 14 year old NFT artist.

To put it into perspective, mining one Bitcoin requires about 53 days worth of household electricity. According to Digiconomist, Bitcoin has a carbon footprint comparable to New Zealand. However, that’s Bitcoin. Ethereum, another cryptocurrency, has a much smaller footprint, and its blockchain holds the largest percentage of today’s NFTs. Additionally, the enormous carbon emissions can’t be completely blamed on NFTs, but rather all crypto transactions. “It just made them more apparent”, says Hup. Developers at Ethereum have also been working to implement new systems  which claim to completely eliminate carbon emissions. As technologies continue to advance, NFTs are headed toward a greener future.