Category Archives: headline

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NFTs explained as simply as possible

Five days ago a jpg file – yes, a picture file – sold for more than $88 million. Let's backtrack to how it got there.

The file, a digital artwork known as "Everydays: The First 5000 Days", was created by an artist known as Beeple, and was sold via auction house Christie's.

The artwork was the first virtual Non-Fungible Token (NFT) sold by a major auction house and represents the internet's newest, most confusing asset.

Here's a very simple guide to telling your mates at the pub you know what an NFT is:

READ MORE: First NFT artwork at auction sells for staggering $88.7M

What is an NFT?

Let's take this slow, because NFTs are the result of complex computer algorithms that can get extremely technical, extremely quickly.

We'll only be scraping the surface of what they are, and what they can be used for.

An NFT is a Non-Fungible Token.

In its most simple explanation, it attributes ownership of a digital property to one single person.

READ MORE: First ever tweet on sale for $2.5 million

I'm sort of there … Why would someone buy an NFT?

The purpose of buying an NFT is to have explicit proof that you own something that is more or less completely online.

If you explicitly own an online property, then you have the right to license or re-sell it.

In some ways it gives you bragging rights, in other ways it gives you ownership papers (so to speak) when it comes time to sell something expensive.

Okay. But it's a picture on the internet. What's to stop a million people just copy and pasting it?

Good point. There is nothing to stop people screen-grabbing the image and pretending they own it.

But when it comes time to sell, you'll need the NFT to prove that you are the owner.

Art is the best way I have of explaining. Take the Mona Lisa for example. Anybody can look up the painting on Google Images and print it out and have the Mona Lisa in their living room.

A step further, there is nothing to stop incredibly talented artists from creating masterful fakes.

But if someone were to sell the Mona Lisa, they would have to prove that they own Leonardo Da Vinci's original currently hanging in the Lourve in Paris.

An NFT is that ownership proof for an artwork that was created – and exists – digitally. A bit like the internet's version of rego papers for your car.

READ MORE: Investors pin hopes on 'next' Bitcoin

The Louvre Museum reopens to the public

How does someone prove they have an NFT? What is it?

Slow down there. Here is where it gets complicated.

NFT ownership is verifiable on a blockchain – the same technology behind the world's most famous cryptocurrency Bitcoin.

A blockchain is a digital ledger of transactions that is duplicated and distributed across a massive network of computer systems.

It's very hard to have the "record" of the blockchain changed because it's all in real time across so many computers known as nodes.

Typically an NFT is a unique 40-digit sequence of letters and numbers.

READ MORE: Bitcoin more than doubles price in 2021

So is this just an art world thing? Why is it so expensive?

I cannot for the life of me explain why NFT art is so expensive right now.

It's sort of the "hip" thing in the art world right now, and it coincides with Bitcoin booming and blockchain technology coming into the mainstream.

For many, it's a way that artists can finally make real money from mediums that have typically failed due to the steal-ability of the internet.

It's not just for art. An NFT proving ownership can be applied to Tweets, to music, to video game files.

The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

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House floats down river in NSW floods

A house has floated off down a swollen river, as NSW continues to be smashed by heavy rain.

The structure was spotted being swept away on the flooded Manning River in Taree, south of Port Macquarie.

LIVE UPDATES: Sydney dam about to overflow, fears for city rivers

House floats off in Taree, NSW flood.House floats off in Taree, NSW flood.House floats off in Taree, NSW flood.

The Mid North NSW continues to be the worst hit area, with multiple areas evacuated, mainly around Port Macquarie and Kempsey.

However, forecasters are now worries two major Sydney rivers, the Hawkesbury and the Nepean, could flood.

READ MORE: Children stranded at NSW school sleep in library

That could impact areas including the city of Penrith in Western Sydney, as well as the rural areas around Windsor in the northwest.

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Spanish porn star arrested over man's toad venom death

Spanish porn star Nacho Vidal has been charged with reckless homicide after a man died during a ceremony involving toad venom.

Vidal, whose real name is Ignacio Jordà González, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in May following an 11-month investigation, according to a statement at the time from Spain's law enforcement agency, the Guardia Civil.

The investigation showed the victim, a photographer, died after participating in a "spiritual or mystical" ceremony in July 2019 in the town of Enguera, near Valencia, in eastern Spain, according to a statement from a court in Xàtiva, a town in the province of Valencia.

The Colorado River Toad contains a venom that can have psychedelic qualities, but is actually very toxic.

The ritual, which took place in Vidal's home, involved inhaling venomous vapours from the burning of scales from a Bufo alvarius toad, according to the statement.

Vidal's lawyer, Daniel Salvador of the firm Vosseler Lawyers, declined to comment on the case when contacted by CNN on Friday. Salvador told CNN in June that the death was a "tragic accident" and that his client was not responsible.

Vidal can appeal the decision and the prosecutor's office now has 10 days from Wednesday, when he was charged, to request the opening of an oral trial or its dismissal.

The court dismissed proceedings against a cousin of Vidal and another person investigated, saying they had no criminal responsibility because they had no "control of the situation" and were not involved in directing the ceremony. Neither of their names has been made public and police have not named the man who died.

Nacho Vidal has appeared in over 10,000 scenes in porn films.

Also known as the Colorado River toad or the Sonoran Desert toad, the amphibian releases a venom called 5-MeO-DMT, which is known to have hallucinogenic effects, according to the Addiction Centre website. It is about four to six times more powerful than the better-known DMT or dimethyltryptamine, which "stimulates the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that causes feelings of happiness," according to the Addiction Centre.

According to the court statement, Vidal was "the director" of the ritual and had experience in taking the drug in question. He allegedly supplied the drug and failed to control properly the amount the victim inhaled.

If found guilty, Vidal could face up to four years in prison, according to section 142 of the Spanish penal code.

Aged 47, Vidal has appeared in at least 10,000 scenes, in a porn career spanning 26 years, according to his website.

He describes himself as "one of the most important exponents" of the porn industry and is the owner of a sex toy store.