For those not in the know, here's an explanation of NFT that doesn't include any of the moral or ethical arguments.
>An NFT is a unique ID of numbers and letters that's saved on the blockchain, which can be transferred between different crypto wallets/owners
>No, it is not an actual image or file that's stored on the blockchain, it is just the ID
>It is up to trading sites like opensea to actually tie the ID to the file through an unsecured URL that anyone can access
>There is absolutely nothing stopping opensea from closing down and destroying the URL association with it, and technically nothing stopping other trading sites to tie the ID to a completely different file afterwards if the owner wills it. By extension, there is also nothing stopping an opensea staff member from changing the file to goatse either, and you have no legal ability to stop them from doing that.
>Copyright-wise, the owner of the NFT does not explicitly own the file, it is up to the rights owner to decide what can actually be done with the file.
>The NFT is then just a glorified receipt that claims you own an exclusive association with the file, but not the rights to the file itself. The recent Castlevania NFTs are evidence of this
>The reliance on trading sites to associate the file to the NFT means that the files are regulated by the sites themselves, despite the claim that they are unregulated (which is actually because crypto is unregulated, which is why you can buy hard drugs with bitcoin)
>Wait, that sounds stupid as shit
Correct
>Why do people love them?
Several reasons. The most prevalent reason is that they look like a get-rich-quick scheme, so /biz/-like poor people buy these NFTs thinking they can sell them at a higher price to someone else, despite that they have absolutely no practical value by themselves since anyone can use the file as mentioned before where the files are unsecured, which is why there is a push to have NFTs usable in "metaverses" or games where they can influence gameplay. The second is because people want to trick others into thinking it's a get-rich-quick scheme, so that they get rich themselves, which is why you hear about actual scams and rug pulls every single day of the week if you follow their news. Lastly, they are perfect for money laundering since cryptocurrency is unregulated by banks and governments as it is a digital currency.
>What do they have to do with Hololive's metaverse, HoloEarth?
Technically, nothing.
>What?
Metaverse has already been used for the last few years as a catchall buzzword used by old out-of-touch executives to mean a collection of creative work/IPs, which in this case includes the Hololive talents and their individual brands. Facebook has somewhat redefined it for the executives, but it's basically just Second Life/VRChat with a new coat of financially predatory paint. There is nothing indicating that HoloEarth will be anything more than a social hub with survival crafting elements (wtf?)
