BBC 6分钟英语学习 人们为什么要收集NFT

English from the BBC. Hello. This is six minute English from BBC, learning English.

I'm Neil, and I'm Sam. People collect all kinds of things for a hobby, from stamps and coins to comics and football stickers.

Do you collect anything? So I used to have a big collection of Pokemon cards, but I have no idea where they are now.

Well, maybe you should start looking for them, because all kinds of collectibles, that's objects that people want to collect, are selling for big money on the Internet.

It's all part of a new tech craze called non fungible tokens, or mfts for short, nonfundable tokens.

Basically, nfts are unique, one of the kind items that can be bought and sold like any physical object, but only exist in the digital world.

Tokens can be thought of as certificates of ownership for these virtual possessions.

MM Okay. I understand the token part, but what does non fungible mean?

If something is fungible, it can be interchanged, like money, e.g.

with money, you can swap a £10 note for two £5 notes, and it will have the same value.

Yes? Or something non fungible cannot be interchanged with something else.

Is that because it has special features that make it unique?

Exactly. Imagine something totally unique, like the Mona Lisa.

You can take a photo of the painting or buy a copy of it, but there will only ever be the one original painting.

I can see that the Mona Lisa is one of a kind and extremely valuable.

It's not the sale on the Internet, true.

But lots of other things are, from signed celebrity artwork to virtual football cards.

Mfts are like autographed photos. Collectors want something no one else has, even though there's nothing physical they actually own and keep.

And the value of NSTS is going up and up massively.

A digital sticker of French footballer Klean Andbape recently sold for 25000 lb.

Which reminds me of my quiz question Sam In june 2021, sir Tim Berners Lee sold the original source code he used to invent the World Wide Webb as an NFT at a charity auction.

The sales started at a thousand dollars.

But how much did the source code eventually sell for?

Was it A $5.4 thousand? B $5.4 million, or C $5.4 billion?

If you're asking me how much the Internet sold for, I'd say C $5.4 billion.

OK, sam, we'll find out later if that's right.

So Tim Berners Lee famously never made any money from the World Wide Webb, insisting that his invention should be free for everyone.

But the world of NSTS is controversial, and not everyone thinks Sir Tim should be getting involved.

That's certainly the view of shown a Gosh technology editor at the Insider website, as she told BBC World Service program Tech tent.

I think there's a balance to be struck between exploring new technologies and certain Burnersly is is an amazing figure, but Nfts are a wild west.

Not everything associated with nft's arogue, but these so called digital collectibles are going for lots of money.

Internet and fts are very new, and there are no rules controlling what can be sold and for how much.

So shone Her describes them as a wild West.

The wild west means a situation where people can do whatever they want, because there are no laws or controls, like the early history of the western part of the United States.

She also calls some things about nfts rogue behaving differently from what's normal or expected, often in a way that causes damage.

Love them or hate them. There are strong opinions on both sides of the NFT debate.

As Rori Keflan Jones, presenter of the BBC World Services tactent, explains to some Nfts are a brilliant innovation which has promised to put a value on those digital artifacts.

To others, their little more than a dubious pyramid scheme with a damaging impact on the environment because of the way the tokens are created.

Some people are suspicious of the large amounts of money collectors are willing to pay, comparing enough teas to pyramid schemes, business tricks or scams where money is obtained dishonestly.

But for others, mfts are a legitimate and useful way to put a price on rare digital artifacts, items such as images, videos and music, that are produced in stored as electronic versions, items like, e.g.

the original source code for the Internet.

So how much money he did Sir tim bernously raised for charity when he sold it off?

Neal? In my quiz question, I asked them, how much the NFT for the original Internet source code, sold for at auction?

And I said, c $5.4 billion. You were wrong.

In fact, it was less $5.4 million,

but still far too expensive for me to collect.

Now, I'm wondering how

much my Pokemon Card collection would sell for, if only I could find it.

Well, while you look for your collection, sam, let's recap the vocabulary from this program.

All about

nfts, which are digital

artifacts, items that are produced and stored as

electronic versions. And if cheese are virtual collectibles, desirable objects that people search for and collect.

And they are non fungible, meaning they have special and unique characteristics that cannot be interchanged with anything else.

If something is rogue, it behaves

in a different way from what's

normal or expected, often causing damage.

The wild West describes a chaotic situation without laws or controls.

And finally, a pyramid scheme is a business scam where money is gained dishonestly.

If you like to know more about non fungible tokens, bitcoin and other trending Internet topics, there's plenty to find on the BBC website.

And for more interesting conversation and useful vocabulary, remember to join us again soon here at six minute English.

Bye for now. Bye. 6 min English from BBC learning English dot com.

So I'm going to have.

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