Now I Know My NFT, Come Talk Blockchain & Crypto with Me!
Now I Know My NFT, Come Talk Blockchain & Crypto with Me!
NFT & Blockchain
March 8, 2022

With the rapid evolution of technology, conversations surrounding currency and business tech are constantly evolving as well. New terms such as NFT, Crypto, and Blockchain have been introduced into our everyday vocabulary. To stay educated on the current conversation, the Catapult Lakeland team hosted a Blockchain, NFT lunch and learn led by a panel of Catapult Lakeland members working in that business space. The following is a summarized, high-level, transcript of this 1-hour event. 

Panelists: Paul Govoni, Ford Heacock, Hunter Abramson, Grant Nieddu, Dave Pappas

Moderator: Christiaan Abbott

Disclaimer: The information shared by the panelists is based on personal experience and research and is not to be considered professional advice. Any application of what is shared is to be done with discretion. Catapult Lakeland is not liable for any profits lost if the opinions shared during this panel are applied to any business or financial venture. 

What is a blockchain?

It’s basically a double-entry accounting on a database that is immutable, which means you can’t change it.

Double-Entry Accounting Defined

True to its name, double-entry accounting is a standard accounting method that involves recording each transaction in at least two accounts, resulting in a debit to one or more accounts and a credit to one or more accounts.

The total amount of the transactions in each case must balance out, ensuring that all dollars are accounted for. Debits are typically noted on the left side of the ledger, while credits are typically noted on the right side.

Double-entry accounting also serves as the most efficient way for a company to monitor its financial growth, especially as the scale of business grows.

Developers are asking themselves the same question!

Blockchain is decentralized.

Data is spread or shared through machines. Every server on the BlockChains is constantly asking themselves of every entry “Is this truth?”

A good broad concept: A shared database amongst many machines

It’s a ledger that can’t be edited. You can’t erase history.

How is Blockchain so secure?

In order to alter the data, and you can’t change history, theoretically, the only way you can change future written data is by controlling 51% of machines. As the 51% of the machines have to agree that this new data is True

The BlockChain is a public ledger. Anyone can go on and look at all the transactions.

If Enron was on the BlockChain it never would have happened because those involved can see all the transactions. BlockChain is opening the doors to why information should be viewable and auditable.

It’s not more secure. In Theory, it is but it’s Not more secure yet. Right now you see that information is factual but it doesn’t mean that things are more secure from sone stealing your NFT’s. It’s self sovereign. There is no support desk. If you mess up. It’s all on you. The problem is a lot of people don’t understand, when you lose your wallet or access to your wallet no one can help you. Like all new technology, the weakest link is the human element.

Where is that 51 % percent of the computers or network?

People volunteer to have nodes on their laptops to run the network. Each machine that supports the network downloads the entire ledger each time it is updated. That’s the power of it.  We are all now the Google because we all house the network.

Is it possible to gift or put a token in someone’s wallet that is then malware on the smart contract?

The NFT is the thing itself that could do damage.

Wherever there are a lot of people making money, there will be bad actors.

Some of these NFTs are social attacks and you have probably been tricked into opening them or using them. You have to be careful.

Be willing and prepared to navigate this space with Bad Actors.

There are many Blockchain networks.

You’ve probably heard of Bitcoin or Ethereum. They are their own blockchain networks.

Example Dapper Labs created their own blockchain called Flow. It started off as a centralized blockchain/network and then over 6 months they opened up to the public and put it onto public nodes (personal computers)

Each blockchain can have its own flavor.

If you host a node for a blockchain they will pay you out in their crypto token. Those people use to be called miners. You offer up your computer to process this time, you get rewards.

When does Crypto become completely useable as a currency?

I don’t think the builders have even decided on if we want to focus on the currency.

It’s still not proven that that’s how we as people want to exchange it until someone makes it easy. RobinHood and Paypal are kind of doing it, but not really or truly.

What’s an NFT?

Non-Fungible Token 

The way I understand it is as a record and a database, a proof of ownership of something. If you own a house you have a deed. That piece of paper proves you own the house. Why can’t that deed be digital? 

We started to understand the utility of the NFT and not just the jpeg and digital assets. We started to see the community it can create, being a part of an NFT project, the utility of eliminating fraud, being able to control through the smart contracts the secondary market that typical Eventbrite users control scalping and secondary market when tickets are being resold.

How early we are all on this is we have Big Box stores calling us saying, “…Educate me on how to use this.”

Each entry in the blockchain is a unique hash of alphanumeric characters. As a human seeing an 18 digit hash code we don’t know how to interact with that. All NFTs are, in the case of pictures, they are just a visual representation of that token or transaction on the blockchain. It’s all the same, under the hood, it’s all an entry in a decentralized database. With Tickets, you can use that blockchain technology to verify ownership. But the ticket is metadata on top of the transaction in the database.

The Power of NFTs lie in secondary market royalties 

Every time a work of art gets sold the artist gets a cut. 

This is NOT finical advice!

Ways to get involved and start to play:

  • Open a Coinbase Account
  • Get a Meta Mask account get that Google chrome extension
  • Go over to OpenSea a peruse your interests
  • Check out NBATopshot.com
  • Get on Twitter- Major information and participation about this industry on Twitter 
  • Just dive in

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