Hypothesis could use an NFT drop as a way to fundraise its development and build a core base of highly-engaged and loyal early adopters. Successful NFT drops can net ~1000 ETH ($3,100,000) through a single 10,000 NFT release on OpenSea, and collect royalties perpetually on subsequent individual NFT transfers.
A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unit of data stored on a digital ledger, called a blockchain, that certifies a digital asset to be unique and therefore not interchangeable. NFTs can be used to represent items such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files. Access to any copy of the original file, however, is not restricted to the buyer of the NFT. While copies of these digital items are available for anyone to obtain, NFTs are tracked on blockchains to provide the owner with a proof of ownership that is separate from copyright.
Blockchain-based proof of ownership is where most projects derive utility value for the NFTs that their supporters mint. People are purchasing NFTs to access exclusive communities and events, to display as badges of honor, and to collect & flip for a profit. Or maybe they just like the art.
Today, NFTs are generally minted using the ERC-721 (Ethereum Request for Comments 721) standard with Smart Contracts written in Solidity, but other blockchains are capable of minting NFTs and many newer blockchains are seeking to solve various downsides (like high gas fees) that come with deploying via Ethereum. Projects looking for speedy, high-impact deployment should adhere to whatever standard(s) that enables them to deploy on OpenSea.
<aside> 💡 ERC-721 is an inheritable Solidity smart contract standard, meaning that developers can create new ERC-721-compliant contracts by importing it from the OpenZeppelin library. ERC-721 provides core methods that allow tracking the owner of a unique identifier, as well as a permissioned way for the owner to transfer the asset to others.
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