Several large NFT companies and organizations are behind the creation and launch of a new holiday, NFT Day.
The first-ever NFT Day is Sept. 20. Here’s what you should know about the holiday and the reasoning behind the date.
NFT Day: International NFT Day is the celebration of non-fungible tokens. The term non-fungible token was first created on Sept. 20, 2017, by Dete Shirley, who is the chief technology officer for Dapper Labs.
The date was when the NFT standard ERC-721 was first submitted along with the phrase “non-fungible token.”
“Since then, NFTs have become the heart of countless communities, innovation and mainstream adoption of blockchain technology — especially right here on Dapper!,” Dapper Labs said in an email.
The holiday includes Dapper Labs, OpenSea, Flow, Ripple, Metaverse HQ, The First Mint, a16z Crypto, and Coinbase NFT from Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) among its organizers.
“NFT Day provides an annual moment for our collective industry to show everyone how Web3 experiences can add real value to what you already participate in and enjoy.”
The day includes giveaways and NFT drops according to Dapper Labs.
Related Link: How To Buy NFTs
History of NFTs: The International NFT Day website shared a timeline of the history of NFTs, which included several items that happened before the term non-fungible token was ever muttered.
In 2014, Quantum was minted on decentralized name registration database Namecoin. While Quantum wasn’t known as an NFT at the time, it could be the first-ever NFT according to the website.
A key event was the launch of CryptoPunks in June 2017, one of the first Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH)-based NFT collections. CryptoPunks were free to claim and have been considered among the original NFT collections and a top-valued NFT project.
In September 2017, the first ERC-721 proposal was published by Shirley, which is the first place to use the term NFT.
Dapper Labs launched CryptoKitties in November 2017, the first NFT blockchain game. The collection was incredibly popular after launch and helped increase volume for Ethereum. CryptoKitties are also considered a top historical NFT collection.
Leading NFT marketplace OpenSea also launched in late 2017 and has been among the pioneers in the space.
Collections such as NBA Top Shot and Bored Ape Yacht Club were also highlighted on the NFT timeline as two top collections that brought new people into the NFT space.
“NBA Top Shot launches on Flow blockchain and is widely considered the spark that sets off the NFT craze,” said the International NFT Day website.
Why It’s Important: Non-fungible tokens took the cryptocurrency market by storm in 2020 and 2021 with new investors entering the sector and searching tirelessly for the next hot project.
Billions of dollars flowed into collections such as NBA Top Shot and Bored Ape Yacht Club, with celebrities and athletes investing and collecting alongside everyday people.
Despite a bear market for crypto, NFTs continue to attract investments from companies, investors and collectors.
The celebration of the first-ever NFT Day could spotlight a sector that has been shunned of late and bring it back into focus.
Photo: NFT Day site
