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, Sam?

I used to have a big collection of Pokémon

cards but I have no idea where they are now.

Well maybe you should start looking for them

because all kinds of collectables – 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 NFTs for short.

Non-fungible tokens?

Basically NTFs are unique, one-of-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.

Hmmm, OK. I understand the ‘token’ part

but what does ‘non-fungible’ mean?

If something is ‘fungible’ it can be interchanged,

like money for example. With money you can swap

a £10 note for two £5 notes and it will have the same value.

So, 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, but it’s not for sale on the internet!

True, but lots of other things are, from signed

celebrity artwork to virtual football cards.

NFTs 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 NFTs is going up and up?

Massively. A digital sticker of French footballer,

Kylian Mbappé, recently sold for £25,000!

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 Web as an NFT at a charity auction.

The sale started at $1000 but how much

did the source code eventually sell for? Was it:

a) 5.4 thousand dollars?

b) 5.4 million dollars? or,

c) 5.4 billion dollars?

If you’re asking me how much the internet

sold for, I’d say c) 5.4 billion dollars.

OK, Sam, we’ll find out later if that’s right.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee famously never made

any money from the World Wide Web, insisting

that his invention should be free for everyone.

But the world of NFTs is controversial and

not everyone thinks Sir Tim should be getting involved.

That’s certainly the view of Shona Ghosh,

technology editor at the ‘The Insider’ website,

as she told BBC World Service programme, Tech Tent:

I think there’s a balance to be struck between

exploring new technologies and Sir Tim Berners-Lee

is an amazing figure but NFTs are a wild west.

Not everything associated with NFTs are rogue,

but these so-called digital collectables

are going for lots of money.

Internet NFTs are very new and there are

no rules controlling what can be sold and

for how much, so Shona 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 Rory Cellan-Jones,

presenter of BBC World Service’s Tech Tent, explains:

To some NFTs are a brilliant innovation

which has promised to put a value on digital artefacts.

To others they’re 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

NFTs to pyramid schemes - business tricks or scams

where money is obtained dishonestly.

But for others NFTs are a legitimate and useful way

to put a price on rare digital artefacts –

items, such as images, videos and music,

that are produced and stored as electronic versions.

Items like, for example, the original source

code for the internet. So how much money

did Sir Tim Berners-Lee raise for charity

when he sold it off, Neil?

In my quiz question I asked Sam how

much the NFT of the original internet

source code sold for at auction.

I said c) 5.4 billion dollars. Was I right?

You were… wrong! In fact it was less -

5.4 million dollars – but still far too

expensive for me to collect.

Hmmm, now I’m wondering how much

my Pokémon 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

programme all about NFTs which are digital

artefacts or items that are produced

and stored as electronic versions.

NFTs are virtual collectables –

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’d 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 6 Minute English. Bye for now!

Bye!