Moxie Marlinspike is the founder of Signal, a secure messaging service and has now released an NFT. But, it is not all as it seems. The NFT entitled “At my whim” will have a different appearance depending on which platform it is viewed. It is currently available for purchase on Opensea or Rarible. Both sites display different images.
According to Moxie, this NFT joke is going to appear in the wallet of the successful owner as a giant poop emoticon.
This NFT joke shows the dangers of token ownership. Moxie is asking people to find out where their NFT data is kept.
Moxie Marlinspike explained the reasoning behind this troll project in a Twitter thread dated October 13. He wants people to be able to see what you’re buying when you buy an NFT. His NFT joke is a reminder to be cautious. After all, the token’s digital meta data is stored on the blockchain but the digital image itself is not. The files are stored off-chain by image hosting sites. According to Moxie, this means that anyone who controls the URL host can modify the NFT image at will.
Moxie Marlinspike, a man known for his eccentricity and wit, is not only making it funny but also raising awareness about a serious problem in the industry. Moxie, startled by the interest shown in his NFT, tweeted yesterday: “Would any people who have been bidding on mine NFT be willing host an AMA?” I have so many “.
The Environmental Aspect of NFTs
But that’s not the only whats is wrong with NFTs. NFTs use a lots of energy. NFT marketplaces such as MakersPlace and Nifty Gateway sell through Ethereum. This keeps a record of NFT transactions and cryptocurrency through a process known mining. Similar to the system that verifies Bitcoin this system uses advanced cryptography to determine whether transactions are valid. It also uses energy at the level of small countries.
It is still disputed how much of that energy use results in carbon emissions. According to some estimates, as high as 70% of all mining operations could be powered by renewable energy sources. However, this number can fluctuate seasonall and in an global energy grid that largely runs on fossil fuels this means producing lots of carbion emissions. Also some mining hotspots, such as Missoula in Montana have stopped new operations. They are concerned that even “clean” mining with hydropower could cause neighboring energy users more to use dirtier sources. To remedy the problem of engery usage, the developers of Ethereum have created a blueprint called Ethereum 2.0 that aims to shift the security protocol to proof-of-stake (which is less carbon-intensive) and make it more sustainable. This has been planned for years and has yt to materialise.
Imagecredit: https://opensea.io/assets/0x5c61afa47570ab2b562606fa578221305b12c307/1
Sources:
https://www.wired.com/story/nfts-hot-effect-earth-climate/
https://nftevening.com/nft-joke-staged-by-signals-founder-shows-the-fragility-of-nft-metadata/
https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/15/22328203/nft-cryptoart-ethereum-blockchain-climate-change
