Of course Elon Musk’s space tourists brought NFTs to orbit

The four tourists currently orbiting the planet are following a proud space tradition: Packing the rocket with fun stuff to sell or gift upon their return to Earth.

But the crew of Inspiration4, the first privately operated mission to orbit, is putting a new spin on space memorabilia by toting along Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs, the latest trend in collecting. NFTs are “minted” using the same blockchain technology that underlies cryptocurrencies, and for the same reason: To create an uncopyable digital item that can be traded and tracked.

NFTs have been floating around the internet in various guises for years, but only recently have they become part of the broader art market. The artist Beeple made waves selling an NFT for the equivalent of $69.3 million, and Quartz even sold the first-ever NFT of a news story.  Although the initial boom may have subsided, eager collectors are still bidding, and the technology still offers a chance to explore how we understand art, scarcity and collecting—now, a rocket ship has been thrown in.

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