Technology
What is NFT and What You Need to Know About it
By Kenneth Horsfall
What is an NFT? An NFT is a non-fungible token (NFT), a non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a blockchain, a form of digital ledger that can be sold and traded.
Types of NFT data units may be associated with digital files such as photos, videos, and audio because each token is uniquely identifiable, NFTs differ from blockchain cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin.
NFT ledgers claim to provide a public certificate of authenticity or proof of ownership, but the legal rights conveyed by an NFT can be uncertain. NFTs do not restrict the sharing or copying of the underlying digital files, do not necessarily convey the copyright of the digital files, and do not prevent the creation of NFTs with identical associated files.
NFTs have been used as a speculative asset, and they have drawn increasing criticism for the energy cost and carbon footprint associated with validating blockchain transactions as well as their frequent use in art scams and claimed structure of the NFT market to be a Ponzi scheme.
An NFT is a unit of data stored on a digital ledger called a blockchain, which can be sold and traded. The NFT can be associated with a particular digital or physical asset (such as a file or a physical object) and a license to use the asset for a specified purpose. An NFT (and, if applicable, the associated license to use, copy or display the underlying asset) can be traded and sold on digital markets. The extra-legal nature of NFT trading usually results in an informal exchange of ownership over the asset that has no legal basis for enforcement, often conferring little more than use as a status symbol.
How Is an NFT Different from Cryptocurrency?
NFTs function like cryptographic tokens, but, unlike cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, NFTs are not mutually interchangeable, hence not fungible.
While all Bitcoins are equal, each NFT may represent a different underlying asset and thus may have a different value. NFTs are created when blockchains string records of cryptographic hash, a set of characters identifying a set of data, onto previous records, therefore, creating a chain of identifiable data blocks.
This cryptographic transaction process ensures the authentication of each digital file by providing a digital signature that is used to track NFT ownership. However, data links that point to details such as where the art is stored can be affected by link rot.
NFTs are different. Each has a digital signature that makes it impossible for NFTs to be exchanged for or equal to one another (hence, non-fungible). One NBA Top Shot clip, for example, is not equal to EVERYDAYS simply because they’re both NFTs. (One NBA Top Shot clip isn’t even necessarily equal to another NBA Top Shot clip, for that matter.)
How Does an NFT Work?
NFTs exist on a blockchain, which is a distributed public ledger that records transactions. You’re probably most familiar with blockchain as the underlying process that makes cryptocurrencies possible.
Specifically, NFTs are typically held on the Ethereum blockchain, although other blockchains support them as well.
An NFT is created or “minted” from digital objects that represent both tangible and intangible items, including:
- Art
- GIFs
- Videos and sports highlights
- Collectibles
- Virtual avatars and video game skins
- Designer sneakers
- Music
Even tweets count. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey sold his first-ever tweet as an NFT for more than $2.9 million.
Essentially, NFTs are like physical collector’s items, only digital. So instead of getting an actual oil painting to hang on the wall, the buyer gets a digital file instead.
They also get exclusive ownership rights. That’s right: NFTs can have only one owner at a time. NFTs’ unique data makes it easy to verify their ownership and transfer tokens between owners. The owner or creator can also store specific information inside them. For instance, artists can sign their artwork by including their signature in an NFT’s metadata.
Early History of NFT (2014–2017)
The first known “NFT”, Quantum, was created by Kevin McCoy and Anil Dash in May 2014, consisting of a video clip made by McCoy’s wife, Jennifer. McCoy registered the video on the Namecoin blockchain and sold it to Dash for $4, during a live presentation for the Seven on Seven conference at the New Museum in New York City. McCoy and Dash referred to the technology as “monetized graphics”.
A non-fungible, tradable blockchain marker was explicitly linked to a work of art, via on-chain metadata (enabled by Namecoin). This is in contrast to the multi-unit, fungible, metadata-less “coloured coins” of other blockchains and Counterparty.
In October 2015, the first NFT project, Etheria, was launched and demonstrated at DEVCON 1 in London, Ethereum’s first developer conference, three months after the launch of the Ethereum blockchain. Most of Etheria’s 457 purchasable and tradable hexagonal tiles went unsold for more than five years until March 13, 2021, when renewed interest in NFTs sparked a buying frenzy. Within 24 hours, all tiles of the current version and a prior version, each hardcoded to 1 ETH ($0.43 at the time of launch), were sold for a total of $1.4 million.
The term “NFT” only gained currency with the ERC-721 standard, first proposed in 2017 via the Ethereum GitHub, following the launch of various NFT projects that year. The standard coincided with the launch of several NFT projects, including Curio Cards, CryptoPunks (a project to trade unique cartoon characters, released by the American studio Larva Labs on the Ethereum blockchain) and rare Pepe trading cards.
Increased Public Awareness of NTF (2017–Present)
The 2017 online game CryptoKitties was monetized by selling tradable cat NFTs, and its success brought some public attention to NFTs.
The NFT market experienced rapid growth during 2020, with its value tripling to $250 million. In the first three months of 2021, more than $200 million were spent on NFTs.
In the early months of 2021, interest in NFTs increased after a number of high-profile sales and art auctions.
Copyright of NFT
Ownership of an NFT does not inherently grant copyright or intellectual property rights to the digital asset a token represents. While someone may sell an NFT representing their work, the buyer will not necessarily receive copyright privileges when ownership of the NFT is changed and so the original owner is allowed to create more NFTs of the same work. In that sense, an NFT is merely proof of ownership that is separate from copyright.
According to legal scholar Rebecca Tushnet, “In one sense, the purchaser acquires whatever the art world thinks they have acquired. They definitely do not own the copyright to the underlying work unless it is explicitly transferred.”
To be continued…
My name is Kenneth Horsfall and I’m the creative director and founder of K.S. Kennysoft Studios Production Ltd, fondly called Kennysoft STUDIOs, a Nigerian Video and Animation Production Studio. I am also the founder and lead instructor at Kennysoft Film Academy and can be reached via [email protected]
Technology
AI Legal Tech Firm Ivo Gets $55m for Contract Intelligence
By Dipo Olowookere
The sum of $55 million has been injected into an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered contract intelligence platform, Ivo, to support product development and scaling as the company deepens its reach across the hundreds of organizations that already rely on its product, including Uber, Shopify, Atlassian, Reddit, and Canva.
The Series B funding round comes after a year of substantial growth in product performance, customer adoption, and market traction to accelerate its mission of making contract intelligence available to every business.
Since its last funding round, Ivo has grown annual recurring revenue by 500 per cent, increased total customers by 134 per cent, and expanded adoption within the Fortune 500 by 250 per cent.
Business Post gathered that the latest funding support came from Blackbird, Costanoa Ventures, Uncork Capital, Fika Ventures, GD1 and Icehouse Ventures.
Ivo is purpose-built for in-house teams that need both reviews with surgical accuracy as well as visibility into their complete contract library.
The company’s AI-powered contract review solution, Ivo Review, allows users to complete reviews in a fraction of the time; customers report saving up to 75 per cent of the time that manual review would demand.
The product standardizes a company’s positions and precedents using playbooks built and implemented by lawyers. This means that every contract is reviewed accurately, consistently, and efficiently, critical for large and globally distributed teams.
“Our goal has always been to make interacting with contracts fast, accurate, and enjoyable. Every key relationship in a business is defined by an agreement, yet most organizations struggle to extract the insights inside them.
“Our focus is to give in-house teams a trustworthy solution that helps them work faster and gives them visibility into their contracts that was previously impossible,” the chief executive and co-founder of Ivo, Min-Kyu Jung, stated.
Also commenting, a Principal at Blackbird, Mr James Palmer, said, “In-house legal teams demand products that are deeply accurate and aligned to how they work. The most sophisticated teams are incredibly selective about the tools they trust.
“Ivo’s traction with some of the world’s best companies shows it consistently exceeds that bar. With exceptional product execution and an uncompromising quality bar, we believe Ivo is defining and leading the category.”
The Senior Manager for Contract Operations at Uber, Ms Kate Gardner, said, “Uber selected Ivo because it was intuitive to use, demonstrated a high level of accuracy, could work in multiple languages, and met its confidentiality requirements. Furthermore, the Ivo team was highly responsive to Uber’s needs.”
Technology
Nigeria Leads in AI for Learning, Entrepreneurship—Google
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A new report released by global tech giant, Google, in collaboration with Ipsos, has revealed that Nigeria is writing the playbook on Artificial Intelligence (AI) as it leads in AI for learning and entrepreneurship.
In the study titled Our Life with AI: Helpfulness in the hands of more people, it was shown that Nigerians are using AI tools for everything from education to entrepreneurship at a remarkable rate, showing immense optimism for the technology’s future.
It was disclosed that about 88 per cent of Nigerian adults have used an AI chatbot, a huge 18-point jump from 2024, placing the West African country well ahead of the global average of 62 per cent.
It was also found out that while the top use for AI globally has shifted to learning, Nigerians are taking it a step further, using AI as a powerful tool for personal and professional development.
A staggering 93 per cent of Nigerians use AI to learn or understand complex topics, compared to 74 per cent globally, with 91 per cent using the tool to assist them with their work.
In addition, the research observed that 80 per cent of Nigerians are using AI to explore a new business or career change—nearly double the global average of 42 per cent.
Nigerians have overwhelmingly positive feelings about AI’s role in the classroom and beyond, seeing it as a game-changer for education, with 91 per cent feeling AI is having a positive impact on how we learn and access information versus 65 per cent globally.
The report showed that 95 per cent believe university students and educators are likely to benefit from AI, as 80 per cent of Nigerians are more excited about the possibilities of AI, versus just 20 per cent who are more concerned. Globally, the split is much closer at 53 per cent excited and 46 per cent concerned).
Commenting on the findings, the Communications and Public Affairs Manager for Google in West Africa, Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, said, “It’s inspiring to see how Nigerians are creatively and purposefully using AI to unlock new opportunities for learning, growth, and economic empowerment.
“This report doesn’t just show high adoption rates; it tells the story of a nation that is actively shaping its future with technology, using AI as a tool to accelerate progress and achieve its ambitions. We’re committed to ensuring that AI remains a helpful and accessible tool for everyone.”
Business Post gathered that the research was conducted by Ipsos between September 22 and October 10, 2025, on behalf of Google.
For this survey, a sample of roughly 1,000 adults aged 18+ who are residents of Nigeria and were interviewed online, representing the country’s online population.
Technology
NCC Grants Three Satellite Licences to Boost Broadband Services
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has licensed three additional global internet service providers, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, BeetleSat-1, and and Germany-based Satelio IoT Services, as part of efforts to strengthen internet connectivity via satellite and to boost competition among existing internet service providers in the country.
Amazon Leo, formerly Project Kuiper, is Amazon’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network, designed to provide fast, reliable internet to customers and communities beyond the reach of existing networks, while BeetleSat (formerly NSLComm) is an international company with strong ties to both Israel and Spain, and its corporate structure involves multiple countries, building a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation of 250 satellites to provide high-throughput, low-latency, satellite internet, cellular backhaul, and mobility services globally, and Satelio IoT was approved for its planned 491-satellite IoT system, though only one satellite is currently in orbit.
NCC granted the global internet operators seven-year licences to each to operate in Nigeria from February 28, 2026, to February 28, 2033.
These operators were granted Ka-Band for their frequency band operations, and the licence is renewable after the seven years expiration, according to the regulator.
The NCC’s landing permit authorises Project Kuiper to operate its space segment in Nigeria as part of a global constellation of up to 3,236 satellites.
According to the NCC, the approval aligns with global best practices and reflects Nigeria’s willingness to open its satellite communications market to next-generation broadband providers.
The permit positions Project Kuiper to provide satellite internet services over Nigerian territory and sets the stage for intensified competition with Starlink, currently the most visible Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite internet provider in the country.
The permit also gives Amazon LEO and BeetleSat-1, the legal certainty to invest in ground infrastructure, local partnerships, and enterprise contracts, while giving Nigeria a wider market opportunity to play in space internet service delivery, where Starlink currently operates.
Amazon’s Kuiper will offer three categories of satellite services in Nigeria: Fixed Satellite Service (FSS), Mobile Satellite Service (MSS), and Earth Stations at Sea (ESAS).
FSS enables broadband connectivity between satellites and fixed ground stations, such as homes, enterprises, telecom base stations, and government facilities. This is the core service behind satellite home internet and enterprise backhaul; MSS, by contrast, is designed for mobility and resilience; and ESIM extends high-speed satellite broadband to moving platforms, including aircraft, ships, trains, and vehicles.
These systems rely on sophisticated antennas that can track satellites in real time while in motion, making them critical for aviation and maritime connectivity as well as logistics and transport sectors.
BeetleSat was founded in Israel, where its groundbreaking antenna technology was developed and supported by the Israel Space Agency.
In 2021, it formed a strategic alliance with the Spanish technology group Arquimea, which is now BeetleSat’s largest shareholder and main industrial partner.
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