BBC Reporter Purchases First NFT, Describes Process as ‘a Nightmare’

It is clear the process for buying a non-fungible token (NFT) still has its imperfections. Or so a BBC reporter revealed in a recent article, in which she lambasted the purchase as “a nightmare.”

BBC Technology Reporter Cristina Criddle recently shared her experiences buying a CryptoKitty NFT on OpenSea. Beginning with the excitement about purchasing and owning the digital artwork. But then slowly developing into a process the journalist found stressful and demoralizing.

Tangling with gas prices, the fluctuating price of the Ether (ETH) she used for the transaction, and being left waiting for the sale to be approved. As she put it, “The whole experience sucked all the fun out of my fluffy pink friend.”

Criddle’s article then revealed that she was not the only one reeling from their NFT purchase experience. Complaints of transactions getting stuck or delayed, and losing money while their tokens value decline or gas prices rise. It leads to the question, are these teething problems? Or can mass adoption even happen for NFTs? While some believe that they are wildly misunderstood, others opine that NFTs should become more user-friendly for mass adoption.

NFTs making their mark

Whether the opinions about mass adoption are true or not, there is definitely a continually increasing enthusiasm and awareness for NFTs. Not least within their presence in the sport world. 

The Hong Kong-based trading platform and app Crypto.com has unleashed a number of NFT collections in 2021 alone. Tied directly to its expanding portfolio of sporting partnerships.

This began with the Formula One racing team Aston Martin Cognizant back in March, with whom they released a series of NFTs to celebrate their return to F1 after 60 years away. Crypto.com later did similar releases with the Coppa Italia football league and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship.

Long before Crypto.com’s foray into sport and NFTs, the NBA introduced Top Shot. An NFT phenomenon that, in Jan. 2021, surpassed CryptoKitties as the best-selling digital collectible by volume. A month later, they recorded daily NFT sales nearing $34 million. Hitting a 24-hour all-time high for trading volume at the same time.

More recently, boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. released his first ever NFT collection on Rarible, as reported on May 26.