Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are all the rage these days. They’ve gone from cryptocurrency side project to meme of the moment in a hurry, with speculators snapping up all kinds of digital goods and basketball highlights as the bored economy continues to be in full swing.
But if you’re still a bit lost about what an NFT is and why people seem to be so excited about them, well, that’s what The Daily Show is here for. In a substantial segment from the show, Trevor Noah broke down the craze in their If You Don’t Know, Now You Know segment. There are plenty of jokes, sure, but it also serves as a pretty solid rundown of just what makes NFTs unique, popular, and a big money-maker for digital platforms that have found an audience in recent months like NBA Top Shot.
“Essentially what you’re buying with an NFT is a long digital receipt that has your transaction along with every transaction that has ever happened,” Noah explained. “So basically it’s like a CVS receipt: it has miles of irrelevant information but somewhere buried in there it says that you bought a Gatorade and some pretzels, and maybe condoms.”
Though the money that’s pouring into NFTs is pretty wild, there certainly was room to joke about the potential for its place as a status symbol.
“The problem, though, is that if digital pictures become the new status symbol, you realize that rap videos are about to become boring as hell,” Noah said. “Instead of showing off expensive cars or pet tigers, rappers are just going to be clicking.”
You can watch the full segment above.