Ian Guider: Why the N in NFT stands for nothing

In a time of great change assailing the economy and the financial sector, non-fungible tokens are an unregulated mess representing huge danger to the ordinary investor

A digital reproduction of the painting Madonna del Cardellino by Raphael, displayed as part of the Eternalising Art History: From Da Vinci to Modigliani exhibition at the Unit London gallery in London. NFT (non-fungible token) digital reproductions of six Italian masterpieces are on display as part of the exhibition. Picture: Getty

The last three decades have brought unparalleled technological revolutions that have utterly changed our lives. Information flows freely and instantly. Online selling has upended traditional trade and created opportunities for so many new companies. Money no longer needs a bank as an intermediary, and an entire generation accesses information and entertainment through smartphones.

The world’s five most valuable companies are worth more than the economies of Britain and Germany combined. The pace of change has ...