The Merge, the most expensive NFT in the world created by digital artist Pak was sold for $91.8 million USD as nearly 30.000 NFT collectors rushed to get in on the action. And while these numbers leave many in shock and awe, the NFT craze is still far from being over. In fact, did you know that by simply owning an NFT you could be making passive income? There are many ways of having exposure to NFTs, so let’s dig in. What is an NFT? To put it in simple terms, NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token, which is cheeky way of saying that it is a completely unique token that is unable to be duplicated. Now, the version of NFTs which people are familiar with are jpegs, however, it is important to make the distinction that the NFT itself isn’t just the picture you are looking at, rather a token ID on the blockchain which is paired with the image URL and therefore represents the image you are looking at. This means that since there is no image data on the blockchain, what the token is doing is simply pointing to the image file, meaning that it could also point to several other different things such as domain names, the deed to someone’s house, and so forth, which is why they are extremely versatile and likely to revolutionize the very concept of ownership. Investing in NFTs directly While some take an active stance and speculate wildly on NFT markets, trading them much like NFT stocks, passive income is in fact possible too. So, yes, those avatars and cat jpegs and other NFT art might earn you a considerable amount of money if used right. Investing in NFT stocks If you aren’t an artist and find NFT markets confusing, there is another way you can gain NFT exposure: through NFT Stocks. Many companies out there have dwelled into NFTs, either by operating in their marketplace or selling them. Big names include Coinbase Global, Inc (COIN), Draftkings Inc. (DKNG) a sports betting and fantasy sports company, Chiliz (CHZ), and eBay Inc, (EBAY). Role of Blockchain stocks There are many publicly traded companies out there which incorporate blockchain tech into their operations, whether its directly or through the offering of blockchain-related services. Others simply play a role in the crypto industry either by focusing on crypto or fostering blockchain innovation. Some of the most established blockchain stocks are: Nvidia (NVDA), the leading manufacturer of GPUs and graphics cards, Block (SQ), previously known as Square, Mastercard (MA), and IBM (IBM). Where does passive income NFTs fit in? If speculative NFTs stock trading sounds like a FOMO-induced proposition, but there are clever new ways one can earn a steady stream of revenue from other NFT applications. Much like content can be monetized online, content makers can also make NFTs of their works and sell them with the promise that whoever will buy them will get a part of their advertising revenue. The core idea of a passive income NFTs is the notion that having a digital representation of physical asset adds value. As an example, let’s look at the entertainment industry. If an up-and-coming new band is about to release a new hit song they can monetize it on a popular streaming platform, meaning that they will earn a percentage every time someone buys it or streams it (via ads). However, if the artists decide to go on a tangent from traditional means, they can simply turn that song into an NFT and sell part of those monetary rights for a period (or in perpetuity), so the owner of the NFT would also receive his or her cut. This allows for the artists’ audience and fans to engage with the band, to have their skin in the game by investing in their project, and, more importantly, to earn rewards along the way. NFT monetization Accordingly, this logic makes it so that the concept of NFT monetization can be extrapolated into other areas such as social networks or video with creators on Youtube, Vimeo, Odysee or any other platform from the blogosphere, social influencers, and so forth. Consequently, investors can back the creators’ projects in a new and unique way and earn their fair share passively. Real life NFTs and their “leakage” into the real world seems inevitable, and even for those who are short on capital, there is ample opportunity for investment and a consistent, long-term stream of revenue. You just got to play your cards right.