Here are some notable NFT collections throughout history:
2012 – Colored Coins, minted on Bitcoin, becomes the first known NFT project. The Coins were created to represent real-life assets, such as cars and real estate, but technical difficulties led to low takeup.
2014 – Quantum by Kevin McCoy becomes the first NFT art piece. The piece was minted on Namecoin in May 2014, depicting an ever-shifting pixelated octagon. McCoy and his wife Jennifer are well-known and respected artists in the NFT art space.
2015 – Spells of Genesis, a trading card game, becomes the first known blockchain game. It was the first game to use on-chain assets, and also the first to use a crypto-based currency called BitCrystals.
Etheria, which launched in 2015 on Ethereum, introduced smart contracts – executable blockchain-based code – to the industry. In Etheria, players own hexagonal land tiles, farming resources from them and building assets onto them.
2016 – Rare Pepe became one of the first widely-known NFT collections, and held one of the first-known in-person NFT art gatherings – the Rare Digital Art Festival.
2017 – CryptoPunks, the most valuable NFT PFP collection, was minted, originating the trend of 10,000-piece generative NFT art collectibles.
CryptoKitties, which also launched in 2017, became the first widely-known blockchain game. Built on Ethereum, players own, adopt, breed and trade virtual cats.