Here is a timeline of the first NFT, and major NFT milestones:
2012 – Colored Coins, created on the Bitcoin blockchain, becomes the first known NFT project. The Coins intended to represent real-life assets on the blockchain, such as cars and real estate, but technical complications led to the end of its development.
2014 – Quantum by New York artist Kevin McCoy is considered to be the first NFT art piece. The image was minted on the Namecoin blockchain in May 2014, depicting a pixelated octagon changing colour and shape. McCoy and his wife Jennifer are well-known and respected artists in collectors’ circles.
2015 – Spells of Genesis, a trading card game, becomes the first known blockchain game. Its developments were the first to create on-chain in-game assets, and a blockchain-based in-game currency called BitCrystals.
Etheria, a virtual game world, also launched in 2015 on Ethereum, and introduced smart contracts – executable blockchain-based code – to the world. In Etheria, players could own hexagonal tiles, farm them for resources, and build assets on them.
2016 – Rare Pepe became one of the first widely-known NFT collections, opening the door for NFT Art with the first Rare Digital Art Festival.
2017 – CryptoPunks, the most valuable NFT PFP collection, was launched, setting the trend of 10,000-piece generative NFT art collectibles.
CryptoKitties also launched in 2017, becoming the first widely-known blockchain game. Built on Ethereum, players can own, adopt, breed and trade their virtual cats.