(NYTIMES) - On March 13, Li Jin sold a GIF for US$25,000 (S$33,670). The moving image, which was uploaded to a decentralised series of servers called a blockchain and was purchased at auction via the cryptocurrency Ethereum, sold in 24 hours.

Depending on whom you ask, the transaction is an example of a thrilling new path for ownership in a digital world that allows creators to sell things directly with no intermediaries - or it's a total scam. The most bullish argue that transactions like Ms Jin's could be the beginnings of a brand-new version of the Internet, while detractors see it as a reckless, overhyped speculation market and an "ecological nightmare pyramid scheme".