In which case Tony has 40 million worth of cocaine and an nft. Carlos meantime had to pay something for the nft and if the price was outrageous say $10 million dollars then Carlos is only getting a net of 30 million dollars for 40 million dollars worth of cocaine. Which if Tony can then turn around and sell the $10 million nft for $10 million he is getting $40 million worth of cocaine for $30 million dollars. So it only works if the nft was not overbought in the first place but if it was overbought then the numbers don’t work out for money laundering.
X can be anything. Art is often used for money laundering. Or tax evasion. Ever wonder why someone would buy a blank canvas or pile of rocks for $10 million?
Here's a scam I heard about. A billionaire buys a crap abstract painting from an allegedly "rising new artist" for $1 million. Five years later he donates it to a museum. The museum and billionaire collude with an arts appraiser, who declares the painting's current worth to be $10 million. Which the billionaire claims as a tax deduction to the IRS.
Any item whose value is volatile and difficult to appraise -- usually unique, potentially high-priced items such as collectibles, paintings, NFTs, etc. -- can be used for money laundering or tax evasion.