NFTs are laying the groundwork for digital communities, economies, and assets as the online world transitions from web 2.0 to web 3.0. Here we visualize the future of NFTs.
NFTs swept the globe by storm in 2021, ushering in a digital creative revolution and being one of the year’s quickest rising asset classes.
Non-fungible token technology has allowed artists to market digital originals without depending on intermediaries, all while receiving royalties on subsequent purchases of their work. However, as Niccolo Conte and Athul Alexander of Visual Capitalist explain below, this use-case is only the start of the capabilities that non-fungible tokens bring to the developing world of web 3.0.
This infographic from NFT.com highlights the expanding value of NFTs and how they are already forming networks, enabling unique and tradeable gaming assets, and laying the groundwork for ownership and individuality inside the metaverse.
How NFTs are Revolutionizing Digital Ownership Today
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) give a comprehensive history and evidence of ownership for digital assets or any other asset represented by a non-fungible token. This functionality allows for the development of one-of-a-kind digital goods and items that anybody may freely buy or sell on an open marketplace.
Today, NFTs have already progressed to be more useful in a range of industries:
- Keys to digital communities
- Tradeable game assets
- Ownership of your username and assets in the metaverse
NFTs are laying the groundwork for digital communities, economies, and assets as the online world transitions from web 2.0 to web 3.0.
NFTs as Keys to Online Communities and Events
One of the first NFT use-case evolutions was the use of non-fungible tokens as “membership passes” to a digital community. Ownership of NFT profile photo collections such as CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) became ideal cornerstones around which networks of holders developed.
Today, profile picture NFT collections such as Oni Ronin have expanded on this concept, allowing access to exclusive workshops and ceremonies, free airdrops of other NFTs, and prize raffles for Oni Ronin NFT collection holders.
NFTs have been utilized to provide unique access to in-person events, in addition to access to online groups and events. Because NFTs give irrefutable proof of ownership on the blockchain, the technology is poised to solve major concerns in the event ticketing industry, such as forgery and virtual fraud.
Productive and Exchangeable Game Assets
Gaming is one of the primary industries where NFTs have provided value to players by allowing possession of acquired in-game assets. On the Harmony blockchain, projects such as DeFi Kingdoms have NFT “heroes” that players can buy, trade, and lease out on an open market.
These NFTs, in addition to providing ownership of the in-game asset, are also productive capital that can be dispatched on missions to earn in-game things and cryptocurrency for the player. These items can be swapped for bitcoin or used to build new items that will help heroes gain power.
The incorporation of NFTs into blockchain games such as DeFi Kingdoms, Axie Infinity, and Crabada has resulted in thriving in-game economies in which NFTs are priced depending on their attributes and statistics, which determine how much cryptocurrency they earn. In these games, playing time is rewarded because leveling up NFT assets results in better profits and a greater chance of receiving uncommon and valuable item drops.
Redefining Digital Identities and Assets
Concerned about someone stealing your metaverse username? Through the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), NFTs have already permitted ownership of custom “.eth” Ethereum wallet addresses, with over 671,000 unique “.eth” addresses registered thus far.
As an NFT, these unique addresses are linked into other decentralized services, making hitherto complicated wallet addresses more customized and easier to remember.
ENS allows for considerably shorter wallet credentials like “visualcapitalist.eth” instead of a long string of digits and letters like “0x0079784df055a06EC5A76A90b24.”
Other initiatives, such as NFT.com, employ NFTs to give individuals bespoke ownership of a personal profile, such as “www.nft.com/yourname,” where they can display and share their NFTs on a decentralized social network.
Enabling Ownership in the Metaverse Economy
Non-fungible tokens, like usernames and wallet addresses, are becoming the underlying technology for commodities in the metaverse. The Sandbox, a metaverse project, is already employing NFTs to represent digital land, goods such as furniture and décor for virtual locations, and much more.
In March 2022, The Sandbox produced more than $24 million in sales of NFTs representing metaverse real estate, with top businesses and celebrities from various industries, like Atari, Snoop Dogg, and the South China Morning Post, all holding pieces of virtual property.
NFTs are only getting started in revolutionizing digital asset ownership and exchange, setting the groundwork for digital communities, tradeable in-game assets, and the metaverse economy.
NFT.com is a community-governed and-owned decentralized social network for the NFT globe.
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