In the past year, non-fungible token (NFTs) became a mainstream media sensation. There were lots of conversations surrounding its adoption and possibilities of adapting NFTs to different sectors. But are NFTs limited to arts and collectibles? Let’s examine that.
NFT’s Entry into the Crypto World
The advent of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) came with shocking disbelief. Individuals and institutions were skeptical about its sustainability. But it appears that NFTs are here, and they will remain in the digital currency space forever. In the last year, the crypto space experienced the bull trend from the NFT industry bigger than any bull run made by a crypto coin.
Although NFTs came into the mainstream discourse as arts and collectibles. Those two formats became the testing grounds for individuals and institutions to observe NFT performance before heavy investment. But the public was quick to accept NFTs because a seventh-grader can understand them without little or no stress.
Examples are what we experience with celebrities and other public figures embracing NFTs. This adoption skyrocketed NFT’s growth and caused people to start researching how they could solve real problems. The community support for NFTs makes it more explorative as we see NFTs dropped as CryptoPunks representing different societal personalities.
However, folks from the crypto space are too focused on arts and collectibles as the only potential ideas for NFTs. But experts and researchers are looking into how it can be integrated into our contemporary life and leverage NFTs in our consumption, finances, identification, fashion, and where we spend our moments.
5 NFT Use Cases that May Be Conventional Soon
NFTs will cut across other aspects of our life, but where will they take control. No one knows. However, we explore how it will integrate into the mainstream and gain global adoption across different sectors.
- DeFi NFTs
DeFi NFTs may likely change societal financial behavior. Aside from making finance accessible to the regarded unbanked population, it will make it easy to transfer funds and execute some financial plans. An instance is when you use your life savings to purchase an NFT. But you need quick cash to sort some bills. As an NFT holder, you can use your piece to obtain a loan while being collateral.
This doesn’t only reduce the stress of returning a loan. It also reduces the chase and disagreement that comes with it. What usually happens in this regard is the smart contract capacity to transfer a part or all of your NFTs to the lender should you default.
Likewise, you can sell an item gotten from an NFT game to settle some financial needs. However, this game item must have increased in value while using it. There will be a system that will allow you to transfer that fund to your local account.
- Gaming
The wider adoption of NFTs in the gaming industry may take more time when compared with arts and collectibles. That’s because game development takes more time than those two. However, gamers purchase in-app items to unlock new levels or obtain new items. The same happens in the NFT gaming industry. However, this comes with a twist of being rewarded.
An instance is the Axie Infinity. This game rewards players for every moment they spend while playing. You can think of this as NFT minting. Its promise is earning in crypto while exiting the game and choosing to do whatever you wish with the money—that is only the beginning of possibilities in the gaming population.
- Events and ticketing
Another possibility that may arise from NFTs in the future is the multiple functions an NFT ticket can have. For instance, you get an NFT ticket to Justin Bieber’s show. Your NFT ticket does not only allow you entry into the show. It can give you access to redeem certain things like snacks. Likewise, it automatically pays every party involved in staging the show.
This means that you are eliminating the middleman in making the payment. Aside from that, you can stake such NFTs in the future. As a result, it is an investment because it is concert memorabilia. This may be likened to the case of old tickets stubs for Beatles concerts.
- Fashion and wearables
Top brands in the fashion industry are now taking advantage of NFTs. They are using NFTs to increase their brand awareness and sales. With NFTs inclusion, there are more market participants, and their customers are willing to engage them. This way, it also doesn’t matter if you are a new brand or an existing brand. Since you can convince users with your NFT-inclusive potentials, you can entice more customers.
An example is what Dolce & Gabbana did by selling their first nine-piece NFT collection for $5,600,000. This presents us with the collaboration that can exist between fashion and blockchain. Another instance is flipping fashion wearables like sneakers. With NFTs, the process may be easier and faster. Above all, NFTs will bring more investment opportunities to the fashion industry.
- Digital identity
Self-sovereign identity (SSID) is a feature that makes blockchain technology more disruptive. With NFTs, individuals can prove that they truly own some things without legal disagreement. An example is what we experience with the Ethereum Name Services (ENS). ENS allows you to attach your social media accounts to it to prove your ownership. That means you truly own the name you chose to make public.
In this regard, we can regard NFTs as “Utility NFTs.” With this, individuals will agree with you that you own something. However, this thing can’t be exchanged for another money. Another instance is when an international student can prove that he has a college degree.
NFTs vs. the Future: Tokenizing All Things Physical
The innovation that will come with NFTs is individuals wanting to have an NFT companion of a physical product. Although people are yet to see this potential, the continuous adoption of NFTs will expose them to this.
As a result, everything that has value will have an NFT representation. For instance, your necklace can have an NFT companion to prove ownership or use it in a play-to-earn game. This will happen for every product, and we will have different digital goods. This may look impossible, but you should examine what NFTs did to arts and collectibles.
