Pictures are not the future of NFT. What should unique tokens be?
In the first wave of popularity of the NFT sphere, transactions worth millions of dollars involved mostly ordinary images backed by a unique token on a blockchain. However, development has not stood still – NFT is smoothly becoming part of a huge ecosystem of meta-universes, with its final form not even quite clear yet. That means the concept of unique tokens needs to change too, experts say. Here is the viewpoint of one of them.
Note that NFTs are popular even in the current bear market, which is not usually an attractive stage for digital asset interaction. In particular, in the last week, the record deal value for non-interchangeable tokens was broken by Bored Ape Yacht Club collection representative number 8585, which was sold for the equivalent of $1.03 million.
Most expensive NFT token transactions in the last week
At the same time, as many as 28 tokens sold for more than $100,000 during this period, which somehow indicates the popularity of the industry.
Why do we need NFT tokens?
The opinion on the need to expand the purpose of NFT further is held by Brian Trunzo, head of meta-universe operations at Polygon Studios. In a recent interview with Decrypt, he stated that in the future, NFTs will have a broader set of uses and will become more like a “technology layer” rather than a standalone asset.
One of the reasons for the limited popularisation of NFT is the incorrect media coverage of the concept. Here is Trunzo’s rejoinder.
In the minds of many, NFT is what the mainstream media writes about: “right click – save JPEG”, an investable asset class. In my opinion, none of this is the future for Web3 and NFT.
Note that NFT has completely different uses. In particular, in July 2021, non-interchangeable tokens were used as a subscription to watch an animated series. In this case, NFT is needed to confirm the user's identity and authorise them on a service that provides paid content in the process. So essentially the possibilities and functionality of tokens are limited to the imagination of their developers.
Brian Trunzo, head of meta-universe at Polygon Studios
Note that NFT really doesn’t have to be a picture. Anything from animations to music and even unique content rights can be associated with a unique token. Trunzo is particularly fond of the latter – in an interview he spoke positively about a recent Starbucks initiative.
In early September, Starbucks announced its visitor rewards programme in the form of NFTs on Polygon. The unique tokens in the form of digital stamps will be redeemable for merch or even a pass to events organised by the company – such as a trip to Starbucks’ coffee farm in Costa Rica. NFT will be integrated into the company’s app, where users will also get the chance to earn more unique tokens by participating in a variety of challenges.
Starbucks is also joining the world of NFT
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According to Trunzo, gamification through unique tokens is a fast track to Web3 proliferation. Here’s his cue.
If success in Web2 is measured by the degree of traffic attraction, in Web3 the basis will be gamification – the involvement of users in the life of the brand.
Beyond gamification, Trunzo also sees huge potential in digital fashion. Unique clothing or skins in meta universes will become a popular way of expressing oneself and demonstrating one’s status. It’s also a great way to monetise content in games where skins have long been sold for real money. With the NFT concept, their value could increase manifold, and gamers could spend their time playing games with the prospect of making more serious money from their hobby.
Digital Fashion in NFT
The integration of NFT into games has its drawbacks as well. For example, a significant portion of gamers oppose such an innovation. In their opinion, unique tokens will give game studios another tool for microtransactions, which “kills” the fun of gameplay. Nevertheless, Trunzo is confident that the process is unstoppable, and NFTs will become an integral part of digital entertainment for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, some early Web3 games have been criticised for not offering impressive enough graphics compared to the best of the traditional gaming industry. Trunzo acknowledged that Web3 games are at an early stage of development, but also assured that they don’t necessarily need hyper-realistic graphics to be beautiful and popular.
NFT game Axie Infinity
That’s true, but so far Web3 games for the most part have one interesting feature – NFT. Some of them operate on a play-to-earn model, meaning they allow players to earn money from the gameplay. However, this is still not enough in the gamer’s mind – after all, a game is supposed to be fun in the first place.
However, there has been a change for the better here as well. One example is SHRAPNEL, a game integrated with Avalanche’s blockchain. The graphics here are at a high level – here is the product trailer.
We think the potential of the NFT token industry is really much broader than confirming ownership of unique pictures. However, the niche itself is relatively young, which means that it still has to actively develop. And the more the developers will put to it, the more opportunities will be opened for the end-users.
What do you think about it? Share your opinion in our Millionaire Crypto Chat. There we will discuss other important developments in the blockchain world.
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