9 Predictions Shaping the NFT Future

Many say that Web 3.0 and NFTs are a scam and others say they are a revolution whether we like it or not they are already out there.

NFTs have huge  potential to be used beyond just digital art, it is capable of providing exclusive communities accessibility, entertainment industry disruption, normalising the Metaverse,  Gamification, revolutionise branding and connection to physical ownership of assets.

 

 

In this post we will discuss the potential of the NFTs in shaping the future.  Some of these in the list have already happened but at a smaller scale.  Others are just based on my speculation and is just a way for us to visualise how this industry can become.

 

1. Many Places/Communities with Exclusive Access

When holders have a NFT in their wallet it allows other Web 3.0 websites and in-real devices to verify their ownership. With that it allows the verification of community members and allows them to get exclusive accessibility (depending on the utility provided).

Whether it is a social club or it is a ticket for an event, whatever exclusive it is physically or digitally, NFTs can be used as an item that helps verifying who is part of this community potentially giving holders lifetime value. For example, Gary Vaynerchuck a well-known social media influencer has a NFT called Vee Friends which gives exclusive tickets to 3 years conference called VeeCon.

So you can imagine, if it is a conference or a closed meeting room with few members, having NFTs will possibly be the way these holders use them for accessibility. It can be done because of their authenticity through the blockchain technology.

 

2. Decline of Middleman in Entertainment Industry

Generally, the entertainment industry requires aspiring artists/developers to go through a publisher in order to get exposure of their work. Where this publisher decides to accept or reject them which have big influence on the artist/developer career.

With NFTs,  the power has been shifted towards the communities who decide which artist/developer that deserve support and fund them. Doing that, allows the artist/developer to create their envisioned masterpiece. The community members will have skin in the game by owning their NFTs which could yield possible royalties or experience (based on the agreed terms of the project).

 

Owning Gaming Assets and Play-to-Earn

With a large profitable industries such as gaming that is around $180 billion (2021). Game developers are very interested to be in part of the industry where they are able to raise funds through the technology.

For example, Gala games, a blockchain gaming platform  published multiple games through NFTS. They raised funds by selling assets of their game like lands, buildings, characters, and Token supporting the game ecosystem, and  they also took a step ahead by selling the network nodes supporting the infrastructure of the platform.

It may not necessarily be 100% decentralised but the ability to directly communicate with developers and benefit from the growth of the game is valuable.

 

Music industry

Given that NFTs are compatible with audio format, they  allow buyers to buy original songs created by artists. And as you know there is skin in the game the owners of these NFTs will be working hard to make sure that the artist they support gets famous.

The artist now have the option to not go through the publisher process to distribute and popularise his/her songs. The buyers of the music NFTs are  able to generate profit from the royalties of streaming or selling the songs on decentralised music service providers.

For example, DJ 3LAU was the first musician to tokenise an album, making $11.6 million of the 33 NFTs the album he sold. If you are into this topic check out this link discussing the topic.

 

The Movie Industry

It is the same case for the movie/series industry the owners of these shows aim to get users to buy their NFT is as their early supporters and then start developing the shows.

It does not have to be repaid with royalties too, for example,   Impact Theory Founders Key  A NFT project representing an entertainment studio which is building multiple shows give their Legendary Keys NFT holders a partnership perk to use any of their ventures.

 

 

As you noticed, the possible future of NFTs doesn’t have to be about raising funds and giving out royalties. It could be as simple as building an audience and facilitate partnerships that accelerate the possibility of success for the entertainment studio and allow the community to recognise some of the upside profit.

 

 

3. Shift of Social Media to the Metaverse

With availability and fast-paced improvement of Virtual Reality technology mainstream users are eventually going to use it (just a guess). VR technology has improved significantly over the years, the graphics are becoming more realistic, wearable gloves allow users to feel and smell. This technology has the potential to create a new experience in the  entertainment industry.

Specially nowadays, most of our life is work and staying in traffic going to work. Then at home, we indulge in social media, video games, and streaming services to enjoy and hangout with friends. Having said that, the VR could potentially create a new need for users which is also driven by the NFTs . Let us see how is that possible.

 

Virtual Space

In the future, it is possibly that social media profiles turn into spaces. What I mean by this is that instead of visiting a user profile you will end up visiting their showroom like in VeVe. A digital showroom/room or even a house feature on social media will allow users to be able to express themselves more with the way they design their space and presenting their NFTs.

I can imagine that LinkedIn users would have a virtual room along with their online profile that has their certificates hanged on the wall as verified NFTs from their University and their job titles from their employer.

Virtual Real Estate is already around, for example you can buy lands from the Sandbox, build it, and program it for activities.

Digital Fashion

OK, so if there are spaces where users can virtually meet then there have to be avatars where users are able to present themselves.

The users will need the avatars when moving around the online space or as they call it the Metaverse with their own clothing  which can be purchased as NFTs.

Fashion brands already entered the field where Nike has bought out RTFKT NFT collection studio.

 

 

Also Adidas made their own NFTs collections (Into the Metaverse NFTs) partnering with the Bored Ape Yacht Club, Punks Comics, and GMoney.

 

 

But you may wonder why do people pay a lot of money to buy NFT ? It is because brands are only issuing limited supply, and because these NFTs are recorded on the blockchain as first editions. Users want to make sure to have them as they are the pioneering items in this disruptive industry.

 

4. Emergence of Augmented Reality in Physical World

There is a possibility that you will be able to buy clothing for your avatar through screens in shopping centers. You will be able to stand in front of a screen wearing your Augmented Reality glasses that popup clothes for your avatar and purchase on the spot.  The Augmented Reality way of shopping will introduce a new layer of shopping experience for shoppers who enjoys going to malls physically.

Another current relevant example is Pokemon Go where players can catch Pokemons through the AR technology. In the future they could all be NFTs that catching a Pokemon could provide in-game experience and utility.

 

5. Digital Art and Collectibles Become Mainstream 

Many still buy physical Art and trading cards. But the challenge is that they are hard to buy and there are trust issues.  Not everyone is willing to pay a lot of money to someone through the internet and trust that the collectible is original and also that the delivery company will ship it safely. There is too much risk.

But when it comes to the blockchain technology meta data, this becomes much easier. Users will be able to buy their verified collectibles as NFTs and comfortably/instantly trade their collections.

 

6. PFP Projects Becomes the Future of Brands

When we discuss brands we usually talk about how strong brands build communities around it like Harley Davidson and whoever buys the bike wants to belong with this community.

When it comes to fashion, they follow what famous artist wear.

Gaming is either for entertainment or even to belong and play with friends.

The pattern is usually the same, fun and community. Now imagine that if they buy a product that the more you market it the richer you get and at the same time it still have the sense of community around it.

Well, that is PFP NFTs, they make buyers feel involved and gain the value upside. Everyone is an ambassador for that brand! Look at Twitter, how the CyberKongz, Bored Apes and Bears Deluxe representing their brands.

 

7. Increase of Developing Artificial Intelligence NFTs

With the flexibility of the smart contract for NFTs, developing artificial intelligent NFTs is possible where they can learn new ideas and skills through time. Such technology I believe is going to be very powerful because it will allow companies to produce their own digital intelligent characters on the platform.

Whether it is an NPC character in a video game that can be used on multiple video games or it is your personal assistant in the virtual world who can learn and know exactly what you teach them and with a simple click of a button you can reset them and then resell them.

An example of AI is Alethea AI. Which plan to introduce “train-to-earn” revenue model. This NFT can used in different Metaverses like the Sandbox and Decentraland.

 

 

8. Digitalising Physical Real Estate and Vehicles

With the power of blockchain and secure way to transfer money. The ability to buy and sell legal ownership of a house or a vehicle is possible. Tokenising the asset where whoever owns this contract owns it could be possible.

This means future of these industries will become easier for buying and selling and even renting. There was already a case of an auctioned house backed by NFT in Florida.

 

9. Documents Identification and User Tracking

I know the concept of centralisation is not popular in the field of crypto.  However, such technology is very useful streamline some governmental related processes and even tracking users by their IDs and other measures.

For example, it is possible to treat a person identification card as NFT that mean it is almost impossible now to forge the ID unless the wallet is hacked.

Another example is in the healthcare industry, imagine that they start attaching items on the patients’ body to track their health whether it’s the blood sugar or the blood pressure to make sure that they are healthy. Everything would be reported to the doctor and it could also be programmed to alert them if any emergency takes place.

 

Final Thoughts

NFTs are still early and has huge potential. We are not sure where it is heading whether it will go mainstream or to just be for specific use cases.

It is an exciting time and I was really happy to research this topic.  Let us hope that the challenges including the environmental and high fees to be solved allowing us to use it and enjoy it more in our lives.

 

Related Posts:

• How do NFT Gaming Works? – 6 Unique Traits of NFT Games
• How do DAOs Work? and What are They Used for?
• What is the Metaverse and why you should care?

 

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