It is 2021.
It is important to back up and keep in mind that, although it feels like we’ve all always known about NFTs, the reverse is true. Up until this season, NFTs were not only a novelty idea that wouldn’t be a narrative on cable news, but their use case was still being worked out in the blockchain industry. Even though the recent hype has been fun, I think that this current iteration of NFTs is far from the game-changing, revolutionary potential which they can really unlock for entire businesses.
What makes NFTs distinct from BTC
NFTs are not the same as the rest of the use instances of cryptocurrencies. An NFT, on the other hand, is a distinctively generated token that uses the Ethereum blockchain to signify ownership of an electronic asset in a way that is unchangeable over time.
With everyone from retired professional wrestler The Undertaker to Lindsay Lohan pushing their own NFTs to take advantage of this fad, this seems far more similar to Ty Beanie Babies hype than revolutionary technology. When the trend settles or the bubble pops, all you’re left with is a certification of ownership which holds no value, which begs the question: Why not click and“save as“ to make a copy without paying $69 million?
This original form Shouldn’t Be the final one
I joke about the present condition of NFTs, but I’m very excited when I think about exactly what NFTs will evolve into in the next decade. The role of having an immutable listing of ownership or agreement minted onto a blockchain has such abundant potential to affect numerous businesses. A number of the most fascinating use instances beyond the present iteration of NFTs comprise:
- Real estate: Imagine a near-future in which you go to buy a house, and rather than an arduous process of paperwork and communicating back-and-forth with the lender, you can simplify the process by exchanging an ERC-721 (the standard NFT token based on Ethereum) from the original owner to you.
- Licenses and records: Opening bank accounts, renting an apartment, transferring the title of a car or trying to buy cold medicine in the neighborhood drugstore — all these things require concrete verifications through ID and accredited paperwork. Imagine if, instead, you might have your permits and records confirmed on the blockchain as NFTs?
- Tangible goods: Even farther out later on, NFTs could help us maintain ownership of concrete goods and provide power, through verifiable ownership, back to folks who are victims of theft. Imagine someone sneaking your bicycle or a priceless piece of jewellery passed down on your loved ones. If you can link ownership of these things with an NFT on a blockchain, there isn’t any deniability to the thing’s owner.
Related: The rise of NFTs has to be accompanied by additional decentralization
That is not even half of the use cases, with amusement copyrights, gaming assets and more being developed at DeFi at the moment.
In the end, NFTs are fun and also a fundamentally good idea. However, when money and status are the two most important variables in driving something’s worth, the industry has to take a deep breath and prevent turning away people from the innovation prior to the real revolutionary use instances are readily available. At this time, people are eager to buy a meme for $500,000, and although I think they’re missing the actual worth that NFTs have to provide, I only hope people stick around to find out what NFTs can really do.
This article does not include investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move entails risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
