Although non-fungible tokens (NFTs) education was the key topic at NFT LA, the event also allowed the exploration of current use cases existing today while providing a glimpse into the future of NFTs.
Alex Salnokov, the co-founder and head of product at NFT marketplace Rarible, said that the NFT space is currently undergoing a massive market shift:
“The year 2020 was all about crypto art, which is still generating about the same volume this year. But, now profile picture NFTs like Bored Apes, and CryptoPunks are skyrocketing. PFP NFTs are responsible for 90% of volume across the NFT space.”
According to Salnikov, PFP NFTs today serve as aesthetically pleasing tickets to exclusive clubs and communities. He stated that NFTs are also a significant asset in the metaverse, acting as land, and digital fashion for avatars.
“NFTs are an entirely new concept. They represent the ownership of goods in the digital universe we are building.”
In addition to profile picture (PFPs) NFTs, enterprise-focused NFTs have been gaining much traction in recent weeks. In this case, Monica Long, the general manager of Ripple’s innovation arm RippleX, explained that Ripple is gaining interest in real-estate NFTs or carbon credit marketplaces that use non-fungible tokens:
“Ripple has spent years working on the enterprise side, so we have operations skills to serve this area.”
The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA), an organization focused on use cases of Ethereum, has also delved into enterprise NFTs. In a recent short interview, Dan Burnett, the executive director of the EEA, confirmed that EEA partnered with Palm NFT Studio to develop a new NFTs collection:
“We’ve definitely been paying attention to NFTs for a long time, but we’re pleased to have experts joining the board who can help us make sure that we are providing the information background that businesses, individuals, and solo entrepreneurs need to operate in this space. We’re not here for speculation. We’re here for real business.”
Dan Heyman, the CEO of Palm NFTs Studio and EEA board member, said in a short interview that he witnessed every enterprise with a consumer presence discussing NFTs:
“Even the companies that haven’t done anything with NFTs yet are talking about what value they can bring.”
Furthermore, Heyman highlighted that efforts in the NFT space from large IPs have also gone so far, citing DC Comics NFT collection, which was the first to demonstrate a long-term commitment to engaging consumers and fans through NFTs.
NFTs Future Expectation
Apart from general education and innovative use in mind, the NFT LA conference brought together panelist with a better idea of where the NFTs currently stands and where it is likely to move next. Although NFT adoption is underway, there is work to be done to bring more use cases to the mainstream. In this case, Salnikov believes the industry is still in its early stage:
“Everyone is excited about NFTs being applied to everything right now. Part of these use cases will prove valuable and drive the market forward, and others will prove otherwise.”
According to Salnikov, moving forward, the rise of PFP is resulting in more community-led marketplaces and traditional NFT marketplaces:
“Every community wants their marketplace to ensure a seamless user experience.”
Salnikov further explained that when profile pictures NFT launch, there is normally a website where users can mint, connect their wallets and buy items. Besides, there is usually a Discord group and a secondary marketplace where users can trade nonfungible tokens.
He added that communities want users to stay on their websites for secondary trading, and the NFT space is expected to record an influx of community marketplaces in the future.
Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are becoming more familiar with community-based non-fungible token projects. According to Yat Siu, co-founder, and chairman of Hong Kong-based gaming and venture capital Animoca Brands, DAOs will start to govern NFT communities moving forward.
Mason projects that stories integrated with non-fungible tokens may be the next trend in the NFT space, noting that its newly launched The Bat Cowl NFT collection will appear in comic books. He further outlined that these types of NFTs will allow decentralized storytelling:
“We have a director of storytelling working closely with the DC Comics editorial team to bring Transmedia.”
Nevertheless, although it is hard to forecast the future of NFTs, Salnikov maintained that he foresees the NFT industry moving to a trillion-dollar in the next ten years or even sooner:
“This would not be possible without the ideation stage we are currently in.”
