And we’re off to the races, folks! Recently, Binance introduced Binance NFT, a marketplace for NFTs and digital collectibles. As a part of this initiative, it launched the “100 Creators“ program to spotlight local talent from around the world.
Yet on that very same day, Michael Winkelmann, the American digital artist known as Beeple, introduced the cleverly named WENEW platform with the aim of becoming the “premier curator and provisioner of iconic moments.” WENEW is auctioning off historic and iconic moments across categories like sports, politics, history and fashion. The first auction, featuring NFTs as well as tangibles from tennis legend Andy Murray, generated over a quarter a million dollars in sales.
Even the Israeli parliament has jumped on the bandwagon. It will become the first to lend the elected president the oath of office declaration in the form of an NFT. The country’s new president is set to receive the digital version of the original oath signed by his father.
How are NFTs unlocking new value?
Blockchain technology allows a digital asset to be unique and not interchangeable or, importantly, counterfeitable. Therefore, NFTs represent a significant advancement for the preservation and sale of items such as photos, video, audio or any other type of digital work. Because still to this day digital works have been easy to copy, transfer and sell. And, most oftentimes, this hasn’t done anything to benefit the original artist or creator. With the introduction of NFTs, new value has been created for artists and creators because their original works cannot be digitally pirated.
For the end-consumer value is created through the resulting uniqueness and authenticity that has been previously unavailable with any digital product. As Beeple himself said in a recent interview: “Everybody’s [asking], What gives NFTs value? And it’s really no different than any other medium, whether that be music or paintings. It’s the emotional connections we have that gets to people.”
“Everybody’s [asking], What gives NFTs value? And it’s really no different than any other medium, whether that be music or paintings. It’s the emotional connections we have that gets to people.”
—Mike Winkelmann | aka Beeple
Global is the new local.
NFTs have opened up a whole new frontier of possibilities across myriad industries. And, in many ways, it is remindful of the initial propagation of the Internet: similarly, crypto and NFT early adopters and first-movers will be poised to become the biggest and most successful.
At advertia digital, we are currently working on several NFT projects, primarily related to branding and web design. Alongside this, however, we are starting to experiment more and more through space_pace, our startup and idea studio, and a dedicated NFTLABS division.
NFTLABS was created in response to several projects we are either helping with or inventing within the NFT sphere. Some, like iMucha, are dedicated to art, some to collecting, but we also see a lot of potential in 3D design and interactivity itself. Having the opportunity to work with Binance NFT and its 100 Creators program has helped give us a great overview and helpful insights.
Perhaps most importantly, all of these projects are always built as global — which is a huge strength of all digital projects — as it seems that global is indeed the new local.
Not for everyone
Just like one shoe does not fit all, NFTs are not for everyone. They just don't fit into certain business models or types of communication.
What are some of the most popular NFTs?
Here’s a brief snapshot of some of the industries that have jumped on the trend and the products they are creating:
Art
iMucha
Alfonse Mucha leapt to fame in Paris in 1895 where he became recognized as the pre-eminent exponent of French Art Nouveau. Now his works are being given new life, prominence and value through NFTs.
Filip Hodas
Also known as Hoodass, this popular Czech artist has subtly worked his way to the top of the world in 3- and 4-D visuals. He mints on prestigious platforms such as SuperRare or Nifty Gateway. Nowadays, their wait lists amount to several months and his NFTs sell for tens of ETH.
Pablo & Frida
Pablo & Frida creates 3-D renders of gallery exhibitions for their reuse in virtual reality. In the future, galleries will be empty and visitors will be able to choose an exhibition through which they can virtually tour and walk.
Entertainment and Gaming
Cryptokitties
Tapping into the cat craze, Cryptokitties allows players to purchase, collect, breed and sell virtual cats. It has generated tens of millions of dollars in transactions.
Decentraland
Decentraland is an online space that combines virtual reality with blockchain technology. Players have direct control over the rules of the online world. NFTs represent in-game commodities like art, as well as clothes and other items like virtual real estate.
Merchandise and collectibles
LVMH
The LVMH group is looking to NFTs as a way to confirm the authenticity of luxury goods.
Nike
Nike has patented CryptoKicks: digital sneakers that could function as NFTs.
Travel
Although something we’ve yet to see implemented, NFTs could be used as vessels for delivering items of value that are related to travel and tourism brands. Such a line of NFTs would serve as a type of permanent souvenir that generates an air of brand nostalgia, uniqueness and even demand. Travel and tourism NFTs could be distributed to those who are currently traveling as a symbol of appreciation as well as to loyalty club members and even armchair travelers. Alternatively, it could be utilized to incentivize travel or simply offered for sale as a limited edition item. Think of it as the future version of the KLM porcelain Delft houses.
In the very near future, amazing projects will arise.
The digital playing field of the future looks very different than that of today. It will not consist of a rigid hybrid of winners and losers. Rather, it will consist of multiple, large distribution platforms like Amazon where millions of merchant creators will distribute and sell their NFT-based products.
And with the inevitable introduction of new cryptocurrencies like Worldcoin, which aims to make crypto accessible to every individual on the planet, NFT-based products and services are destined to become more readily available, more intuitive, more interesting and, of course, more lucrative.
The NFT tsunami is coming. Are you prepared?
This article was originally commissioned and published by advertia digital, consistently recognized as one of the top creative agencies in Central Europe. All artwork was provided by NFTLABS.