If we really were living in a virtual world – but really, really, not like the one Zuckerberg was planning for us – then yes, maybe we had something to do with a monkey’s NFT. In a reality where everything is not real, does not exist anyway, it could have been used, perhaps, as a decoration for a virtual wall in a virtual living room as a virtual status symbol of a virtual standard of living. It made sense. No one would raise an eyebrow in such a situation, even if there was a feature that made it possible to do so.
However, in the current reality, the one we have known since the beginning of our days as Homo-Spanis and will probably accompany us for the next million years, quite a few people are raising their eyebrows at the interest and economy surrounding this cunning crypto type – and quite rightly so. When someone offers us to buy an NFT of an artistic or collectible digital item, he is actually, like that dubious guy from “Sesame Street”, offering us to buy air – and for the most part, not really “for one shekel”.
Currently, the three main reasons for acquiring NFT are hype, ego and pomo. Purchasing it provides a pretty obvious need – for people it is important that other people think they have too much money – but the value itself is less clear: what is a file of a photograph or painting worth, with as luxurious a source label as it is, if its “unreal” copies look exactly the same ? What is the product, actually? What can be done with it? How, if at all, is this supposed to be relevant to the life of the average, non-billionaire and non-celeb person? Not really clear, but it is clear why the same person raises an eyebrow and dismisses the phenomenon with contempt. He does not need it. No one needs it.
Does this mean that the current slowdown sentiment in the NFT industry marks the beginning of its end and the realization that it is, in fact, a kind of pyramid? Until a few weeks ago, this seemed to be the direction, but then something happened: the NFT suddenly changed direction and became an air bubble into a kinder egg: it is no longer just a virtual collectible, but also – and most importantly – a digital product whose holder enjoys products and / or From exclusive services in the physical world. In other words, the complete disconnection of the basic, original NFT from the off-network reality is replacing an interesting connection to what really exists.
Important to understand: Despite the absurdity of the NFT, in that version, as a consumer product, it has completely managed to enter the mainstream of the global economy. The volume of trade in it jumped from $ 200 million in 2020 to $ 12 billion in the first quarter of 2022. And the wider its distribution and the greater the hype around it, the more voices are heard to infuse it with some consumer value, so that it is more attractive and especially useful than a Jeep file. On a blockchain.
The new mutation of the NFT, then, is called Utility NFT – and is in fact a useful digital creation, when the intention was, of course, for usability in the real world. According to various estimates by experts in the field, this mutation will very soon transform the NFT from an irrational consumer investment craze to a new way of working, playing, communicating, selling and buying.
Take for example a musician who wants to close a show for himself. He can, for that matter, act the usual way, print paper tickets and sell them, but he can also create useful NFT cards that are each one of a kind and non-convertible – and they also give the right to enter the show, in addition to other benefits he wants to chaperone His fans. In this way, the NFT becomes something completely different: a kind of upgraded customer / fan club.
Why upgraded? Due to the exclusivity derived from the ability to prove ownership of a digital product in a blockchain environment. In fact, it is possible to prove not only the ownership itself but also the fact that no one else has such an NFT exactly. There is a similar one, with a number or with another drawing, but not one. This absolute and exclusive ownership seems to be the focus of the NFT. And now, with the addition of content, it’s even more important to buyers: not only do they feel special – they can also do something with that uniqueness. That is, they have something to answer to those who claim to have bought nothing.
There are many ways in which NFT can become useful. The indie band Kings of Leon, for example, released their latest album, in March 2021, as a NFT series, alongside the traditional formats. The uses the band made in this case of NFT included, in addition to digital illustrations and high quality album songs, also the option to get a physical copy of the album in vinyl upon presentation of the NFT or a ticket to perform at the VIP area.
As mentioned, everything is currently right at the beginning of the road, but the pace of progress of the useful NFT indicates a rosy future for the field, at least in the coming years. After all, it is a product that can easily enter almost any area of our lives – both the virtual ones (NFT owners will be able to play a particular game on Towers, for example) and the physical ones. True, this is quite different from the original designation of the NFT, but there is no doubt that this plot twist plays in its favor. Is she playing in our favor as well? time will tell.