The Endless Possibilities of NFTs.
The future. The paradigm shift. A thesis by Loopify. Read this article to get a view on the direction I think NFTs will lean towards in the future.
*These are all my thoughts. Take it how you will. I am an investor in the space as well as a curator. My NFT thesis… by Loopify.
NFTs associated with our current world.
Our current world is all digital. We consume information endlessly through our phones and it is the bedrock that society is built on in our current era. You simply cannot function without a phone or access to the internet in one form or another. This is because life is made easier for us through these devices and we rely on them for everyday functioning. We can connect with loved ones instantly, entertain ourselves, work together remotely and connect with each other in a way that would have been considered magic even 30 years ago. We have access to more information through a few button clicks than any other past civilisation. With this increasing digitalisation of our lives, it was only a matter of time until there became a system to prove provenance digitally. This is where NFTs come in.
An NFT (non-fungible-token) is a way to prove ownership of an asset, both digital & physical — an asset could be art, virtual items, music and more. It proves ownership of an asset by utilising the blockchain; a public, permanent and immutable ledger which contains all transactions that occur between parties.
This doesn't have to be limited to any specific blockchain and one clear use case that we have already seen is Crypto Art. Art is all around us anyways. It always has been. What you classify as art doesn’t matter because you won’t change the meaning for others. Visual art and design is one thing but to understand “art” from every perspective… I believe it’s impossible. Prior to the NFT revolution, a majority of artists were paid pennies for their incredible works - usually in the form of commissions. They would have to slave away for their clients, making numerous revisions and edits until the client was satisfied. Yet now, for the first time artists can focus completely on creating art they like, make whatever they want and be generously compensated. Crypto Art has changed the norm for artists.
An example that I often like to compare it to is YouTube, minting artworks can be the same as creating videos, it creates a new career path for a job that is generally looked down upon. Crypto Art is a small percentage of what NFTs can be used for. Read more about Crypto Art here.
A new Medium.
You can finally prove and verify that you own something, this changes everything in the long-run. The possibilities of NFTs are endless right now, one thing that I look forward to is the form of irl verification. This can be ID, driver’s license, concert tickets and more.
The biggest part of this is the concept of what can be achieved through NFTs. In a digitalised world of gaming and entertainment, the provenance of your item is important. Especially if we take into account the amount of artificial value that companies already create for their consumers.
NFTs could be a bubble. It is plausible. However, we need to understand the position we are in right now compared to where we can be; if our current views are based on the $$$ or the tech.
Something is valuable only IF someone values it. It doesn’t matter how important it is if isn’t valued by other people. The endless possibilities that NFTs can bring to people in different ways are being overlooked right now.
Now, let’s talk about the Metaverse for a brief moment.
“The Metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space, including the sum of all virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the Internet.” — Wikipedia
I believe the Metaverse will be another important thing long-term for NFTs. I talked about how NFTs can be integrated into real-life use cases but also mentioned how we are living in a tech-savvy world right now. Everything is trying to be digitalised.
A lot of people in the Crypto world like to stay anonymous, for multiple reasons, and the Metaverse is somewhere they can “go” and be another “person”. A separate social identity. However, this isn’t limited to just people in the Crypto world. If the concept of Virtual Reality can be advanced further, pssst Elon! — and I am talking about the tech side being possible in all sorts of ways…
— In a century, we could see NFTs being implemented as something that can hold this up, it’s possible for it to be the thing that allows the Metaverse to be expanded further. The new world inside the existing world. The building blocks for the Metaverse.
Now, let’s look closely at the present and where NFTs are now. It is the 14th of March, 2021 when this was written. We are in the NFT phase where mainstream are finally catching up, we have art & collectibles in the forefront. The biggest news currently is the record-breaking $69M sale by Beeple, a living artist.
Here is a thread I created before that I updated live through the 2 weeks of the sale, if you are interested, check it out:
This broke records in the NFT world with the previous high sales being smashed over the past week. Alien CryptoPunks, the previous Beeple sale… and more. So, in our current generation, this was instantly brought up on the news — globally & locally. Unheard of that a “digital .jpeg file” sold for the equivalent of a private island and mansion. Especially if we take into account that NFTs are fairly new to people; don’t make sense to a lot of people.
The Psychology of Collecting.
With collectibles and art being hard to grasp for others in the traditional aspect, it’s a lot harder when we talk about them digitally.
Now, just like every market, we can go into the depths of it being in a bubble but as said above, but, the value short-term doesn’t affect my views on NFTs as I believe in them long-term… as should you.
“The whole point of collecting is the thrill of acquisition, which must be maximised, and maintained at all costs.” — John Baxter
“Collectors are buying a lifestyle. It gives them a connection to a dream.” — Penny Duncklee
“There's some human instinct which makes a man treasure what he is not to make any use of, because everybody does not possess it.” — Mark Twain
People feel proud having some sort of exclusivity to anything. Whether that be in the form of specific emotions, certain desires or just an asset. They want to know that they are the only person that has the ability to “own” a piece.
There is a joy for collectors, it can be rights to brag about owning the piece or something further than that. Different motivators for each collector. Art is one thing and collectibles is another. But, the ability to “own” something that cannot be replicated is the same. This is why I believe, we are in the smallest phase of NFTs right now, compared to the distant future.
To call it a “market” — I believe is limiting, to how far the concept can go. Social identities being something that I am looking forward to.
Establish where you stand.
If you are already involved in the space, or this is the first time you are hearing about it, establish where you stand. Understand the “market” you are in right now. What’s your final goal for all of this? It could be to get to a point where you are financially stable, build something for the future, or just to keep creating.
Widen your perspective on things, we are here early, it’s an addition to the internet. A big thing. Again, understand where you stand, do you want to change anything?
We are in a time where we have experienced another global pandemic, there are more serious things out there, but that is for all things. NFTs in the short-term still matter especially if we talk about how many lives have been saved + changed by them ending up finding out what a “non-fungible token” was. It sounds absurd to many and it will continue to do so because we can’t all understand each other.
“If you don't believe it or don't get it, I don't have the time to try to convince you, sorry.” — Satoshi
To talk about the importance of “wanting” to have a purpose in life is a deep subject but it will be something you end up talking about to yourself when you reach a certain point in life. It can be anywhere. I ended up here after finding out about NFTs, it could be that NFTs made me a lot of money, so it links together. Or, it could be, how much I “believe” in the space. Take it how you will.
Join the space. Learn about it. Talk to people *in the space, and understand the market. I truly believe NFTs will be the paradigm shift for “provenance” in our world… forever. We won’t know what our “world” will be like in the future, we all have different beliefs, some of us think only short-term. Materialistic or spiritualistic.
I ask you to think long-term! — if you ever want to be bullish on NFTs :]
A lot of things that I could have expanded on in this article and I do think I will come back to this, if you did enjoy it, please drop me a follow on Twitter as I frequently talk about the space.
I hope you enjoyed reading this.