NFTs or non-fungible tokens have created quite a buzz in the crypto world. NFTs became widely popular because they create authenticity and give value to the assets. These assets or NFT collectibles cannot be replaced and gives ownership to the NFT creators and protects the copyright of the products. NFTs have become widely popular and many enterprises and businesses are leveraging their benefits. In this article, we are going to discuss some “real-world” use cases of NFTs. Let’s have a look.
Top Use-Cases of NFTs
NFT Arts
Digital art NFTs are perhaps one of the best examples of NFT use-cases. Tokenized digital art creates authenticity and helps to transfer the ownership of the art to the purchaser. Online digital art could be easily downloaded and copied. Blockchain ledger technology makes it impossible to copy or plagiarize the art and retains the originality of the work. NFTs validate the art and protect artists from copyright infringements.
In 2017, “CryptoPunk” a digital artwork of pixel art characters recorded a sale of $11.8 million at Sotheby’s auction house. It was one of the earliest examples of NFT art sales. Recently NFT arts again came into the limelight in March 2021 when famous artist Beeple sold one of his digital arts for $69.3 million at Christie’s. In March 2021, a column in NFTs in New York Times was sold for $560,000.
Digital Collectibles
Digital collectibles are another popular NFT product where people can collect rare and popular digital items. In 2017, CryptoKitties was released which is a digital game consisting of cute kittens of different traits that seemed very interesting to buyers. These virtual kittens had different looks, eye colors, and buyers could even breed them to produce more kittens only by the touch of a button.
NBA sport is a good market for NFT collectibles. NBA Top Shots developed by Dapper Labs have created more than $230 million dollars worth of NFTs and sell NBA sports video highlights to their fans. Another great example of NFT collectible was when Jack Dorsey, the founder, and CEO of Twitter sold his first Twitter for $2.9 million.
Gaming
Gaming is a multibillion-dollar industry with more than 3.4 billion gamers worldwide. Blockchain-based NFTs have a huge potential in the digital gaming industry and cryptocurrencies can be used to buy in-game purchases and create a platform for online gamers. Online games need accessories, tools, weapons, skins that can visually enhance the games, and avatars to customize the games.
NFT game applications like Minecraft and Warcraft are specially designed that allows users to create their virtual worlds. These NFT applications give a unique experience to online gaming. Other gaming products like Battle Pets and Axie Infinity provide special gaming gadgets and pets with unique features that can be traded in the NFT marketplaces. AnRKeyX is a DeFi gaming platform where gamers can participate in online games and earn NFTs.
Real Estate
NFTs can be used for the purchase and sale of real estate both in the real world as well as virtually. Blockchain transactions eliminate the barriers of intermediaries like solicitors, banks, real estate agents, etc., and simplifies the transactions through the use of smart contracts. Smart contracts expedite the trading process and transfer of ownership. NFT applications are quite popular in virtual real estate trading.
Online platforms such as “ Decentraland” allow gamers to create and sell virtual lands and transfer ownerships with the use of NFTs. Another platform called the “ Mars House “ sells virtual houses for NFTs. The ownerships are recorded in blockchain ledgers that create virtual ownership deeds.
Music
NFT platforms provide an excellent opportunity for musicians to reach out to a wider audience and sell their music videos, albums, and other NFT products. Musicians can directly auction their videos to their fans and earn NFTs and keep a larger share of the earnings. Earlier, there have been a lot of discrepancies regarding royalty earnings in the streaming platforms. In NFTs, whenever a buyer sells a digital copy of the music video, the artist can earn royalties on subsequent sales.
MediaChain is an NFT platform for musicians that also allows them to track royalty payments. Choon, built on the Ethereum blockchain network, is a music streaming platform. The platform can be used for crowdfunding projects as well as receive royalty payments. In February 2021, musician Per Fredrik Asly, also known as “PelleK” sold his NFT album for $160,000 in less than 2 hours. Musician Justin David Blau, popularly known as “3LAU” released his album “Ultraviolet” for $11.6 million worth of NFTs. According to a recent analysis, in February 2021, the total NFT sales volume in the music industry has crossed $25 million dollars.
Final Thoughts
The NFT market is still under speculation but we cannot deny its numerous applications and long-term benefits. The market is evolving and is gaining prominence in diverse industries like music, art, e-sports, gaming, finance, etc. NFTs have a great impact on our daily lives. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digitization and NFTs definitely simplify the process of buying and selling assets on a secure platform. NFT trades are unique, they cannot be hacked, and gives instant ownership to the asset owners. They are not bound by rules and regulations of any central authority and give true ownership rights to the buyers.
NFTs cannot be replaced and this is why it may be one of the reasons why NFT marketplaces attract a lot of art collectors and artists. Even the fashion industry is not lagging behind. Top brands and designers want to collaborate with NFT marketplaces and reach out to their customers. The NFT market is booming and with billions of dollars traded every day, there is a growing need for insurance policies to safeguard the interests of the customers.
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