IOI
NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, were among the most searched topics in 2021, outranking Dogecoin, blockchain, and even Ethereum in Google searches. However, it is still unclear whether NFT is only a hyped fad or a promising technology with a wider application.
Experts have differing viewpoints on its applications, but they all agree on its long-term viability.
Many of the weaker initiatives will undoubtedly lose their lustre, but analysts believe that projects with sound underpinnings will remain longer.
NFTs are booming, according to Siddharth Jaiswal, Founder and CEO of SportZchain, and are becoming an important component of popular culture. “Brands like Pepsi, Adidas, and Nike joining the metaverse revolution was the key NFT trend this year,” he continued.
The concept of NFTs appeals to people’s need for ownership and authenticity. According to experts, the NFT industry is a tremendous business opportunity where people may make a respectable living.
Hitesh Malviya, founder of Itsblockchain, agreed with Jaiswal, saying Metaverse real estate was one of the most talked-about themes on the NFT bandwagon in 2021. Within a month of Facebook’s announcement to rebrand itself as Meta, Metaverse lands registered over a billion dollar in sales, he claimed. “We are in the early stages of Metaverse adoption, and we expect the price of Metaverse land to rise in 2022.”
Since the Facebook announcement, The Sandbox, one of the major decentralised metaverse projects, has had an extremely strong rise of over 1,200%.
The EdTech field, according to Ramkumar Subramaniam, Co-Founder & CEO of GuardianLink.io, is swiftly moving towards the world of NFTs.
“While certificates, degrees are generally offered in printed form or as a digital badge, the biggest challenge has always been verification,” he added.
Universities, schools, and other educational institutions, according to experts, might give certifications in the form of NFTs. This would confirm the achievement and make it easy for students to prove their credential ownership.
NFTs are revolutionising the arts, music, and sports industries by enabling the commercialization of digital assets and providing digital artists with a variety of monetization alternatives.
In 2021, according to Ankit Wadhwa, CEO and Co-Founder of Rario, the NFT space expanded beyond digital artwork.
“This move was towards tokenization, community-owned branding and gaming where games publishers entered the blockchain space to bring more value for players with gamification and ‘play-to-earn’ models,” he added.
Experts say that while NFTs are still in their early stages, they are here to stay and will draw a far wider audience in the coming years.
“We saw a massive supply influx of PFP NFT projects this year, and 95 per cent of them are currently trading below their original mint price,” said Malviya. “NFT collections without utilities will fail to survive in the long term.”
The current internet or web model is simply about exchanging information, whereas Web 3.0 will lead to a new internet led by the community in the future, with NFTs playing a key role.
“Web 3.0 will be about two-way microtransactions,” Wadhwa added, “which will be about owning ownership of data, monetising data, and receiving incentives from it.”
NFTs became famous among Indian and international celebrities. Celebrities used the NFT-backed technology to create digital material for their followers and other members of the relevant community.
Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Melania Trump, Snoop Dogg, Tiger Woods, Usain Bolt, Tom Brady, Faf du Plessis, Shakib Al Hassan, and a slew of other international celebrities debuted their NFT collections.
Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Zaheer Khan, Rishab Pant, Shefali Verma, and Smriti Mandhana were among those who followed suit at home.
Experts claim that, given the speed with which the blockchain sector has developed over the last two years, the industry is poised to transform the world; they predict that 2022 will be an even larger year for NFTs.
“Utility concepts in NFTs will be the driving force for the business going ahead, with a focus on gaming NFTs,” Subramaniam added.
