How relevant are non-fungible tokens and what role will NFT artwork play in the future?
In many ways, 2021 was the year of NFT artwork. The peak came in December of that year when The Merge, by digital artist Pak, sold for a whopping $91m.
NFTs, however, are more than just fancy digitised artwork.
NFT Artwork and Immutable Data
An NFT is a certificate of digital ownership on a blockchain that cannot be altered or edited in any way. Anyone can create and mint an NFT, and current trends show that most NFTs are minted to represent digitised artwork. However, NFTs also have the ability to represent a wide range of virtual and real-world goods.
One of the best examples demonstrating how versatile NFTs are is their potential use in the events industry. Instead of receiving a physical or e-ticket, you could receive your ticket as an NFT.
The benefits of this are many.
Firstly, the NFT acts as proof of ownership and shows you have made the purchase. The transaction will exist on the event or ticket company blockchain and be verifiable for everyone to see.
Secondly, the NFT can also be designed as a unique souvenir for the event, perhaps created as a 2-D, 3-D, or interactive avatar as a permanent reminder of your purchase.
Lastly, because the data stored on a blockchain is immutable (unchangeable), an NFT ticket mitigates any chance of forgery or, if tied to a digital ID, a stolen ticket.
When you think of the scope of ticketing – travel, events, voting rights – you see how integral to everyday life the NFT can become.
Right now, it may be hard to envisage a future where the NFT is a common aspect of everyday life, but in a digitised reality, you can see how they could become a necessity. Current data shows that the coming digital ecosystem will generate more than $60 trillion in revenue by 2030.
‘Trustless’ Applications
The main benefit of the NFT is its versatility. NFT creators can code many different features into their designs, combining supporting activities into one. In the digitised future, there will be no need for customer service or ticketing agents, no need for insurance, and little need for high street retail outlets.
It may take a while, but once people realise that the very basis of the applications of the future has been designed to minimise the reliance on trust, the general populace will quickly realise they can verify the information themselves without the need for costly third parties.
It is widely accepted that in the near term, our lives will become more virtual in existence. It seems that any future ecosystem is being designed to replicate almost any experience in the real world through either a virtual environment or, at the very least, augmented reality. It won’t be long before we regularly conduct business, socialise, and share ideas in a virtual setting.
Once this environment becomes a reality, the role of the NFT will become even more apparent.
NFT artwork may be the first stage of the revolution, but it will not be the last. Once other industries realise the benefits of the direct consumer interaction that NFTs provide, other industry giants developing their own versions will only be a matter of time.
No more middlemen and no more agents. Just ‘trustless’ coded applications enabling the manufacturer to have direct contact with the end consumer. This, in essence, is the core principle of the transition from a centralised Web 2.0 experience to a decentralised Web 3.0.
NFT Artwork and Freedom of Speech
Beyond NFT artwork applications, the role of NFTS in authentication and the resulting peer-to-peer interaction is wide-ranging. Web3 will contribute to the extinguishing of forged documentation, the removal of purchasing counterfeit goods, and the back of the internet scam.
However good this may sound, it will surely come at a cost. Do we want to have every aspect of our life verified and documented? Will we miss the chance to be anonymous and move freely with impunity? We value our freedoms and respect our tradition of choice and freedom of speech, notably in the West.
Therefore it may be the West where the concept of the NFT catches on last, in contrast to the Far East, where state control is an aspect of everyday life.
It is the concept of the NFT which is the most important. This new form of digitised asset will come to represent many aspects of our life in the near term, in both virtual and physical worlds. Whether that involves identity, trade, sharing ideas, or proof of ownership, the NFT will play an essential part in our digitised lives.
However the future pans out beyond NFT artwork alone, there is no denying that this technology is here to stay. Although, when we look at our current way of life, it may be some years before we conduct our everyday business in a virtual digital reality.
