Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) were launched when cryptocurrency prices were skyrocketing. They escalated in popularity and formed a booming market for crypto enthusiasts.
Sectors like music, sports, film, gaming, and art have joined the NFT craze by creating new use cases. Promotion by top celebrities and sports personalities and continuous innovations in Web 3.0 and the Metaverse have contributed to the wide success of these digital assets. Today, Chante takes a look at what he thinks is in store for 2023.
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Coming off a tough year
The year 2022 has been one of the harshest for investors in the crypto industry. The bear market impacted the perception of various players towards NFTs. Despite adverse conditions for NFTs during the year, popular NFT collectibles, such as CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Moonbirds, seem to have enjoyed a mainly bullish run in the NFT marketplaces. They have preserved their reputation with several NFT projects laying a strong foundation going into 2023.
Adoption and popularity
A shift in human perception of the value of things is now enabling sports franchises like the NBA to tokenize and sell unique segments of games, athletes’ autographs, cards, and jerseys. Non-Fungible Tokens are on the way to revolutionizing the asset classes by including prime assets in the virtual world that will enable the purchase or sale of real estate or even stocks. NFTs continue to be widely accepted and adopted by popular names that contribute to the scaling of their utility.
Celebrities like Paris Hilton, Tom Brady, and Eminem have boosted NFTs’ popularity. Several other public figures have endorsed NFTs and utilized them to promote their work. Musicians such as Ne-Yo are working on setting up a ticketing platform for fans. Music NFTs are expected to grow popular in 2023 as more musicians utilize them to relate with their fans. Some music producers utilize them for partial ownership in some marketplaces.
Sports stars in on the action
Famous sports personality Cristiano Ronaldo signed a deal with Binance to create and release his NFTs for purchase by fans. Other notable projects for 2023 are the PGA tour collaboration with Autograph and Tiger Woods to establish a market for golf NFTs. Christie’s 3.0 marketplace for NFT auctions on the Ethereum network.
The boxing world held its first metaverse fight featuring Mayweather Jr and Deji Olatunji. This industry aims to showcase actual bouts within metaverses that allow NFT betting. Huge companies, including Nike, Adidas, and Johnnie Walker, have already integrated into Web3 and NFT marketplaces. NFTs are gaining traction with support communities promoting consistent evolution and interest in it.
Gamers are more inclined towards NFTs with Play to Earn and Move to Earn popularity in the gaming sector. The Web 3.0 transition is supporting virtual events in metaverses for widespread NFTs usage. Profile Picture NFTs are to develop further in 2023 with CryptoPunks dominating the niche. Artificial Intelligence integration with NFTs, such as Alethea AI will scale substantially in 2023. Real Estate investments will benefit from NFTs when confirming ownership rights almost instantly.
Security
NFT collectibles have been susceptible to fraudulent actions by hackers and other malicious users. OpenSea, one of the top NFT marketplaces, recently launched a fraud detection system that finds flips, fuzzy copies, and similar matches during NFT minting, which is a much-needed addition to the security of the NFT ecosystem. 2023 should have more adoption of this innovation which will ensure seamless trading experiences among users.
Increased confidence will have NFTs’ growth into the DeFi space propelled as more users accept them for crypto loans. Some marketplaces facilitate staking NFTs to increase their utility as a reward mechanism.
Regulations
The recent collapse of the crypto market and subsequent FTX saga, which saw investors lose funds has highlighted the regulation deficiencies of digital assets. The FTX collapse caused a significant hit on the Solana network which was supporting several NFT projects and deemed a worthy competitor to the Ethereum network. Solana is arguably the second most popular and reliable network after Ethereum for NFT trading. The hit saw the massive ejection of investments from the network and other main networks due to panic, distrust, and skepticism. NFT prices on popular blockchains experienced massive drops with the unfolding of FTX’s insolvency.
2023 will undoubtedly see an increase in demand for more industry regulation by governments. Due to decentralization which forms the core foundation of the digital world, this push may be hard to implement. Failure at regulation may cause more people to opt for traditional fiat systems with more guarantee for their money.
Rallying for a successful 2023 for NFTs
NFT interest is increasing with more utilities on the horizon. 2023 accommodates a successful year for these projects for users and businesses. They have the potential to be a major asset class for those seeking to diversify their portfolio. Companies such as Meta are introducing NFT trading on their social platforms. This indicates full utilization of these digital assets is yet to be exhausted.
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