The Latest Startups Are Changing the Way We Use NFTs

The Latest Startups Are Changing the Way We Use NFTs

NFTs (non-fungible tokens) have been one of the hottest tickets in town so far in 2021. While the majority of crypto-assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have seen significant volatility, NFT sales volume surpassed 2.5 billion USD in the first six months of the year. 

The exponential growth of the NFT marketplace looks set to continue with collections such as CryptoPunks, BoredApeClub, and Sandbox still seeing week-on-week sales increases. But while profits are still being made on the secondary marketplace for these top-selling collections, the average secondary sale price has begun to trend downwards to the tune of -22% over the last 10 days. 

Is this a red flag for the NFT space as a whole? Probably not. Because those who feel that NFTs are purely speculative assets are missing out. While NFTs as art collectibles continue to be remarkably popular, there are now a whole host of new projects out there seeking to add both utility and intrinsic value to the industry. 

While NFTs will undoubtedly begin to find utility through digital identity, healthcare, and even insurance applications, the most thought is being put into whether NFTs could begin acting like other interest-bearing assets. Creating a double-sided payoff for investors – both in terms of future speculative value, but also as a tangible asset that accrues income for its holder.

This is the space that a new breed of NFT-based start-ups is exploring at a rapid pace. 

Web3 has seen an influx of new competitors seeking to disrupt the giants of the tech industry by applying new thinking to established ways of working. ViciNFT continues to pave the way forward with NFTs for authentication, including a successful auction with Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco for naming rights to its “greeter fish” and a $100k blowout auction of 60’s “California Girl” memorabilia for the Mamas and the Papas’ Michelle Phillips, with the bulk donated to charity.

One area which is becoming more and more in need of fresh ideas is AI research. For the past few years, research in this field has been siloed to favor the profitability models of the tech giants, rather than allowing new AI approaches which might help evolve this area. A good example of these new Web3 disrupters is Synesis One, which gives users the opportunity to help train and educate AI. Data is collected and processed when users play a play-to-earn word game on their website. Small to medium sized businesses can use this data to train their AI. 10,000 of the most frequently used words will be minted as NFTs. Each time a word is used by the AI, the NFT holder will receive rewards. This novel approach to training AI provides a way for smaller businesses to collect the data needed to create robust AI. 

Switching from huge data centers to the power and wisdom of crowds is an innovative step towards democratizing AI technology. By rewarding NFT holders, this start-up is pushing NFT ownership in a very interesting direction.

The HLTH.network platform offers a collection of technologies that are poised to transform the global healthcare sector. One of these tools is an NFT marketplace, where users may create NFTs using their own genetic data.

Users take ownership of their genetic data and ensure that they are the ones who benefit from it by selling these NFTs on the open market. More significantly, releasing genetic information enables research organizations to utilize that data anonymously to create medications. It helps the medical community identify, diagnose, effectively treat, and potentially prevent illness by supporting scientific study of the genome. Proceeds from the sale can also be used to support charities and other research initiatives.

The NFT marketplace on the HLTH Network is only one piece of a much larger ecosystem aimed at changing the healthcare sector, and all NFTs produced on the marketplace will be interoperable with the rest of the network. The money raised from the sale will be utilized to expand the network, allowing everyone to profit from a global healthcare market.

The most recent revolution within the entertainment space took place with Netflix, Prime, etc., and centered around on-demand viewing. Providing consumers with what they wanted to watch, when they wanted it. What will the next evolution of entertainment consumption be? Bandersnatch allowed viewers to play along and control the outcome of the movie to great success and media buzz. With the demand for more and more control over the shows and movies consumers are watching, the ability to actually take part in the production process is the next logical progression. Token Society is a great example of this new breed of entertainment start-up looking to disrupt the way entertainment is funded and brought to market. It allows independent filmmakers to fund their projects through sales of NFTs called “Snippetz,” which are short clips of the show or movie. These NFTs give the holder access to the production behind-the-scenes through insider chat rooms and can even give assets or experiences determined by the production.

NFTs have recently gained favor in the film industry. Godzilla vs. Kong was the first major picture to use NFTs, and it was a huge hit. NFTs are also being planned for John Wick, The Hunger Games, and Mad Men to augment their respective franchises. The studios’ goal is to boost fan interaction and provide new income sources. This could very well point to a new evolution in the entertainment space, and one where retail investors purchasing NFTs can fuel the next Stranger Things, Succession, or John Wick. And see the value of their NFT take off in tandem with the production’s popularity. 

There are more startups changing the game, and many more on the horizon. This innovation is crucial in bringing in higher adoption and mainstream appeal to the technology, which will benefit the blockchain industry as a whole. The more new startups can find new ways to use NFTs, the more layered the user base will become.