When it comes to technological predictions, the scenario becomes fuzzy, there is no crystal ball to help us clarify our vision, because forecasts can only be made based on information obtained according to past and present behaviors; this means that an unexpected change in the future could totally change the landscape. However, most technology experts have shared their Forecasts for 2022, with NFTs being widely mentioned. But... Will they continue to shine this year? Or is their moment of fame only short-lived and destined to disappear?
Before looking into the future, remember that NFTs (also known as nifties) exist since 2014, they began to become popular with the emergence of Ethereum, and in 2021, they achieved their peak of popularity; generating a formidable figure of 23 billion dollars; partly thanks to the rise of projects backed by big brands, artists and celebrities such as Eminem, Paris Hilton, Messi, and others.
Like any revolution in the crypto world, There are those who think that NFTs are merely a bubble, which has been inflating to explode with force, so they believe that 2022 could be the year in which that bubble finally explodes in the face of many. But, despite the exacerbated hype that certainly exists, and from which they have sprung scams and crimes leveraged in NFTS, the fact that big brands and investors are setting their sights on non-fungible tokens, is an indicator that we are just beginning to understand the potential they offer.
Of course, last year we observed projects that raised large sums of money, with somewhat basic concepts (yes, we are talking about Bored Ape), however, NFTs offer different possibilities in other areas, such as finance, logistics, music, among others. So, beyond boring monkeys, this 2022 suggests that we will see a maturation compared to the new projects, where the hype of collectibles and games calms down a bit and we begin to see more projects focused on the new applications offered by non-fungible tokens.
For example, non-fungible tokens could come to replace ICOs, OIE and OST as methods to raise funds in cryptocurrency-based projects, since startups can create nifties as an alternative that involves lower initial costs. This is the case of GamesPad; a company that launched an Initial NFT Offering (INO) to obtain additional income, it is a matter of waiting to see if other companies and startups use this method to obtain a new funding channel.
In addition, utility NFTs (those that include a tangible benefit or advantage) will be more popular, since can also be used to generate benefits in the physical world. Specialists such as Maya Noeth, a partner at Accel, highlight the possibilities of this type of NFT in the music industry, because beyond obtaining an image by acquiring a useful NFT, you can also purchase rights to go backstage, meet the artist or purchase valuable physical items (as in the case of the collection launched by Katy Perry). So Surely in 2022 we will hear from more artists in the music industry launching their own non-fungible tokens.
Another opinion widely shared by experts is that accessibility (both for creating NFTs and for acquiring them) will improve, which can be sensed by observing that platforms such as Binance already allow the creation of NFTs; and even Courses are becoming popular so that independent artists can create their own collections based on non-fungible tokens, which will have an impact on a multi-billion dollar market growth.
Regarding the world of video games, the CEO and co-founder of Arkadium, Jessica Rovello, predicts that 2022 will be a very important year, since various gaming platforms will finally decide to accept the incorporation of NFTs to improve the possibilities of online gaming. So I'm sure Will we see new Play-to-Earn games attracting the attention of players.
In conclusion, by 2022, the hype may be minimized and that the Nifties may decrease the number of headlines, but that does not mean that they will be less important, on the contrary, this new year will be crucial for the consolidation of this technology and its applications; more (and better) projects will be created that leverage NFTs, since undoubtedly beyond video games and collectibles, offer a unique opportunity for value creation and the narrowing of the gap between the real and the virtual economy.
