Nameless NFTs No More: The NCT Story

We come into the world and one of the first things we’re given is a name. Then we go about naming our pets, cars, boats, and beach houses to express ourselves and show the world a bit of who we are. Beyond ourselves and back to antiquity societies have ceremonies for the sacred act of naming.

Naming art empowers owners with a final say in the masterpiece’s creative process. Owners with a hand in the creative process form stronger bonds with their art investments. Naming our NFTs is the perfect complement to our analog naming practices.

Stand-alone nameless NFTs without the owner’s personalized input feel languid and out of place in the world we, the Metaverse folks, are building. Nameless NFTs are like dried roses or the Gettysburg Address on paper instead of being read aloud, lifeless. Their essence is there but the connection is frayed. Art of that caliber in our wallets simply does not have the power to pull our hearts fully in.

“NCT,” The Hashmasks’ ERC-20 Name Changing Token, uses a burn function to give an NFT a permanent name stored on the Ethereum blockchain. This name can be changed again by burning more NCT. Why should we use NCT to go about naming? Let’s dig a little deeper into why and how NCT can add more value to NFT projects.

A once-off, pre-programmed name stored on the Blockchain doesn’t have the same psychological effect as consciously curating a unique name and burning finite supply tokens to add value to one’s NFT. Using NCT legitimizes naming through a value exchange.

Why use NCT instead of developing a new ERC-20 token or just copying and pasting from the NCT contract?

• Using NCT creates a cross-pollination synergy with The Hashmasks to increase the exposure factor

• NFT projects already recognize NCT for naming

• NCT is the first token created for naming and started the trend

• NCT has established value on Uniswap

• Creating a new token from scratch adds development costs

• Rolex™ has more clout than trying to flex with a copy

  
  

Why should people pay for NCT to name?

• Free is not valued on the same level as something that has a cost. Something that has no cost to acquire is more easily discarded than something bought or earned. A bicycle earned though a summer of toil cutting grass will be cared for more than one that was given to appease a plea for a new bike.

• “You get what you pay for.” Free (gas only) naming creates a quick-to-name environment. NCT creates a deliberative process in which owners are obliged to evaluate whether the art’s potential name is worth spending their tokens on. Contemplation produces quantifiably less offensive names which damage the art, the specific project and the NFT space as a whole.

• Burning NCT to name raises the cumulative cost to create the entire artwork. In the example below Hashmasks #841 was renamed 10 times to write a poem read from bottom to top name.

  
  

What’s FUD Got To Do With It?

Projects Considering NCT Have Raised Implementation Concerns

Let’s allay those concerns:

NCT cost will increase with time because the burn function makes it deflationary.

Only the Hashmasks are required to burn NCT for naming. Other projects can implement a full or complete recycle function that would send NCT from an owner/namer’s wallet to the project’s transparent multi-sig wallet. The project could use this recycled NCT for any purpose that would best serve its community including redistribution and for future naming projects.

Burning 1,830 NCT for a naming like The Hashmasks costs or might cost too much in the future.

Each project sets the NCT cost-to-name threshold. In the future, projects could set the price at 0.0001 NCT per naming to keep costs inline with NCT price.

Curious about the Naming Implementation How-To?

MaskDAO has created a complete GitHub repository to bring projects to life with naming. Check it out and, if you want to explore how the naming gold standard can become part of your project, stop by the MaskDAO discord. Mods and Devs are on hand to help your project take off with NCT.

This article is part of The Gaming Metaverse Writing Contest hosted by HackerNoon in partnership with The Sandbox.

Submit your #gaming-metaverse story today for your chance to win up to $2000 in SAND tokens.