NFT NYC 2023 Recap: Where Is the NFT Industry Heading?

The New York City NFT event is the largest in the world, featuring 1,500 speakers, 2,000 artists, 200 reporters, and 500 brands.

Representatives from some of the most well-known brands were present, including CoinDesk, Forbes, SalesForce, Rarible, Cointelegraph, PWC, AWS, Ripple, American Express, Tron, Microsoft, Coinbase, Mastercard, and more.  

While the NFT industry was, at one time, dismissed by the mainstream, now we have events where speakers from OpenSea, Rarible, and Cointelegraph sit near representatives from Forbes, Amazon, Microsoft, and Mastercard.

It’s quite a promising sign for a new industry that has enormous potential. 

NYC NFT 2023 Recap

The event took place from April 12th to April 14th, 2023, and the outlook on the industry was very bright. During the conference, the price of Bitcoin would rise to its highest point since June 2022, nearing $31,000.

The NFT industry is ultimately linked to the cryptocurrency market; most being bought on the Ethereum blockchain. 

The event gives NFT speakers a voice that is not typically available at other times and helps startup innovators to connect with venture capitalists and media professionals for improved success.

It allows for new ideas and perspectives, as well as a discussion on the best way to integrate NFTs into mainstream society and help alleviate many pressing concerns. 

One area is payments, and this was discussed through interoperability between NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and fiat payment processors.

A conference uniting firms like Mastercard and American Express with Web3 providers like Ripple, Rarible, and OpenSea provides a great way to bridge the gap and see what is the best path forward to take in the recontextualization of finance. 

Gaming Takes Center Stage

This is the first year that gaming has had a stage all to itself at the event, an indication of how important this area is in terms of onboarding people from Web2 to Web3.

There were many speakers from this industry that created quite an impact. 

CaesarVerse arrived in style wearing togas, headed by CEO Colin Helm. This Metaverse project is building a real-life universe centered on the Roman era, with NFTs that can be used in combat.

The project signifies a new chain of thought in the sphere of education, as it is designed to be a setting where students can learn in a more interactive and dynamic manner as opposed to reading dry textbooks.

But it’s also designed to be fun and rewarding for players. 

There were minor NFT projects in attendance alongside well-known brands, which is a good sign for the industry. Despite a clear bubble in 2021, the NFT industry is far from dead and is actually set to thrive.

During the event, Web3 luxury brand 9DCC set up an NFT scavenger hunt and, for the first time, Bitcoin NFTs were welcomed at a Bitcoin-theme Manhattan bar (PubKey).

Previously, NFTs were the domain of the Ethereum blockchain and were ridiculed by Bitcoin maximalists. 

NFTs are also making their way into film and TV. Veteran actors from the TV industry were in attendance (such as David Bianchi), promoting new series and movies via NFT sales.

These Web3 shows can be seen on Web3 streaming platforms, such as Gala Film, a division of Gala Games. 

Predictions for the Future Of NFTs

The event highlighted the bright future of NFTs as they become more adopted within mainstream society. This is evidenced by the fact that during the conference,

Times Square is taken over with NFT ads, symbolically pointing to the fact that they are not a backstage phenomenon but a centerpiece of society. 

It’s more a question of how NFTs will be integrated and how the process will ultimately play out. Some prominent areas for NFT expansion include:

Real Estate - We have already seen virtual real estate platforms such as Decentraland and the Sandbox, where online real estate tycoons invest large amounts of capital.

NFTs are used to represent land or buildings in a given metaverse. 

Gaming - Gaming is said to be one of the primary mechanisms to onboard Web2 users to Web3. Not only is it a large industry, but it tends to be among the first to adopt technological trends.

Web3 games all involve the use of NFTs by default. 

Identity Management - NFTs can potentially be used to verify your online identity. This is especially relevant in a world where hacks and scams are rampant, in relation to identity theft. 

Film and Music - NFTs have been heavily endorsed by many celebrities, especially in the film and music industry.

The capability to cut out highly overpaid middlemen and interact with audiences directly is a dream of many creatives who are at the mercy of existing institutions. 

Artists are already gravitating toward NFTs, as have many musicians. Creatives in art, music, literature, and cinema were among the first to adopt NFTs, as it allows for more flexible and creative expression. 

Other Areas Discussed in the NFT NYC 2023 Event

The event brought together industry professionals to share a great number of ideas and expertise. 

Another area discussed during the event was regulatory uncertainty, a never-ending concern when it comes to Web3. 

While the use of NFTs is set to increase in our lives, they will operate within a larger ecosystem involving RPA, AI, smart contracts, decentralized applications, and cryptocurrencies.

All of which can largely be termed “Web3”.

These were expanded upon in terms of high-level overviews as well as deep technical conversations among developers and network engineers. 

Ultimately, the NFT industry is going to be integrated into many other Web3 systems for full interoperability.

International events such as this one in New York are critical in terms of ensuring that all the disparate aspects of a given ecosystem can move in unison for seamless integration. 

People are coming together, and so is technology, for an ecosystem that works for everyone.