NFTs Are Cool, But Everybody is Focused on the Wrong Thing

For quite a while, I have embarked on the mischievous journey of observing the NFTs fad. I can rant on and on about NFTs, but one of my opinions are definite. The fad with NFTs reminds me of far too many other fads. Amongst these fads, included the historic Neopets, Club Penguin and Beanie Babies.

Something about NFTs make me wonder where the intrinsic value is. I have seen many crazy trends, and NFTs feel like they are within their own realm.

Much of the craze with NFTs have been fueled by celebrities, fake self-help gurus, and lifestyle vloggers. It has opened the door to far too many scams and inevitable Ponzi schemes. You are seeing teenagers becoming self-made millionaires drawing things like dildos and the obscenest NFT drops. To some point, lots of the fad going on with NFTs feels like we are entering the Jackson Pollock era of the blockchain world.

That said, I am not here to trash on NFTs. The technological implications of NFTs are what intrigues me, and I have co-founded an NFT startup that focuses on the technological realm of its use-cases. The idea of NFTs can be solid if put into practice purely on the technological aspects of what they can provide. NFTs for archiving data and records, intellectual property, concert tickets, certifications and so forth do have a potential value. What ways can this technology be utilized to make people's lives easier? This is true especially if it can be done in a privacy-preserving way.

I have seen NFTs being utilized as a utility for buying a software license, such as I own a NFT that got me access to an NFT wallet application with built in analytics. These are clever usages.

I would like to think that there are many ways that the technology can be utilized for purposes that benefit humanity. Infact, various design paradigms of micro-economies or transactional models can be feasible. However, people seem to focus way less on the tech and just with the idea of being involved in the next big thing.

In my opinion, if crypto was to have a downfall, that downfall would likely involve people too focused on hype over technology. Instead of trying to look at NFTs as a get rich quick scheme, look at the technology and what potential value it can provide. You might be surprised on what it can bring to the table and the various technological solutions that people could have or should have innovated.