OpEd: NFTs Spike – The Metaverse Asset is Popular Again!

In the world of blockchain technology – there will always be hype – and underlying innovation.

The McTrumper crypto rally is in full force. BTC is flirting with $100k! $1 Million USD is next!

The long hated NFT complex sprung back to life – with some unique digital items blasting up in fiat terms. It’s a feeding frenzy and every asset seems to be on the menu.

NFTs are an interesting way to store unique data. After the boom in 2021 – and then the FTX crash – NFTs kinda lost their appeal.

Turns out that unique digital items just aren’t that useful – at least not yet.

Heading For The Metaverse

Early and wrong look the same – but they are very different.

NFTs go back a few years. ETH’s blockchain likely brought the first NFTs to market. They look like a child’s experimentation with Corel draw.

Of course, in the boom times, these early ETH NFTs sold for big money.

Silly.

The lockdowns could have played a role in the market action we saw in 2020-2022. Work from home – play from home. Never leave your pod.

Digital became a lot more real in those times.

Hell – Facebook transitioned to Meta!

The idea of online life isn’t new, but it is becoming a lot more feasible. We think the future of NFTs is directly connected to online living.

The City of The Future

We like fresh air and being away from electronics. In fact, we understand why people live off the grid. But that isn’t the direction humanity is headed.

No, this is the techpocalypse!

What happens when the Metaverse meets Neuralink and Starlink – we will tell you – global mental domination. We are talking about a global metropolis of the mind.

In the city of the future – NFTs are how novelty exists. Money (BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP) isn’t interesting. Stack it up. Who cares. Humans crave novelty.

NFTs are the only way people can have decentralized novelty in the digital hellscape that is being created in the early 21st century.

Back in The Pod!

Cities are an abnormal state for humans. A city is unnatural. It is how humans dominate the planet on a small scale. If you have ever flown on airplanes – you understand this point. We pop from urban center to urban center, passing over the wildlands where being a human isn’t easy.

Consider the environment where an NFTs are useful – or have value. The level of technology needed for digital assets to have value is high by historical standards.

Computers are needed, but people also need access to the internet. In addition to technology, people need to have a desire to have unique digital assets – which have no real use outside of the digital world.

NFTs are an interesting asset class that could see more popularity as people around the world transition to an online lifestyle.

Another NFT Boom?

With cryptos heating up – NFTs could see more people piling in. But unlike cryptos, NFTs have already been adopted by some of the world’s largest companies.

McDonald’s issues NFTs for seasonal promotions – and apparently people collect them. As a promotional vehicle NFTs make a lot of sense. They cost little to create, and with an existing marketing machine, NFTs are easy to promote for a company like McDonald’s.

The future of all these collectible NFTs is another matter. Its unlikely these NFTs will command value in the current market – but as the NFT space ages in the coming decades – these close-to-free tokens could rise in value.

Stuck in The Matrix

Smartphones could be the thin end of the technology wedge that moves people into an online lifestyle. With implantable network connections like Neuralink – a world where humans never leave digital space could become a reality.

When the transition to digital as reality is complete, NFTs are no longer a digital asset – they are real. In fact, all the physical assets that exist today would be worthless. Without a digital presence, an object would have no value.

We are looking at a world where perception is reality. The Metaverse is where pure awareness is all that matters. In this world – McDonald’s collectible holiday NFTs would be a highly desirable asset that reminds people of a world where people existed in a physical reality.

The World Where Digital Lags Behind

The digital world is a place where most of humanity is left behind. Smartphones aren’t enough to bring about a transition to living in the Metaverse. In today’s urban centers, connection to digital reality is simple, the same isn’t true for most of the world’s emerging nations.

And then there is state control over access. China’s national firewall is a perfect example of this issue.

A global online world isn’t going to be effective if state actors can shut down access at will. Or maybe the people won’t know. If people grow up in the digital world, they won’t understand physical space in the same way we do at the moment.

In fact, there could be a split in humanity – between those who are part of the Metaverse – and those who live as biological humans do now.

Real Innovation Means Value Creation

For the moment – we still live in physical reality.

The level of technology that would make NFTs “real” doesn’t exist – as Meta’s total economic failure demonstrates. In fact, we lack the platforms to allow people to live in a more digital world.

Cryptos have value as they can be spent into the real life economy that exists today. For NFTs, their collectibility is questionable – despite the recent knee-jerk higher for some NFT prices.

NFTs are still being issued by artists, companies and other creators, so they are developing as a digital asset. What that means longer term is anyone’s guess.

In terms of innovation – there isn’t much happening in the world of NFTs. While they can be used as tickets for events, in general, they are not. This is true for most NFT use cases – as they require users to have special apps – which just makes the whole deal a little bit of a reach.

For now – the NFT rally looks like an echo of the crypto pump that took BTC to a new all time high. If this rally does have staying power – some of the popular NFTs will continue higher.