5 NFT Projects You Should Know
Interest in NFTs has exploded in recent years. Several NFT projects have depended upon an enthusiastic community of supporters since their inception, but 2021 has been marked by the emergence of an NFT bubble.
There was a consensus that DeFi would bring the crypto space to mainstream acceptance. On the other hand, it seems that the value proposition of NFTs is substantially easier to comprehend for people who are not intimately involved with blockchain technology. Consequently, some NFT projects are even making waves in mainstream markets. Do you know which are they?
Introduction
Firstly, if you would like to know more about non-fungible tokens (NFTs), check out article A Guide to Crypto-collectibles and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). In short, NFTs are unique digital items protected by cryptography that can be accessed only by the NFT's owner. These collectibles can be digital, such as games, pets, memes, or they might even represent liquidity provider (LP) positions in DeFi.
Among some less explored use cases for blockchains are identifying ownership of physical assets, such as real estate or art. Furthermore, it is likely that such tokenization can also be used to tokenize valuable items such as vintage cars and allow the ownership to be split between several people. In such an event, each of them would own a fraction of the car.
In contrast, the most popular applications of NFTs to date have been related to digital items. Let us explore these.
1. Beeple NFTs
There are probably already a lot of people who are familiar with this NFT sale. One of the rarest occurrences within the crypto universe is when an event crosses over into the mainstream. Digital artist Mike Winkelmann, more commonly known as Beeple, has made a splash on the art scene by selling an NFT for 69 million dollars worth of Ether. Christie's provided an auction house that helped facilitate the sale. Beeple, who had previously never sold a print for more than $100, became one of the world's most valuable living artists overnight after he sold his first print at auction.
Why might his work be so highly sought after? Beeple has a large fan base because of his daily series, in which he creates and uploads a new piece of artwork each day. He has apparently not missed a single day in the last fourteen years. The piece is entitled "Everydays - The First 5000 Days", and it is a collage of the artist's artworks from the first 5000 days of the project.
Beeple's sale is a major milestone in the evolution of digital art and demonstrates this new technology isn't just a fad that will pass away soon.
2. NBA Top Shot
The NBA Top Shot project is one of the most successful NFT projects to date as of March 20, 2021. Among all of the NFT projects, NBA Top Shot has the most users according to the block's data dashboard. In spite of the fact that this data does not include the marginally smaller NFT projects, it is still a rather impressive feat.
NBA Top Shot is a project that is being developed by Dapper Labs that allows users to purchase packs of unique digital artwork featuring famous NBA moments as NFTs.
How has its success been achieved? NBA brand certainly plays a significant role in its success. The issue of collectible items directly related to a game that has already caught the attention of many people is easier to sell than the issue of a digital pet. There is also the factor of the user experience to consider. The NBA Top Shot does not feel like a blockchain-based product, thereby lowering the entry barrier.
Have you ever tried to introduce friends and family members to DeFi or yield farming, only to discover that the products are simply too complex for the non-expert? Well, there are some useful guides we have there like the one on MetaMask, but as far as the user experience is concerned, there is still a ways to go until we can make it more user-friendly.
By stripping away the decentralization aspects of NBA Top Shot, this problem is avoided and there is an improved user experience. In many cases, users will not even be aware that they are using a blockchain-based product altogether, which might be regarded as a success all on its own.
3. Cryptopunks
Cryptopunkers are one of the earliest networks of non-financial enterprises on Ethereum that have existed. It has been available for years and had a moderate level of interest until the NFT bubble of 2021 when they gained a great deal of attention. One of the main projects of Larva Labs is Cryptopunks.With this project, 10,000 unique collectible characters will be available on Ethereum.
As part of the launch of the service, each of these tokens was offered for free to all Ethereum wallet owners. At the beginning of 2018, you could buy one for an average price of 50-100 US dollars. However, in 2021, the price of one has exploded. Currently, the most expensive one on the market has sold for 4,200 ETH as of March 2021.
Why is it free, but then sold for millions? That's not a bad investment. However, buyers of the "first" of anything are typically charged a premium, and returns of this magnitude are unlikely to be repeated in the future.
4. Axie Infinity
There is a blockchain game called Axie Infinity in which players can breed virtual pets called Axies. It is similar to what you would consider a combination of Pokémon and CryptoKitties. The pets are either owned by the players themselves or they can be traded with other players. The players can fight monsters together in Adventure mode as well as battle each other in PvP (player vs player).
In terms of technical background, Axies is built on the Ethereum blockchain using the standard ERC-721. Also included in the game are items and lands that are considered NFTs.
As one of the most popular NFT games on the Ethereum blockchain is Axie Infinity. As a result of the launch of the Rhonin sidechain, players will be less likely to experience high gas fees. Looking for more information about the game? Take a look at our in-depth guide to Axie Infinity.
5. Decentraland
Virtual reality game Decentraland is based on a blockchain technology. It is possible for players to acquire and trade LAND, a virtual land that is represented by an ERC-721 token. There is a lot of variety in the land, and each owner can decide what content to fill up their piece of land with.
LAND can be purchased on the platform using MANA, the native token for the platform. Decentraland has its own economy in a sense; players are able to interact with each other in a variety of ways and can monetize their activities in a variety of ways. Decentraland differs from other virtual reality games, however, since it is controlled by a network of actors rather than a centralized entity.