3 Future Directions for NFTs: Profit, Utility, and Culture – 3 Perspectives on NFTs

Summary: This article analyzes NFTs from three perspectives: profit, utility, and culture. It points out that NFTs have the potential to develop in many directions, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. The article also provides examples of NFT collections with culture, as well as insights into the future of NFTs.

NFTs and Profit: Speculation, Crypto, DeFi, and Play-to-Earn

NFTs are considered a potential investment tool, attracting the attention of investors with the possibility of quick profits. Is that right? In fact, the NFT market has seen some spectacular comebacks, turning early owners into millionaires.

Speculation: The NFT market has seen many cases of speculation, especially during the boom period of 2021 and 2022. NFT collections were bought and sold at high prices, with many hoping to make a quick profit. Those who play NFT now are all those who have experienced the NFT boom in 2021 and 2022; they are familiar with hunting for potential NFTs, analyzing the market, and seizing investment opportunities. This speculation has created a rapid market cycle, causing many people to jump in and out of the NFT market at a dizzying pace.

Crypto: NFTs are often bought and sold using cryptocurrencies, leading to price fluctuations in line with the crypto market. This poses risks for investors, as the value of NFTs can be affected by fluctuations in the crypto market. However, NFT players today have learned to manage risks by diversifying their portfolios, allocating capital appropriately, and using asset management tools to minimize the impact of market fluctuations.

DeFi: Some NFT projects combine with DeFi to create decentralized finance applications, allowing users to borrow, lend, earn interest, and participate in other financial activities. DeFi offers attractive profit-making opportunities for NFT holders, but it also carries high risks.

Play-to-Earn: In addition to investing in NFT art, a large portion of NFT players are now hunting for NFT characters to play games and earn money (play-to-earn). Although the play-to-earn market is facing many challenges, the combination of NFTs and games remains a potential direction for development in the future.

However, focusing solely on short-term profits can lead to shortcomings and a lack of sustainability. NFTs truly become valuable and attractive when they are full of utility and built upon a strong community and culture.

NFTs and Utility: Beyond the Boundaries of Art

NFTs are not just digital images; they have the potential to be applied widely in many areas.

Certificate of Ownership: NFTs can be used to certify ownership of digital assets, such as artwork, music, videos, and even physical assets.

Data Security: NFTs can be used to secure data and prove the origin of information.

Supply Chain Management: NFTs can be used to track and manage products in the supply chain, from origin to point of sale.

Event Tickets: NFTs can be used as event tickets, allowing users to access exclusive services.

• Example: NFT tickets for transportation
• Example: Hong Van Theater selling NFT tickets

Gaming: NFTs can be used to create highly interactive games, allowing players to own digital assets and trade them.

E-commerce: NFTs can be used to create unique online shopping experiences, allowing users to own digital goods.

Other Uses: NFTs combined with blind boxes (figures),…

It can be seen that NFTs have a much broader potential for application than what we have seen in the past.

NFTs and Culture: Building Community and Sustainable Value

NFTs with “cult” (culture) can be one of the potential directions for NFT development, but not the only path to success.

Why? Because:

Strong community: NFT collections with culture are often built by communities or individuals based on voluntary participation and shared beliefs. This creates high engagement and loyalty. NFT communities often organize events, competitions, and other activities to promote interaction and build friendships.

Sustainable value: NFT projects with “cult” often focus on developing culture, building communities, and creating unique experiences. This helps NFTs maintain their value over time, regardless of market fluctuations. For example, NFT collections with “cult” often have unique artwork, engaging stories, and vibrant communities.

NFT Collections with Culture

Here are some examples of NFT collections with culture:

Collection	Features
Milady Maker	– Supply 10k <br> – Art inspired by Japanese street fashion of the 2000s <br> – Mint price of 0.06E and currently floor 3.32E <br> – The Milady Maker community is known for its private Minecraft server, real-world events around the world, and expanded collections
Sproto Gramlins	– Supply 3333 <br> – Quirky art, associated with the HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu meme. <br> – Current floor price of around 0.57E (peak 1.4E) <br> – The Gramlins community is active on X, with Gremlin being the “alpha provider” for top memecoins
Schizoposters	– Supply 5555 <br> – Art inspired by Milady, delving into the dark corners of online culture <br> – Current floor price around 0.3E (ATH 0.75E) <br> – Schizoposters is a digital art community focused on exploring the darker aspects of internet culture
Project Aeons	– Supply 3333 <br> – Art depicting creatures born from human ambition <br> – Freemint for SPX6900 holders <br> – Current floor price around 0.14E (ATH 0.31E) <br> – Project Aeons reflects the anxiety of financial scarcity in an increasingly inflationary world
Bitcoin puppets	– Supply 10k <br> – Art in the silly and playful MS Paint style <br> – Floor price 0.09 BTC (ATH 0.4 BTC) <br> – The Bitcoin puppets community focuses on simplicity, fun, and community spirit

Observations

It can be seen that NFTs are shifting from a “company” model to a community model. Collections like BAYC and Azuki are struggling to attract native crypto users because they focus on IP management and brand building, which is not in line with the decentralized spirit of NFTs.

Collections with “cult” often thrive because of the collaboration of NFT owners who create spin-offs, organize events, and form collective identities without centralized oversight. This reflects the core spirit of crypto: decentralization, transparency, and collective ownership.

The Future of NFTs

NFTs are still in their development stage, and they will be increasingly applied not only in art but also in other areas such as:

Gaming: NFTs will create new gaming experiences, allowing players to own digital assets such as weapons, costumes, and even characters. This will create an in-game economy where players can buy, sell, and trade digital assets.

Virtual Real Estate: NFTs will create a vibrant virtual real estate market, allowing users to build, buy, and manage digital assets in the metaverse.

Education: NFTs will create unique online courses, allowing users to own digital certificates, record academic achievements, and enhance the value of their diplomas.

E-commerce: NFTs will create unique online shopping experiences, allowing users to own digital goods.

The future direction of NFTs in these three directions is uncertain, but one thing is for sure: the NFT landscape has a lot of room to grow in the future, as the global economy recovers and technology and blockchain continue to develop.

Conclusion

NFTs are a powerful technology that can change the way we interact with the digital world. Everyone needs to understand NFTs to make smart investment decisions. NFTs with “cult” can be one of the potential directions for development, but it is also possible that NFTs focusing on utility or profit will be the main drivers.

NFTs are a rapidly developing field, and it will be interesting to see how they evolve in the coming years.