As time goes on, we are seeing a growing number of use cases for NFTs. Long gone are the days when NFTs solely referred to pixel art or collections of 10,000 randomly generated characters.

While projects like these are undeniably still going strong, we believe this is just a small portion of what will come to be on offer. We’re becoming more aware of the technology that NFTs sit upon, the blockchain, and the potential for innovation this brings to a wide range of use cases.

One of the most exciting is the ability to create communities around the ownership of NFTs. A well known example is Bored Ape Yacht Club, a project that was started between four friends in April 2021. Purchasing an Ape grants the owner exclusive membership to the club, giving access to special events around the world and merchandise strictly released for NFT holders.

The possibilities around community building are truly endless—expect many more exclusive NFT communities to emerge.

Another important use case for the music industry is that NFTs help solve the industry-wide problem of ticket touting and scalping. This is when companies or individuals buy a large amount of tickets and resell them for a much higher price, resulting in many people being priced out of attending their favourite shows.

NFTs help solve this by programmatically giving back to the original seller each time the token is transacted. Say you buy a ticket to a gig, and then sell it on an online marketplace because you cannot attend anymore. The artist will get a cut of that sale.

The same goes for any digital asset that is sold, whether it be a music album, photograph, or profile picture. The artist and creator is always rewarded for each transaction. On most platforms, creators can even set their own royalties for future resales.

Gaming is another growing use case. Play-to-earn, in which players purchase NFTs as game characters and then earn financial incentives for continuing gameplay, is already booming. Axie Infinity is perhaps the most well known example— players in some parts of the world are even able to earn a living wage by playing it.

While play-to-earn is still limited to titles that have been created exclusively for that purpose, there is huge potential to incorporate NFTs into games that we play everyday. Imagine being able to sell Fortnite skins for cash once you no longer want them, or purchase rare items and weapons in Call of Duty. 

These developments and use cases are coming about quickly. Over the next few years we’ll be seeing new cases develop as the technology matures and the user experience is improved.