Today, NFT momentum continues to build, even as cryptocurrency and stock markets tumble. But as excitement for the NFT market continues to shoot prices to new heights, the general public remains apprehensive.
Are NFTs overpriced? Will they still have value in the future? And what does non-fungible actually mean anyway? Huobi Ventures Investment Director Haijing Lin delved into these topics and more alongside a panel of industry leaders at the ETHDenver 2022 conference, which was held February 17-20.
Are NFTs Just Expensive JPEGs?
While Bored Apes and quirky PFPs have made NFT technology synonymous with digital art, “NFTs actually refer to the technology which allows anything to be tokenized on the blockchain…this is a structural and technological innovation at its core,” panelist and CEO of Upshot Nick Emmons explained. Lin added that digital art simply happens to be a single asset class that has manifested itself upon this technology, and that this innovative union is historically significant for defining a new generation of art. “It’s like we’re in the impressionist era of art”, Lin said, “and if we look back 100 years from now, PFPs are only a small, yet historically significant first attempt at what NFT can power.”
Is the Hype Surrounding NFTs Warranted?
“The easiest utility for any new asset class is trading, and that is what’s going on with NFTs, given that we’re still at a very early stage,” said Lin. “This is similar to the price fluctuation that took place in 2013, when people first began to trade crypto assets and Bitcoins…but this turbulence is the value deciding mechanism.” Lin went on to clarify that many potential forms of assets and property could be built on NFT technology, and that their value would rise as utilities continue to expand beyond PFP over time.
What Future NFT Possibilities Can We Look Forward To?
Panelist and Nahmii CEO Jacob Toll-Messia advised that while it may seem exciting to sell cool and expensive first generation NFTs, the industry needs to innovate the ways in which it engages with consumers and corporations, and onboard more people so that use cases may provide more value to the public. Lin added that as more diverse asset classes are built on top of this file format, we can expect to see different values being created, such as accessing new possibilities within the metaverse. As the NFT ecosystem continues to grow this year, Huobi has also released its own NFT platform to support the creation, circulation, and application of non-fungible assets.
