Driven for NFT tools and functionality

Non-Fungible Tokens, better known by the abbreviation NFTs, have become some of the most controversial technologies to come out of the blockchain ecosystem since their inception. What was once seen as the shining beacon of blockchain, bringing in millions of dollars to the industry and increasing public appeal, is now looked upon with derision and most view them as a complete scam.

NFTs have had quite an interesting 18 months, with both public opinion and overall value swinging on a pendulum from high to low. At its most valuable, the NFT market exceeded billions of USD, and the most expensive NFT sold for nearly $70 million. Yet, just over a year later, and that market is almost non-existent, with far fewer transactions per month and less public interest than ever before.

But what went wrong with NFTs and what caused the entire market to evaporate overnight? Many believe that the culprit lies in the lack of functionality that NFTs provide. Although they are digital art, they are inaccessible and provide no benefit other than personal ownership. Even that, in some cases, is not a certainty.

In this article, we will dive into the world of NFTs, demonstrating how their market crashed and the key factors that led to its demise. From there we will also explore exactly how this market can regenerate, referring to leading Web 3 companies in the area such as Peer.

Let’s dive right in.

What went wrong with NFTs?

The NFT market exploded back in 2021, after the rise of cryptocurrencies and took off when media and celebrities started talking about them. As more and more people started buying NFTs, their value started to increase. From there, investors would continue to buy at high prices, creating a huge bubble around the digital assets.

While some believed that this bubble would continue to inflate forever, others saw that there was no real utility behind NFTs. The main argument behind NFTs, or better yet, their main purpose, was entirely aesthetic. By buying an NFT, you owned it and could show it. However, that didn’t stop others from pointing out that there wasn’t much power in owning a digital image, as it could easily be copied or duplicated.

When you buy an NFT, you buy the digital certificate, with your name listed as the owner on the blockchain. While it can’t be duplicated, the digital image you’ve purchased easily can, effectively taking away any point of buying one. This fact led many to PrintScreen NFTs and republish them, instantly undermining the main reason for buying an NFT in the first place. And as the market began to turn, the other reason—as a financial investment—also began to disappear.

Without a core reason to own an NFT and with the market starting to spiral, people started selling quickly. NFTs that were once worth thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars dropped to almost zero. Just like that, without any utility or functionality, the industry crumbled.

How to restart the NFT market

To bring more attention to the NFT market, it needs to push beyond its original appearance. While the initial wave of public attention was enough to increase the average cost of these digital assets, it was unsustainable in the long term. With no real function in this market, when the excitement died down, it also became the only thing that kept prices stable. With that in mind, there needs to be an integrated feature that will generate renewed interest in NFTs.

Peer is a Web 3 company focused on bringing this tool to the world of digital assets. Peer is a vertically integrated blockchain stack, offering a diverse multi-layered system where NFTs, metaverses and blockchain technologies can be hosted. Peer launches the world’s first Web 3 NFT, which focuses on creating a usable environment around the digital resource.

Rather than just being an asset in your portfolio, Peer brings functionality to NFTs by giving them practical utility. At its core, Peer is building a social application, creating a space where those interested in Web 3 can share experiences and connect. By placing real NFTs in locations around the world, Peer can bring people together and create a Web 3 social app that drives the utility of NFTs.

By connecting the real world and the digital world, Peer creates a new feature for NFTs. With this, they will have more than just aesthetic or investment purposes, and contribute to sustaining the industry. Once the NFT world focuses on this multi-functionality of digital technology, the wider blockchain community will once again flock to this exciting digital medium.

Peer is a fantastic example of making this happen, with their ecosystem rolling out over the next 12 months.

Final thoughts

To restart the NFT market, the industry needs to emphasize the real functionality of these systems. Instead of relying on public hype and excitement, there must be another reason to own and use NFTs. Without this functionality, it will be impossible for the public to regain interest in these digital assets and for the industry to reach its former heights.

Following examples as described by Peer, we can see that Web 3 already has the necessary infrastructure to make NFTs functional. By creating ecosystems that we can interact and engage with around NFTs, they become much more than just static digital assets. If industry leaders like Peer are able to leverage their functionality and breathe a whole new life into the NFT tool, we could see an explosion in this market over the next few months.