Here’s how developers aim to store crypto in NFTs
Developers recently published an Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) that introduces a new way to use non-fungible tokens (NFTs). With this system, all NFTs can have a smart contract account, which allows them to store other NFTs or crypto-tokens.
Cointelegraph spoke with Future Primitives Jayden Windle and Benny Giang, the authors of EIP-6551, to explain the use cases of ERC-6551 and its implications for the crypto space.
According to Windle, while there are many complicated features behind the feature, the simple way to explain it is that they give NFTs their own crypto wallets. He explained:
“The really simple idea behind ERC-6551 is that every NFT has a wallet. So, your NFT has a full wallet that your NFT owns. That means your NFT can own every asset on the chain, and your NFT can do anything on-chain. By giving NFTs wallets, NFTs now become users on Ethereum.”
When asked how the idea came to life, the Future Primitive developer explained that their team went down what he described as a “rabbit hole of experimental oddities.” He shared that they were working on an NFT project where they wanted to add gear as a mechanic. The project allows NFTs to wear clothes and other accessories that are also NFTs.
“What we realized was nothing really determines the use case we really wanted to achieve. We really wanted to have NFTs own their own objects in a sort of self-sovereign way. We really wanted to be able to do that in a way that would just work with all existing tools,” he explained.
Furthermore, Windle also shared that they wanted other projects to also be able to take advantage of this new mechanic and build something that could apply to NFTs in general.
Potential use cases for ERC-6551
In terms of use cases, the developer also said that this could be applied to blockchain games and take the form of an inventory system. Furthermore, it can also be used in decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) where instead of the history of a DAO member being separated with an NFT and a wallet, everything can be entered into the NFT itself. Apart from these, airdropping of assets to NFTs can also potentially increase the value of NFTs.
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Since the new mechanic has seemingly endless possibilities, Cointelegraph asked Giang what this could potentially mean for the crypto space. The NFT veteran said apart from ownership of assets, this can also bring social identity into NFTs. This provides new functionality apart from just being able to buy, sell or trade NFTs. He explained that:
“We’re trying to introduce three new actions you can pursue with NFT. They are become, interact, and use. You can become your NFT, you can interact with it, and you can use your NFT.”
Giang believes that this will make NFTs completely different from jpegs. According to Giang, it could be the new internet identities. Furthermore, the Future Primitive leader explained that if artificial intelligence (AI) is used, it can turn NFTs into fully on-chain network playable characters (NPCs) in blockchain-based games.
Aside from these, Giang highlighted that ERC-6551 is already live on the Ethereum mainnet. “It is not a conceptual idea. It’s not like a testnet thing. It’s real,” he explained. According to the Future Primitive co-founder, they’ve also already used it on an NFT collection called Sapienz.
NFT Startup: NFTs owning NFTs in NFTs
Cointelegraph asked the developers if there is a limit to how far NFTs can be put into NFTs. According to the duo, this could “get crazy really quickly” and go on indefinitely. They demonstrated a family tree of NFTs within NFTs.
“You can build applications around NFTs that own NFTs that own NFTs, and all of that is available on-chain. You can build on-chain applications that use that hierarchy of NFTs to build really cool experiences ,” Windle explained.
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