Global governments demonstrate the extensive use cases of NFT technology
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(Kitco News) – Non-fungible token (NFT) technology remains one of the most promising real-world blockchain use cases, as the possible applications are wide-ranging, spanning sectors from artwork to identity verification.
A recent document released by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) indicates that EU officials are considering the use of blockchain technology and NFTs to combat counterfeiting of real-world goods.
The office has proposed that intellectual property (IP) owners would be able to issue digital tokens for physical goods, referred to as a “digital twin”, which would be recorded on the blockchain and used to prove that the item is genuine.
“When goods pass from one party to another, the token is exchanged between digital wallets. The combination of a unique product identity and the continuous transfer of the digital identity between wallets creates proof that the goods are genuine,” the document says.
EUIPO intends to have the new system fully operational by the end of 2023, which will require the development of a register system that will bring together all IP holders, logistics operations and retailers in the EU.
The study also suggested that for the system to achieve its goal, it must be compatible with other supply chain monitoring technologies already in place.
“The tool itself will remain versatile in terms of interoperability and with low effort and investment, thus minimizing technological and economic barriers to widespread use,” EUIPO said.
NFTs as rewards for solving digital technology problems
An example of NFTs in action comes from Japan, where the government has become one of the first to issue NFTs as a form of supplementary reward intended to recognize the work of local governments that have used digital technology to solve local problems.
Japan’s Cabinet Secretariat was responsible for presenting the awards during the recent “Summer Digi Denkoshien 2022” ceremony, which was attended by the country’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
A total of seven mayors received an NFT award for their efforts to promote the digital economy for such developments as the use of electric vehicles to make local deliveries or the use of cameras on mobile devices to track changes in traffic conditions in real time.
The non-transferable NFTs were issued on the Ethereum blockchain using the proof of attendance protocol (POAP). Indiesquare’s low-cost blockchain platform Hazama Base was used to mint tokens.
Despite the widespread retreat in the NFT market amid the broader decline in cryptocurrencies, the underlying characteristics and applications of the technology suggest that NFTs will be strongly adopted and integrated into a number of aspects of the global digital economy in the coming years who comes.
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