NFTs are not dying or dead, but stop talking about them, says Sander Gansen

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been making waves since 2014, especially in the last two years. The concept of a non-fungible digital asset, one that you cannot easily exchange on a one-to-one basis like cryptocurrencies, emerged as a way to represent ownership and scarcity in the digital world. As with anything rare, these conditions have led to the focus on NFTs becoming the latest gold nugget in the blockchain gold rush. And that’s the problem.

During the California Gold Rush, a relatively small number of people became truly rich and achieved significant wealth, while the majority either experienced modest gains or ended up with minimal financial success, often struggling to meet their basic needs due to the high cost of living in gold mining regions.

In the case of NFTs, these costs include the complexity and technical know-how needed to obtain them. And while the fortunes have been some of the most significant in recent times, the NFT industry also suffers from the same level of speculation, notoriety and scrutiny as the transformative 40s and 50s.

But thinking about NFTs only in terms of quick financial gains is short-sighted, according to Sander Gansen, founder of NFT Tallinn – the NFT conference I attended in May. I spent some time discussing the past, present and future of non-fungible tokens and the underlying technologies that power them.

“Reducing the value of NFTs solely to financial gain overlooks the true power of this technology, which lies in its ability to revolutionize ownership, provenance and the democratization of creative expression,” Gansen told me. “NFTs represent a breakthrough technology that could transform how we perceive and interact with digital assets, particularly in art and collectibles, and also physical assets by introducing digital twins that help us verify their ownership and provenance.”

Money doesn’t matter

Since the Colored Coins project in 2012 and the CryptoKitties craze in 2017 (which at one point was so popular that it functionally broke the Ethereum blockchain), the NFT market has expanded into various domains, including art, music, gaming and collectibles. Artists and creators have begun using NFTs to sell digital artwork and authenticate their creations, allowing for direct ownership and provenance tracking. Even major auction houses such as Christie’s have even held NFT art auctions, attracting considerable attention and high-priced sales.

NFTs are used in supply chains, fashion and loyalty programs. Sadu – an app that converts your exercise into planting trees and other carbon removal projects – rewards you with NFTs when you reach certain milestones. AirBaltic has its Planies program, an NFT that allows you to earn air miles without flying.

On the flip side, the collapse of Terra and the volatility witnessed in the cryptocurrency world has led some to argue that NFTs are already done as a trend, but arguably that’s because the only indicators used to predict the fall are lines and candlesticks .

“While the monetary aspect of NFTs has understandably received considerable attention, it is critical to recognize that their value goes far beyond money,” Gansen said. “NFTs can revolutionize ownership, provenance and the way we engage with digital art, opening new opportunities for creators and collectors alike.”

Of course, NFTs can only do that if they maintain interest. Although the sector has anecdotally seen a decline, data suggests otherwise. According to DappRadar, the market continues to grow and develop despite that volatility, with new technology and platforms supporting the growing demand. In 2022, NFT sales skyrocketed. In Q1, sales reached 28.44 million, an increase of 483.14% from Q1 2021’s 4.88 million. In Q2 2022, 20.23 million NFTs were sold, an increase of 73.87% from 11.64 million in Q2 2021.

But digital art, including photos, videos and music – while obvious uses of NFT technology – is not where the magic will happen, according to Gansen.

“NFT technology has expanded beyond digital art and collectibles to tokenize real-world assets, enable ownership of in-game items and virtual land, verify digital identities and credentials, promote fan engagement and social tokens, improve supply chain traceability, and support charitable purpose. donations and fundraising,” Gansen said. “These diverse applications demonstrate the versatility of NFTs across industries, providing new avenues for ownership, engagement and transparency in the digital and physical realms.”

For example, the first “real-world real estate” NFT was sold in 2017 and was recently re-auctioned through Propy, a blockchain-based real estate solution. Much virtual real estate has been sold through platforms such as Decentraland. The potential of NFT technology lies in its ability to tokenize and sell tangible assets that people can live in, not just visit through a screen or headset, complete with their full-body, banana-suited avatars.

Why is NFT technology a better way to sell houses than how we do it now?

“Every blockchain provides a history of every step and transaction for every asset, and that’s a lot of information,” Gansen said. “For example, using NFT technology in real estate allows you to check all previous buyers, investments, actions, legal disputes, payments and more. In addition, you cut out all the middlemen, which makes buying real estate extra expensive, and the speed of buying and selling real estate is increasing tremendously. People love it when you save them time and money.”

If you want NFTs to increase, stop talking about NFTs

When was the last time you asked someone to check out your multi-functional, hyper-connected, pocket-sized device equipped with advanced computing capabilities and communication protocols? In fact, when was the last time you asked someone to check out your smartphone at all?

If we tighten this analogy, when was the last time a startup sold you their app, product or solution by advertising it as their latest “Kotlin/Java/[insert programming language here] technology project?” People don’t talk like that unless they’re trying to impress an investor who wants to ride a new wave, and consumers don’t care and would be confused.

“Uber revolutionized the transportation industry by providing a convenient and efficient way for users to request rides with just a few taps on their smartphone,” Gansen said. “I didn’t care what programming language or underlying technology it was made with. I just cared that getting a taxi was easier than ever, cheaper and more convenient for me and my friends.”

According to Gansen, it gives an additional advantage to talk about something other than NFT technology and the associated blockchain/cryptocurrency industry.

“While Bitcoin and Ethereum have moved into everyday conversation thanks to the mainstream media, so have a number of high-profile scams, errors and robberies in the light of day,” Gansen said. “The industry is as famous for Ponzi schemes, vaporware and data and financial breaches as it is for its potential to revolutionize our world, so the less we talk about it the better. Instead, if NFT and blockchain technology is the best way to solve a problem, let’s just use it and show everyone the solution we made instead.”

Gansen’s ideals and principles extend beyond NFTs and are born from his personal experiences of rise and fall.

“In 2015, I founded a supply chain startup and raised significant funding, but we were unable to find the right product, which led to my exit in 2017,” Gansen said. “In 2019, I returned to the same startup and helped sell the IP. I built a global franchise of robotics and AI events, and after starting a successful marketing agency I experienced the impact of COVID-19. During the pandemic, I ventured into the world of Web3 and NFT.”

Those experiences led him to establish NFT Tallinn, which has already become the largest NFT conference in the Nordics.

“We have embraced the community we were building, jumping between endeavors, creating demos, seeking collaborations and pouring our energy into NFT Tallinn, which we had initially conducted as an experimental trial,” Gansen said. “Although some ventures did not materialize, the event received resounding feedback and it is now our mission to raise it to new heights, expanding its scope and audacity, including similar initiatives in South America, the Balkans and possibly even Africa.”

The underlying principle of talking less about NFT technology and more about the solutions it offers the world is at the heart of what Gansen is trying to achieve, as are the unusual decisions that reinforce what makes this event different from the likes of NFT.NYC and Miami NFT Week.

“By choosing to host such a big and bold event in Tallinn, we raised some eyebrows,” Gansen said. “However, in the realm of information technology, Estonia reigns as the triumphant Nordic nation, with an unparalleled business atmosphere across Europe and a large pool of exceptional talent. From brilliant Web3 innovations such as Alphabill, DeCommas, Dottyland, Ready Player Me and Solid World to our unrivaled expertise in cryptography for three decades, Estonia’s prowess is second to none.One might think: if not in Estonia, where else?

To emphasize that we should talk less about NFT technology and more about what it does for us, NFT Tallinn was full of great examples, including beer from Metabrew, event tickets from Enter and Videomart Club.

NFTs are not dead or dying. That view is only valid if you’re a speculator trying to make a quick buck on the tech industry’s latest darling. But if we stop talking about it and focus on what it can usefully do for us, the potential to transform how we interact with both the virtual and physical world is clear, and no doubt Gansen will continue to promote and explore this in his future events and other upcoming initiatives.

This article originally appeared on Hackernoon and is reproduced with permission.