2023 & NFTs

As the author of The NFT Handbook, I'd like to provide a few different perspectives on the current NFT landscape:

• 2023 should be a much better year for NFTs due to the increased interest in Generative AI, meaning a lot of the hypesters that were creating a bad rep for NFTs will move over to the Gen. AI hype cycle and cause the current NFT market to stabilize.

Today, OpenSea announced its new suite of tools for creator NFT drops. This new experience allows creator partners to include multi-stage minting phases, allowlist support, and personalized landing pages for their NFT releases. I believe this will allow groups that were previously locked out of the first NFT wave due to limited technical or financial resources the ability to work with OpenSea's talented team and directly benefit from the network of their marketplace.

Foundation Drops is a new way to create or collect from extensive NFT collections. The Drops service allows creators to launch smart contract-based ERC721 NFT projects with up to 10,000 unique NFTs for a low cost. Unlike Collections, the collection size and NFT prices for Drops are fixed, and it supports Packs for minting multiple NFTs in one transaction. The NFT reveal and randomization process is unique, with a pre-reveal placeholder and a memorable opening experience for holders.

The BLVKHVND esports DAO has launched STADIUM, an on-chain esports hub powered by the Stadium Protocol. It allows players to launch teams, compete in events, create prize pools, and flex their skills with unlockable assets. The STADIUM experience begins with a customizable, dynamically rendered Player Card NFT, which serves as the entry point to the ecosystem. During competitions, Player Cards are wallet-bound and not transferable. This is an excellent example of the esports industry naturally integrating NFTs.

Liquid Delegate is a system that allows NFT delegation rights to be turned into tradeable NFTs. Users can deposit their NFT into an escrow smart contract to receive a Liquid Delegate NFT, which they can list for sale or burn at expiry to retrieve the original NFT. Potential use cases for this include trading airdrop claim rights, selling event spots, and more. The system monetizes through a creation fee, integration of the ERC-2981 royalty standard, and a royalty fee on secondary trading.

These are just a few significant shifts in the NFT industry from 2023, and we're barely two months into the year.