Right now? Mostly hype and social/status reasons.
In the near future? New channel for brands to communicate directly (1:1) with customers. You buy a Nike shoe, you get a digital "NFT" as well that you can save to your "digital wardrobe". You can then trade those digital items, gain exclusive access to brand events, giveaways, etc. What about taking that digital item into your favourite game?
There's a ton of social use cases like gaming, social media, music, etc.
However, there are also a lot of institutional uses. Ever heard about University degrees as NFTs? No more concern for damaged degrees, lost degrees, forged degrees, etc. Of course you can still have a paper degree framed on your wall, but what about framing the NFT in a digital wall frame? What if you're applying to Med School? Do you really have to wait days for your University/College to process your request to send that school your degree? Or would you rather the process be instant in that you can have your degree sent instantly on a Saturday night? There's a few patents already being applied for this specific use case.
The technology behind this space is remarkable and SO early. There are so many opportunities for entrepreneurs to dive deep in this industry and create the next wave of applications. A lot of people think crypto currencies = blockchain. This is simply not true. Crypto currencies are "currencies". The blockchain technology is real and will soon take over industries lagging in technological advance for so many years. What if you can get a mortgage/loan for your new house instantly on a Sunday afternoon? What if you can buy a house instantly? What if you can invest in real estate as a limited partner instantly AND in the safest way possible with NO opportunity for anyone to "game" the system. Real Estate + Blockchain is coming sooner than a lot of people realize.
markets.businessinsider.com
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