The metaverse is Unbanked Newsletter For a weekly level up on the NFT and on-chain frontier
Dear unbanked nations,
Looking back to 2023, it is clear that the NFT space has weathered a tough bear market.
But resilience has been our hallmark. Many projects have not only survived but are thriving here thanks to new developments and new tailwinds.
So today, we’re taking a look at some of the most notable NFT trends over the past year and highlighting the biggest events and notable projects that got us to where we are today!
-WMP
PS This is the last metaverse post of 2023! I’ll be back with my next post on January 5th after a little holiday R&R. In the meantime, Happy New Year!
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When we first started tracking NFTs in 2019, the L2 scene did not yet exist.
Fast forward to this year and we are starting to see all sorts of NFT-friendly L2 developments.
First movers like Arbitrum and Optimism have launched more mining activities and have seen their evolving technology stacks embraced to launch new culture-focused rollups. Shai and red stone.
Large industry names like Coinbase and Zora have also joined the fray and deployed. Base and zora network each.
And new startups have thrown their hats into the ring. Photo FrameL2, which stores things like NFT royalties directly on the network.
In other words, the NFT scaling era has officially begun!
The profile picture (PFP) segment of NFTs has been hit particularly hard during this bear market, with interest and rock bottom prices for most projects falling in the first three quarters of the year.
However, some collections have overcome this decline and become new powerhouses in the PFP category. namely Openens and Pudgy Penguins.
Released as Jack Butcher’s Set 001 in May 2023 Openens provided a new blueprint Learn how to launch a collaboratively curated collection of NFTs over time and capture the imaginations of thousands of people in the process.
For Pudgy Penguins, the project has been elevated to “blue chip PFF” status after a series of big developments in 2023. Pudgy Toys Deployed in 2,000 Walmart Stores.
The overall NFT gaming scene has evolved significantly in 2023, but it’s safe to say that the S-tier titles that are dominating the space, Axie Infinity and Parallel, continue to separate themselves from the pack.
Not only has Axie’s ecosystem swelled with several new Axie-based titles, but the franchise’s main game has also received a major upgrade, including: Axie Experience Points (AXP) and Axie Parts Evolution system.
On the other hand, Parallel has been released. New Starter Deck I started this year Closed Beta GameplayIt seems to have received rave reviews from everyone who has used it, including myself.
These two games are better than ever, and there are more to come!
there was explosion In 2023, amazing and diverse infrastructure development will occur centered around NFTs.
for example, noun V3 Open sourced the first DAO-based fork mechanism.
that much ENS Name Rapper Domains have also been released that provide unprecedented flexibility and functionality to ENS domain holders.
And we can’t leave out the revealed Zora. Protocol RewardsThis is a system that rewards Zora users with ETH.
But this is all just superficial. ERC-6551 Just Converted all NFTs into walletsmint.fun created easy castingPrivy is a user-friendly introduction Built-in walletetc.
Simply put, now is a great time to build around NFTs.
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While Ethereum has dominated the majority of all NFT activity for years, Bitcoin and the Solana NFT scene have joined the NFT party in a big way in 2023.
Of course, the Bitcoin NFT scene has seen a rejuvenation and surge in activity since 2009. The Arrival of OrdinalsA new native tokenization system for Bitcoin was launched in January.
In the same way, Ordinals quickly inspired the standardization of other alternative Bitcoin tokenization methods, including: stampThis has picked up the pace of recent Bitcoin NFT activity.
For Solana, the network has become the next airdrop frontier, and its SOL token and activity statistics have rebounded in recent months, bringing an influx of new users flocking to the chain’s top projects such as NFT marketplaces like Magic Eden. tensor.
So now Ethereum, Bitcoin and Solana are the current major players when it comes to NFTs and it looks like this dynamic will remain the same for the foreseeable future.
It was revived again in 2023. On-chain NFT And on-chain experiments.
for example, Chaos Lord Mint and recently Terraform Update We’ve pushed the boundaries of what’s possible with blockchain art.
Additionally, the following projects base paint and party It opens a new way for people to collaborate and create together on-chain.
Of course, “on-chain” is not inherently better than “off-chain”. Blockchain is a new type of media + infrastructure combo, and never before has the creative horizon here been so wide open with potential!
Cryptocurrency social apps will be in the spotlight in 2023, prominent examples include: warp cast and lens.
This surge of apps has put a new spotlight on NFTs, as these types of projects can essentially highlight and promote NFT mints.
So now it’s much easier to find out what your friends are minting and share what you’re minting at any time.
Simply put, this year’s emerging cryptocurrency social scene has made NFTs more social overall!
In particular, 2023 saw the first large-scale research project at the intersection of AI and NFTs.
In the metaverse sector, upstreetan NFT-integrated multiplayer universe designed for interaction between humans and AI agents, has launched a 28-page mobile game. Chat World We explored a variety of potential applications for AI agents within Upstreet.
Additionally, the following game experiments will be conducted: parallel colony We introduced the idea of a “1.5-player game,” where humans passively guide autonomous AI agents to perform various tasks, blurring the line between where human play ends and AI play begins.
Although these types of efforts are in their infancy, they suggest that the AI x NFT intersection could be successful. exorbitant from now on.
RWA stands for “real-world assets” on the blockchain and can be anything from real estate to physical trading cards.
What is one of the main ways to bring these kinds of off-chain assets on-chain? By expressing it as NFT!
In fact, in 2023 we saw the first notable demonstration of what NFT-based RWA could look like. Courtyard’s Tokenized Pokemon Card Drop.
This is just one example of the cultural aspect, but more experimentation is taking place, both culturally and financially, and the first blueprints are now conclusively in place.
2023 was also the year that moving NFTs cross-chain from one network to another became more viable than ever.
This is largely thanks to the emergence of projects like LayerZero, a pioneer in omnichain NFTs for inter-blockchain transfers. hologramhas developed a holographic NFT that can maintain a consistent identity across all EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) environments.
Additionally, Chainlink’s Cross-chain interoperability protocol (CCIP) arrived this year, paving another powerful path for projects to make NFTs interoperable across various chains.
Therefore, NFTs no longer need to be isolated to one network. They can go where they need to go, and this is a new possibility that will no doubt be explored extensively in the coming years!
William M. Feaster is the creator of metaversal — Bankless newsletter focused on the emergence of NFTs in the cryptocurrency economy. He also serves as a senior writer for the Bankless newsletter.
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It is not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and does not constitute investment advice, a solicitation to buy or sell any asset, or a solicitation to make any financial decisions. This newsletter does not constitute tax advice. Consult your accountant. Do your own research.
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