Both Augmented Reality (AR) and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are hot topics in the world of tech right now. More and more developers are turning their focus to either (or both) of these technologies, and companies like ours are betting big on an acronym-rich future (ARF).
We recently read an article on NewsBTC discussing the role AR might have in the future of NFTs. If you haven’t yet, give it a read — it’s a great article and includes a kind mention of Hololoot 😉
In this post, we’re unpacking some of these ideas and exploring how AR can help push NFTs to achieve more.
NFTs: Limitless possibilities
Mainstream coverage of NFTs tends to focus on art. Big-name collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and star artists like Beeple have made headlines even outside of the crypto bubble, helping to popularize the concept of NFTs as digital canvases.
This description has a lot of truth to it. NFTs and art go hand in hand — the first NFT experience most people have is buying into a profile pic collection or purchasing an NFT (with artwork) that unlocks some kind of other utility in a game or on a platform.
But for those who dig a little deeper, a strange truth emerges: NFTs really has nothing to do with images at all, and art is just one small part of their incredible potential. While today most people connect NFTs with art, in the future NFTs will be just as well known for their other utilities; utilities that will become part of our everyday.
For those wondering what this all means, here’s a crash course on NFTs:
NFTs are unique, programmable tokens. It’s helpful to think of them as serial numbers. Just as you might authenticate and catalog a work of art, so too can you catalog a work of digital or physical art using an NFT.
Serial numbers aren’t just for pictures though. Anything can be cataloged and labeled with a unique identifier: physical objects, but also contracts, deeds, identity cards, patents, songs, dividend agreements, invitations, and more. Anything that needs to be verifiably unique, can be an NFT.
What we’ve seen so far from NFTs is only really the tip of the iceberg. And with crypto markets cooling off and NFT collections stagnating, now is the perfect time to begin asking ‘what next?’
The battle for mainstream adoption
If you spend too much time on crypto Telegram, Twitter, or Discord, you might feel like the whole world is with us on our blockchain quest. Unfortunately, this isn’t quite true.
Blockchain adoption is still incredibly low in most parts of the world. Even in places where people and governments are adopting blockchain ahead of the curve, widespread use is still relatively small. It’s a cliché to say it, but we’re definitely still early.
There’s a good reason why people discuss mainstream adoption so much. For one, blockchain networks are fundamentally stronger when there are more participants. The more nodes, miners, or stakers, the more resistant your blockchain becomes.
More participants also mean more money in the ecosystem, and more money moving closer to the efficient market price of things. In a market without many participants, the balance is always skewed in favor of either the buyer or the seller. As more buyers and sellers enter the market, prices trend towards what the market thinks they should be worth. That’s good news for both parties.
If you believe in the possibilities of a democratized, decentralized financial system, mainstream adoption also means the realization of a philosophical goal. While it might not bring the planets into alignment, it certainly will give people around the world fair access to financial services and take power away from corporations, unreliable governments, and corrupt officials.
Regardless of how you cut it, mainstream adoption is the goal. But there’s a problem: despite insane growth in 2021, we’re still as far from widespread adoption as we have ever been. For us to finally tip the balance and get blockchain tech over the line, something is still missing.
AR is the next frontier for NFTs
Change happens little by little, then all at once. For NFTs to really hit the mainstream, small changes need to accumulate to finally tip the scale and secure widespread adoption. At Hololoot, we believe Augmented Reality has a big role to play in this.
We’ve covered in the past how a mobile metaverse has the best chance of ensuring metaverse adoption. There are far more mobile users around the world than PC users, so mobile needs to be at the forefront of any developer’s mind.
NFTs need to be the same. Not only should we be able to access and manage NFTs on our mobiles, but we should have mobile-centric experiences tailored just for them; experiences so great that mobile users will be forced to pay attention to NFTs and break down the misconceptions people still hold around the technology.
For an immersive AR experience, all you need is a mobile phone. Just about any modern smartphone is powerful enough to deliver a seamless AR experience, and as we’ve covered when discussing games in particular, AR is becoming one of the most important sectors in digital entertainment.
By tapping into the power of AR, Hololoot brings immersive NFTs to your mobile device. It’s easy to set up, simple to use and fun from the get-go. There are very few barriers — if your phone can run our app (and most smartphones can), you can begin collecting free AR NFTs, trading them with others and experiencing them in our metaverse viewer today.
While it would be nice, we’re not expecting a billion users overnight. But, slowly but surely, Hololoot can help show the world that NFTs are more than just expensive pictures of apes. NFTs have so much to offer, and AR NFTs can take advantage of two distinct trends in technology to bring the reach of both to more and more users.
Want to know what the future of NFTs looks like? Download Hololoot today and experience it for yourself 😉
