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  • The Crypto Thesis 2023 🕵🏻 - DAY 5

The Crypto Thesis 2023 🕵🏻 - DAY 5

Lets find 🔎 out the trends of 2023

GM Guys and Gals, 

As we are on the trail on covering the awesome crypto thesis - Here we are with the 5th Day where we'll cover Top 3 Trends in NFTs 🚀

Top 3 Trends in NFTs 

1. Generative Arts 🎨

I understand digital art slightly better than I do PFPs. Art Blocks, the “premiere” generative art NFT collection, is the fourth largest NFT project by volume, and its various collections represent four of the top twenty collections by floor price.

Art Blocks sells things like pictures of squiggles for thousands of U.S. dollars that less enlightened heathens might otherwise use for things like food and shelter.

The NFTs look like this: 

Art is art, and its value is in the eye of the beholder, and the market. I also get that most physical and digital art pieces are Veblen goods, so I cringe conceptually as to why these things have exploded.

But that’s not why I’m writing about literal squiggles. Instead, I try my best to find the innovation that’s buried under the surface of the toys.

For generative art, it could be AI-generated NFTs that combine to create game assets, characters, icons/designs, music, content, etc. and secure all of that prompt-driven IP. Think of a designer or copywriter proficient in GPT-3 prompts that wants to secure all iterations of a creative work or mark.

A photographer will take many photos and select one. Likewise, generative artists will tweak images with computer code and sell the best of the bunch. Or you might be able to combine NFTs and have generative art reputation NFTs that look and feel “elite.”

Much like a military officer’s regalia, you can use these as pictures that speak a 1,000 words about your background, character traits, community, skills, and accomplishments.

2. The Institutions 🏫 Are Here, Just Not the Ones We Expected

NFTs proved to be big business for big brands last year. Luxury brands (Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana), professional sports leagues (NBA Top Shots), and food and beverage companies (Starbucks) alike all hopped aboard the NFT hype train, and the low marginal cost (windfall profit) products it gave them last year when the market was hot.

Fashion may be going digital the fastest. Though digital fashion is not a new phenomenon in-game virtual goods and skins is now a $50 billion market - tokenised fashion opens up a world of new opportunities for brands.

I’m more excited for brands and artists than I am for speculators. I think the mini-era of NFTs as “investments” is largely over. The era of NFTs as digital “consumables” is just getting started.

3. The CryptoVerse 🔥

Using an Oculus for the first time and building that blue virtual mesh cage around myself was one of the coolest tech experiences I’ve ever had.

We’ll continue to cover the crypto metaverse, but I’m only likely to buy land in the metaverse if a distressed Decentraland plot comes on to the market.

Otherwise, one of the only apps I’ve been intrigued by is Decentral Games, a DAO with crypto metaverse poker rooms with a real business model that does $2 million / year in fees.

Though with less disposable income, cryptoverse players aren’t biting as often...that $2 million fee figure is down from a $36 million pace in Q1. Ouch.

I remain bullish 📈 on our AR/VR future, but I’m not about to bet the farm on it happening any time soon. The people who have done that have gotten their faces blown off this year.

The Series comes to an end. In-depth analysis 🔎 coming from tomorrow onwards.

That's it for the day, Web3Shala 👋

To the moon 🪐LFG 🚀