The Most Promising Non-Art Use Cases for NFTs
Authored by Elijah Pollack, Content & Strategy Associate at Ditto PR.
When most people hear “NFT,” they think of one of the thousands of digital art collections found on a number of blockchains. Some projects, such as BAYC, CryptoPunks and Doodles, found mainstream success, further popularizing NFTs and increasing adoption of the technology. But what many people don’t realize is that there’s more to NFT technology than just art. NFT technology can be applied to a wide variety of industries and situations that can benefit people in the long run. Here are some of the ways NFT technology can be used outside of art.
Ticketing
With NFT ticketing, event planners, airlines or whoever is distributing tickets can mint a finite amount of tickets on their blockchain of choice. From there, they can decide if they want the tickets to be non-transferable, and how much they cost. This can help prevent fraud, as with blockchain there is an immutable ledger of any NFTs’ previous transaction history.
Companies to watch: SeatlabNFT, Relic Tickets, DeFy Tickets
Gaming
In a game like World of Warcraft, the in-game items you possess don’t actually belong to you. They exist on the game developer’s servers, and your access to them is at the whims of the company. For games with NFT integration, you own the items in your crypto wallet, which is hosted separately from the game’s servers. If you are banned from the game, or its servers go down, you still keep those items.
Companies to watch: InfiniGods, Sandbox, Gods Unchained
Physical object verification
Products often have the “Made in x” label, but there’s hardly ever a way to verify the truth behind that statement. When you buy over-the-counter medicine or food products, knowing the entire manufacturing and shipping process can help prevent you from getting faulty or fake products. Imagine anything you buy having a QR code — tied to an immutable NFT — that you scan, and it pulls up the entire transportation and manufacturing history of a specific product. Some fashion brands are already doing this, with a certificate of authenticity coming with their purchases.
Companies to watch: Americana Technologies, Tappan, Oodles Technologies
Real estate
Anyone who has ever tried to invest in real estate, buy or even rent a property knows that it can be a long and arduous process. There are background checks, property inspections, and most importantly, it’s extremely expensive! The use of NFTs can help minimize or erase a lot of the problems involved with modern real estate. The most straightforward use for NFTs in real estate is using them to verify ownership of the property. All you need is your wallet and you can pull up the deed to the house, instead of having to keep track of a little piece of paper.
Companies to watch: AssetBlock, SafeWire, DigiShares
Medical records
When you move across the country or switch insurance providers, your medical records have to be transferred between providers, doctors offices and hospitals. This always runs the risk of records being lost, tampered with or switched with another patient (it happens!). NFTs can store medical records in a way where they won’t be falsified or tampered with. They can be validated multiple times on different nodes before being finalized, ensuring that the information is correct. This creates a safe, secure, yet still accessible way for patients to store their data, and have it transferred to the appropriate parties when deemed necessary.
Companies to watch: MAPay, MedicalChain, BurstIQ
