How Capsid is bringing utility to NFTs through non-fungible rights
Xoogler.co Founder Stories
Today, one of the leading discussions around artwork and collectible NFTs is their lack of utility. There is a lot of publicity and excitement around NFT art projects like CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club, yet there is no way for the owners of these NFTs to effectively monetize their NFT artwork. Capsid empowers NFT owners to generate income from issuing “Non-Fungible Rights (NFRs)” and grants borrowers the right to use the NFT.
Brian Zhou co-founded Capsid with the intent to bring utility to NFTs. We sat down with Brian to discuss what inspired him to build Capsid, the experience building NFRs, and what’s next.
Capsid recently launched the first-ever NFR marketplace and is actively hiring a marketing lead and engineers. If you are a Xoogler and interested, please reach out to Brian on Twitter!
NFTs are the future
Prior to founding Capsid, Brian worked as a technical lead at YouTube. Then he began thinking about where the future of technology is headed.
“When I look at the next generation, I realize they spend more and more time in the virtual world. Right now, this takes the form of Fortnite, Roblox, and so on. I realized the metaverse and digital world are playing a growing role in next-gen life. And what is the standard of an asset in the virtual world? An NFT.
In 10 years, I see the metaverse having NFTs that are not just jpgs– but also music, rights, characters, virtual money, and more. Seeing this evolution is where I became bullish on the digital economy and looked to build in the space.”
The need for NFT utility
Part of why NFTs have so much attention and money today is because of the prospects of their exciting future use cases. But today, these use cases are limited– especially in the artwork and collectible NFT space. This is where Capsid non-fungible rights come into play. Capsid creates the infrastructure to allow NFT owners to issue rights to their NFTs and monetize off of their use. For example, if you own a Bored Ape NFT, you can issue the right for someone else to use it in a commercial, turn it into a patent, create merch, write a story, and so on.
Launching NFRs
Capsid has been preparing to launch the world’s first NFR marketplace, which grants users two new NFT use cases. NFRs generate revenue for renting NFTs. NFRs create a proof of right to use NFTs, such as creating merch, renting access to token-gated communities, and other borrowing needs.
“Right now, many NFTs have no utility. NFRs create this missing utility, and so far we have received positive feedback. We currently have around 100 blue chip NFT holders registered and are building collaborations with various fashion brands.
What’s next
Now Capsid is getting ready to launch their NFR marketplace, onboard more partners, and hire.
Digital Fashion and wearable NFTs are one of our focus in the coming quarters. They are hiring for multiple roles including a marketing lead. If you are a Xoogler interested in working at Capsid, reach out. Keep an eye on Capsid twitter and Capsid NFT twitter for updates!
More about Brian
Brian is a SJTU and UChicago alumni. Before founding Capsid, he was solving technical problems at YouTube. Meanwhile, he is an active member of Azuki, Doodles, BAYC and Mfers. Favorite NFT project was Loot. Also a fan of AIGC and working on consolidating that into the Capsid daily workflow. Follow him on twitter: @brianzzz95
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Xoogler.co Founder Stories Series
Xoogler.co Founder Stories features various Xoogler founders and highlights their journey, share their learning experiences along the way, and showcase the exciting ideas each founder pursued after leaving Google. Be sure to follow us for upcoming Founder Stories!
