Why do we need customisable NFTs?
NFTs have become a new paradigm for short form media over the last two years and really hit the mainstream.
Many brands, celebrities and traditional artists have found this new medium to be an incredible way to connect to their audiences whilst making revenue without needing an intermediary that takes a huge cut.
Whilst this new form of technology (and we must remember, this is a technology, not a monkey picture) has had many critics and downsides - such as scams and IP infringement - overall, the Genie (NFTs) is out of the bottle, and it won’t ever go back in.
We are now, however, moving into a period where the market has pulled back and the previous euphoria has quelled.
It has squeezed every bit of the lemon that is in retail, and enthusiasm from creators has started to wane.
This is normal on the bleeding edge. Something cool, new and shiny appears - and everyone wants to do it. But when everyone does it, it’s no longer cool, new and shiny - and by that time - hello market saturation.
There have of course been hints as to what NFTs may become and how they will evolve. But right now, the market feels as though it needs novelty and fewer copycat projects.
Currently, there are many, many different types of NFTs that can do incredibly interesting things.
Music NFTs, membership NFTs, NFTs that give you early access to content or events, digital memorabilia, NFTs that prove ownership of physical things and much more.
But *the* thing that caught fire in this bull market were PFPs (Profile Pictures).
The monkey pictures referenced earlier?
Yep - those.
There are a plethora of reasons why they have done extremely well.
Digital identities became more important as the Covid-19 pandemic forced humans to use screens in increasing amounts - and that may have been the first in a chain of events that created this mainstream phenomenon.
Whilst status and symbolism have been so important in the physical world - it’s something that was not as prevalent from a digital perspective beyond social media. So far this has been contained to posts on Instagram, videos on Tik Tok and such. Never before have humans been able to own something digitally, showcase it and be proud of owning something that they identify with.
PFPs so far, have seen creators (mostly) make a batch of 10,000 characters or images that are based on a set amount of traits that vary in rarity. These traits, colour and such are all designed by the artist, creator or team and then randomised. The randomisation will then create 10,000 NFTs that rank from a rarity perspective.
That’s the playbook so far for PFP NFTs.
And whilst there has been some innovation - this is still the norm.
When you lay it out - people identifying with randomised artwork is a phenomenon in itself.
Your appetite to buy an NFT that resembles something you identify with has been randomly generated to a great extent. Strange, right?
But…what if we could customise our NFTs?
In theory, fully customisable NFTs sound great. But they are littered with issues that perhaps contradict the values that have made NFTs so popular today.
If an NFT is customised completely, it risks taking itself out of the market.
If you sculpt an NFT to look and feel like you or something you love, it may not have any value to anyone else. Thus rendering it pretty much completely illiquid.
There are also the very considerable issues of rarity, scarcity and misrepresentation that could be stumbling blocks for fully customisable NFTs
With all that being said, people in crypto clearly do like customisation.
ENS Domains are a great example. Soulcast.eth feels a lot better than a line of randomised characters. It gives the user a greater connection to their digital identity and the assets in their wallet.
So we’re at a point where the PFP market is saturated with copy-and-paste projects that want nothing but quick cash, and collectors also want customisation.
There are good reasons to believe that full customisation without a well thought out economic design will not work for NFTs…so what’s the solution?
A solution for this could be creating customisable NFTs that are not fully bespoke.
Imagine a lego set in NFT form.
10,000 lego pieces that you can use to customise any suitable item you like and then click mint. Or even ‘unmint’ if you want your lego back.
The 10,000 lego pieces are pre-created by one or more artists, with awesome designs on them that can be used in an abundance of combinations.
Here, collectors can create something that they have ‘built’ and identify with, without removing the ability to sell on the secondary market, whilst artists can create the core items and customisations, expanding their use over time.
Without creating something ‘too personable’ that somebody else can identify with.
This in essence is what we’re trying to create at Soulcast.
A platform that allows you to express yourself through your own creativity, combined with the flair and magic of an artist’s predetermined palette.
Thanks for reading!
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