3 Collectors Tell Us Why They Are Bullish On NFTs
We’ve all heard of them by now. Whether they’re at the top of your Christmas list, or you’re sick to death of your mates banging on about them (or stressing about the bear market, for that matter); most of us have a gist about what NFTs do. Something to do with an ape and a wallet, right? But why are collectors bullish on NFTs?
For anyone who’s still not sure, don’t stress. Let’s run through the basics quickly.
What are NFTs?
NFT stands for non-fungible token. This means it’s a unique token (in this case a digital one) which can’t be replaced with anything else. NFTs can be used to verify ownership of both physical and digital property. They can be traded as assets, or held in a digital wallet.
Why are collectors bullish on NFTs?
Why do collectors buy NFTs? What do collectors look for in NFTs? What makes an NFT collection successful? What determines if an NFT is valuable?
To answer all our burning questions, we turned to the experts: collectors themselves. Meta Hollywood spoke with Amanda Archer, Hollywood publicist, producer, and CEO & Founder of Web3 development incubator, Women of the Metaverse (WOTM); Matthew Milner, Web 3 Marketing Manager and Team Leader at UK based Web 3 consultancy ITMV; and Kyle Klemer, COO/Co-Founder of Mech.com.
As well as working in Web 3, Amanda, Matt and Kyle share a mutual love of collecting NFTs.
Here’s what they had to say…
MH: When did you first become interested in NFTs, and why are you bullish on them?
Matt: I first became aware of NFTs in April 2021, I was working for an art gallery at the time and had heard whispers from artists about NFTs. I’m bullish on NFTs as I recognize the potential that the technology can unlock in the future.
A lot of people think NFTs are a fad, just crypto bros selling pictures of animals, but blockchain technology unlocks a way to eradicate fraud going forward.
MH: Tell us about the first NFT you bought?
Amanda: The first NFT I bought was land in the Sandbox. I bought it as an investment for my company, Women of the Metaverse. Buying space in the metaverse is like buying land in the olden days. Although all NFTs have gone down, I’ll hold onto it and see if my theory is correct in ten years.
Kyle: I started purchasing NFTs in 2020. Just random collections that I thought the art was cool.
MH: In your opinion, what makes an NFT collection successful – and what do you look for before you buy NFTs?
Kyle: The landscape around NFTs has changed quite a bit. Community is everything when it comes to NFTs after that it’s utility. NFTs now need to serve a purpose and actually do something. Buying an NFT simply for association doesn’t hold the same value now as it once did. Before I purchase an NFT I like to see the roadmap and based on my experience rate whether or not they are able to deliver. The art is something I like with NFTs as I’m a fan of cool design. And if it’s a Metaverse NFT, I want to understand the gameplay mechanisms as well.
Matt: To me, it’s commitment from the founders and team behind it. The ‘floor price’ is often regarded as the most important thing, but that’s just one small part of what’s important. Some ‘low value’ NFTs have super active communities and DAOs inside them, meaning that creatives, tech heads, marketers, and more are all connecting. It’s a bit like a beehive!
MH: Thoughts around mass adoption of NFTs – what needs to happen?
Amanda: Just this week Apple announced they will support NFT transactions. The price is high at 30% to Apple…but is this the cost of mass adoption? I think Meta will be charging a similar percentage. For mass adoption, these big players need to be compatible and it seems they are.
But is the price too high for independent businesses who are NFT focused? understand for Nike that’s ok, as NFTs are an add-on to their core business. For companies like mine who are NFT and Web 3 focused, we will need to remain robust and filter our community through our own marketplace.
Matt: For me, it’s education. People need to learn about the tech behind NFTs. I also think we need to ditch the word NFT, as it’s become a bit of a dirty word. We are starting to see slow adoption with brands getting involved, but with the space being so new, many brands are getting it wrong. I think that because of this, that people do not take NFTs as seriously as they should.
MH: What do you think the future holds for NFTs?
Amanda: NFTs will be everywhere. It’s just a matter of making sense of it to the general market by giving IRL day to day uses.
We’ll see a good use case in concert ticketing. You get the concert and the digital token you have as a keepsake.
I would love to have the concert ticket from my first U2 concert when I was 13 years old in my digital wallet. This adds value to the experience.
Matt: I think the PFP projects will begin to fade away (with only the strong ones staying) and we’ll start to see real NFT utility projects launched. Things that come to my mind are: DLC for video games, tickets for concerts, season passes for football.
MH: The last few months have been rough for the market – did you sell or hold your tokens and why?
Amanda: I did nothing… HODL (hold on for deal life) as they say! It didn’t make sense to me to sell at the lowest, knowing that behind the scenes, the Web 3 market was being onboarded by multinational brands like Gucci and Visa.
MH: Finally – What are your predictions for the market in the next year or so?
Amanda: I hope for a slow and steady rise! The market needs to show its value and we can do that by bringing these utility rich projects to life.
Kyle: We will continue to see prices drop as the world copes with macroeconomic factors. Next year, things will begin to level off and slowly begin to climb up. Mid to late 2024 is when the magic will happen.
Matt: It’s incredibly hard to predict. I think we’ll see major growth after the next Bitcoin halving in 2024, so in my opinion, 2023 should be a time for development and building.
