Crypto index provider CF Benchmarks posted this poll on LinkedIn:
As NFTs increasingly enter the mainstream and investment rises, which NFT category do you think will grow the most next year?
- Profile photos
- Sport
- Music
- Gaming
It’s an interesting question right now and I thought I’d share my thoughts.
Profile photos
Meta has plans to bring NFTs to more people via Instagram. Profile photo NFTs could become much bigger if they were part of that. Conceptually, though, PFPs still appear confined to a rather narrow niche.
Sport
Sports NFTs might go totally sideways in the wake of FTX. In case you missed it, FTX was one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world prior to its massive implosion due to unconscionable levels of fiscal mismanagement.
Unfortunately, FTX had significant involvement with pro sports. They own the naming rights to the NBA arena in Miami. They’re advertisers with the MLB. They ran a Super Bowl ad. They even used mega sports stars like Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Shaquille O’Neal, and Naomi Osaka as brand ambassadors.
Sports NFTs are perhaps not directly affected by the FTX fiasco, but the short term outlook is still bleak.
Music
The success of music NFTs hinges on the growth of the platforms that enable them (eg. Audius). There are cool platforms out there but they aren’t differentiated. Unless we see a surprise catalyst, such as adoption by a major mainstream music platform (Spotify had been testing NFTs this year), I think music NFTs need more time in the oven. It’s an exciting space to watch and I forecast slow and steady short term growth.
Gaming
In late 2021, gaming giant Electronic Arts called NFTs “the future of our industry”. They were right on the verge of dropping their first NFTs in early 2022 when anti-crypto activists scared them off.
EA (and probably other mainstream game companies) are fully-prepared to release NFTs when the time is right. Will that happen next year? Who knows.
As mainstream game companies fail to deliver, web3 native games like Gods Unchained and metaverse spaces like Decentraland continue to grow their footprint. With more quality NFT gaming experiences popping up all the time, plus the emergence of innovative new retail venues like GameStop’s web3 gaming NFT marketplace (currently in beta), it’s easy to see the potential for huge upticks in adoption and investment.
Which NFT type will grow most in 2023?
Gaming NFTs are the obvious pick.
It’s interesting how the gamut of NFT types, like wearables and in-game items, PFPs, art, music, etc., are all converging in game and metaverse environments. I suppose they’re all part of one bigger system far far greater than the sum of its parts.