Ethereum’s Buterin Argues for Greater NFT Utility

In the crypto world, NFTs are the art galleries of finance. They allow investors to buy into another form of art that will gain value and hopefully produce a profit in the future. Now, the conversation is turning to how NFTs will look in the metaverse or within certain gaming arenas. Vitalik Buterin of Ethereum is looking at how to increase the utility of NFTs, pointing out a unique idea that comes from, of all places, World of Warcraft. In World of Warcraft, soulbound items are obtained when you complete difficult tasks or kill powerful beings. These items cannot be purchased at all, and that makes the game more interesting. Players must work hard to find these items and take them away from a character or monster. Buterin recently asked, “what if we want to create NFTs that are not just about who has the most money, and that actually try to signal something else?” He went on to note that proof of attendance protocol would be a good example, “POAP is a standard by which projects can send NFTs that represents the idea that the recipient personally participated in some event.” This type of NFT would be non-transferable and offer a new space in the market that would generate billions in revenue. At press time, Ethereum was trading at more than $2470, down almost 4% on increasing volume and a shrinking market cap.