I've heard a lot of people say that 2020 will be remembered as the "year of the NFT."
It's true, a lot of the most solid non-fungible token projects began in 2020, in spite of the widespread chaos that many would say was unfolding in the IRL world. Bitcoin grew not only to all-time highs, but to the greatest level of awareness among the general populace that it has yet seen. Mainstream social media companies continued their marches toward total domination over human attention, and all the while, decentralized companies, distributed networks and web 3.0 solutions were undermining their power and rising to glory at an uncanny pace.
Time has moved slowly in the world of blockchain development, as often happens when huge strides forward are being made. It was in the year 2020 that NFT art exploded onto the world scene, with new collectors, investors and platforms popping up everywhere while the longer established ones grew in popularity. NFT collectibles followed quickly, which paved the way for collectibles with utility. While many companies out of the spotlight had been adding value and utility to their NFTs for years already (Splinterlands comes to mind), the WAX blockchain deserves a great deal of the credit for earning world attention.
WAX - The Best Blockchain for NFT Startups
I watched the WAX blockchain flourish in amazing ways throughout the year 2020. It was only as recent as early last year that they launched the first blockchain trading card through an official and well-known trading card brand: Topps Digital. I'm talking about GPK-1 (Garbage Pail Kids). I recognized this move as a historic event, as it represented at least the counterculture level of the mainstream realizing the power of blockchain. I bought some of the Series 1 GPK cards and I was quickly hooked, knowing that my future would be heavily centered around the digital collectibles industry.
It became a strong mission of mine to spread the word about not only Splinterlands, the leading blockchain trading card game for which I'm the Content Director, but about many other projects in this space that all help to realize the same goal. That goal is difficult to put into simple words, but it's something about taking control over our possessions once again. There is something important about the security, provable ownership, and immutability that make blockchains truly unique when it comes to owning things. A way that I often like to explain it to people who have nothing to do with the space is that blockchains provide a built in certificate of authenticity. They also provide total security (as long as you protect your keys) and perpetual mint condition. I realized some three years ago that blockchains were especially ideal for collectibles, for which physicality presents many obstacles and challenges. I wasn't the only one to realize this, and now larger and larger companies are seeing the value and trust that blockchains can bring to their projects.
On the WAX Atomic Assets standard, truly amazing things are possible with NFTs, and we have barely begun exploring the multitude of applications and possibilities. Thanks to WAX developments and innovations by companies like AtomicHub and Bountyblok, NFTs on WAX can not only be minted with ease , but distributed, dropped, backed, staked, burned, bridged, transferred and more.
It also hasn't hurt for WAX that throughout the year 2020, Ethereum was dealing with crippling network fees. Ethereum fans have become used to these "gas" fees when sending money, claiming NFTs, even sending assets to other wallets. Many users of Ethereum-based platforms simply accepted these because they didn't know anything better was available. They slowly began to realize that there were several alternative blockchains that used transactions with built-in network costs, like WAX and HIVE. To the user, these blockchains offer fast and free transactions, strong communities and development that is in many cases, easier than Ethereum. Sadly, many of the strong projects that were built on Ethereum with no backup plan paid the ultimate price and met their demise at the brutal hands of these gas costs in 2020. Still, the many projects built on WAX and HIVE continue to thrive with consistent and sustainable growth. Ethereum has 2nd layer solutions that reduce these fees (such as the Matic Network), and promises of Ethereum 2.0 somewhere on the horizon, but unfortunately it may be already be too late for them to maintain majority control over the NFT space.
What Fortune will WAX Bring?
I'd like you to draw your own conclusions about this. I'll finish this article by telling you about one particular new project on WAX that has caught my attention in the last few days alone. It is a simple project, unlike the huge and promising KOGs by Red Fox Labs or the high-dollar powerhouse of gaming, Alien Worlds. It has not had the hype of the William Shatner NFT trading cards of last summer, or the excitement and multiple successful releases of Blockchain Heroes, led by the gentlemen of the Bad Crypto Podcast.
I'm talking about a small project that was created recently by another Chris in the industry that I know and respect. If you've been around, you've probably come across one of his ideas or projects in one way or another. If you're on WAX, chances are you've even received a free NFT from him. Chris (aka @BlockchainCards) loves collectibles.
NFT Fortune Cookies
Like I said, the idea is simple. Beautifully simple. I have loved learning about it and getting involved because to me it represents NFTs achieving new levels of outside the box thinking. I knew this was coming. I even had the passing thought of fortune cookies myself a few months ago, and I was psyched to see that Blockchain Cards was the first to make them a reality.
For $5, you can have fun and fortunes all year long.
HOW IT WORKS
First, you buy a box of Fortune Cookies on Atomic Hub at THIS LINK. The supply of these boxes is limited to only 1000, so chances are you'll only have a few weeks at most to pick up a box for yourself. Each account can purchase up to 5 for $5 each.
That's it! Once you have a 2021 Fortune Cookie Pack NFT in your wallet, you will begin receiving daily drops of NFT fortune cookies. Some will be rare, some will be special, and some will just be daily fortunes.
What I love about this is (just like any NFT), ultimate dollar value is decided by the market. I was happy to buy a couple of these Packs simply for the fun of it, and that's how I know that this will be a successful endeavor. When these things are created as money grabs and nothing more, they always have a long, uphill battle to success. When the creator starts with adding value (beyond money) to the project, success is much easier to find. In the case of these fortune cookies, the value is in the fun of the collection. I am excited to know when the next one will come, what its rarity and mint number will be, and most importantly, what it will say. Of course, I've always been a fan of wise words and quips, and I've always been fascinated by fortune cookies.
I hope that in the future this collection is able to expand the fortune cookie idea into even more fun applications. I personally would buy single fortune cookies for a buck or 2 that you could crack open to reveal a RNG fortune NFT inside. Imagine taking it even further and having actual physical fortune cookies made. Instead of fortunes, these cookies could contain unique redemption codes for special NFTs. That way, ownership of the NFT within is a surprise and stays protected in the cookie until the cookie is destroyed. I love playing around with ideas like these, showing people the some of the vast possibilities of playing with the ideas of physical and digital, as well as intermingling of the two.
Consider this: The people who had the cookie boxes before anyone else will get the rarest cookies. For example, I was one of the first 50 collectors to pick up a pack. Because only as many cookies are minted as there are boxes to hold them, every cookie I have been dropped so far have been total mints of less than 100.
This morning I even woke up to the awesome surprise of seeing a mint 1 of 1 special Fortune Cookie in my WAX wallet. Check it out!
These NFT Fortune Cookie Packs are available only on Atomic Hub, and in limited quantity, so hurry and pick yours up! It's only been a few days, but I've already been dropped 4 unique cookies! Take a look below :) I think this will certainly heat up as a collector's set throughout 2021. I for one know that I'm going to have a blast collecting my favorites!
I had to buy this one off the market because I wasn't going to miss out on the "Genesis Cookie."
That's the rundown! Just a fun little project and a great example of where WAX, Atomic Assets and NFTs are headed in 2021. Have fun!
For the announcement post on HIVE, check out THIS POST from @Reseller
Thanks for reading NON-FUNGIBLE STEW - I wish you good fortune throughout 2021!
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