As a significant number of us increasingly spend more of our time immersed in the digital world, combing things from our physical world to this digital world becomes an inevitable phase. Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have emerged as a groundbreaking concept, revolutionizing the way we perceive ownership and the value of digital assets. However, the true potential of NFTs lies in their ability to merge seamlessly with the physical world, transcending the boundaries of the digital realm and representing entities in the physical realm. Let’s explore how combining NFTs with the physical realm can lead us into a new era of possibilities.
NFTs Redefining Ownership
Owning Digital Art: A Paradigm Shift
NFTs have breathed new life into the art world, offering creators a novel way to showcase their digital masterpieces. By minting their artwork as NFTs, artists can assert their ownership, authenticity, and uniqueness over their creations. However, this isn’t limited to digital art even though the trend did begin with it. By minting NFTs on the blockchain and pairing them with special Type-4 secure unclonable NFC tags as we offer with the Qliktag solution, these can be applied to physical art in an inextricable way allowing art buyers & others to authenticate the artwork but also be able to digitally trade it, transfer ownership, manage royalty and more through digital smart contracts. Furthermore, physical art NFTs introduce a sense of exclusivity, as owning the original piece becomes a prestigious badge for collectors and enthusiasts alike. The technology effectively enables physical art to be brought into the digital economy.
Tokenizing Real-World Assets: Expanding Possibilities
Beyond the digital art domain, NFTs have unlocked the potential of tokenizing real-world assets. Imagine owning a digital representation of a luxury watch, a rare vintage car, or a historic landmark. The ability to incorporate custom smart contracts within through combining NFTs with NFC tags ensures the link between the physical asset and the NFT ownership can not be replicated, shared like common URL links or even accessed without the physical asset or being within it’s presence. This combination of NFT + NFC + SmartContract + Physical Asset opens up several possibilities such as fractional ownership of assets, unlocking digital features or content exclusively to owners who hold NFT proof of ownership, verification of delivery for physical products sold initially as digital tokens within games or the metaverse, digital trading & ownership transfer of physical assets and so much more.
What we have been focussing on with creating the Qliktag solution, is being able to create secure, unclonable links between the physical item and the digital world – and this is key to all these application areas.
Combining NFTs and the Physical World
Augmented Digital Experiences with NFT + NFC
One of the many applications we are seeing emerge is with merging NFTs combined with NFC with the physical world is through augmented digital experiences and capabilities. Imagine purchasing a fan jersey of your favorite soccer team with an NFC chip stitched into the jersey fabric. Now, imagine being able to tap it with your phone, using your NFT token within the phone wallet to verify you are the owner of this jersey and as a result, it unlocks exclusive content like video recorded messages from players on the team, a schedule of the upcoming matches, discounts for seats for the next season or behind the scenes insights from the club. This immersive experience blurs the lines between the virtual and real, enhancing the overall value of the product to the consumer and creating more personalized experiences.
Physical NFT + NFC Applications Elevating Gaming, Metaverse & Virtual World Experiences
Integration of NFTs with physical assets combined with secure NFC links also opens up endless possibilities in gaming, metaverse virtual worlds and entertainment. Imagine purchasing a unique design jacket for your avatar within a game online and receiving an NFT token in your wallet indicating your digital ownership of that jacket. Then, the physical jacket based on that exact design is shipped to you in the real world, you can use the NFC tag embedded in the jacket to verify it is the same one linked to your NFT and online avatar and have the same jacket both in the digital realm and real world. Imagine winning an esports event like an online multi player Formula 1 race, receiving the the online trophy with an NFT transferred to your wallet followed up by the physical version of that prize trophy being delivered to you and being able to use the NFC embedded in the trophy to authenticate you are the official holder of this title both online and IRL.
Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Beyond art and entertainment, Physical NFTs + NFC can play a pivotal role in enhancing supply chain management. By tokenizing physical goods and tracking their journey through the supply chain, transparency, traceability and authenticity can be ensured and made easily accessible to the consumer without the need to download apps. Consumers can have full visibility into the origin, manufacturing processes, and ethical practices behind the products they purchase. With lower volume higher value products, the NFC combined with secure login can be used by entities within the supply chain to update information about the physical item as it moved and changes hands within its journey to the consumer and even beyond. It can be used to track physical custody of returnable or reusable physical items and play a part in reducing wastage or promoting use cases within the sharing economy where custody of a physical asset needs to be maintained and updated digitally as the item moves through the physical realm.
We are moving towards a Digital-Physical hybrid world
In conclusion, the amalgamation of NFTs with the physical world through secure NFC links marks a new chapter in the digital era. From redefining ownership, incorporating smart contracts and revolutionizing physical asset management to enhancing experiences and creating a more transparent world, the potential of physical NFTs transcends the boundaries of imagination. As we embrace this transformative technology, we embark on a journey towards a more integrated experience between the digital and physical realms incorporating the capabilities of both seamlessly within our daily lives.
