Non-fungible TokenCON 2024 highlights review: The NFT market is in a period of consolidation, and innovative application scenarios are key

Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs) have experienced ups and downs in the market, gradually showcasing their unique charm and unlimited potential as a new category of digital assets. As a highly scalable digital asset, NFTs are gradually showing great market prospects in consumer applications. They not only provide proof of ownership for digital assets, providing consumers with strong ownership protection, but also play an important role in promoting the diversification and personalization of digital assets.

On the eve of the DevCon Summit, the first global Non-fungible Token Developer Summit “Non-fungible TokenCON 2024” jointly sponsored by PANews and Non-fungible TokenScan was officially held in Bangkok, Thailand on November 11. This event brought together world-renowned non-fungible token projects and senior encryption practitioners such as Animoca Brands, Mask Network, Mint Blockchain, BNB Chain, Pudgy Penguins, PANONY, UniSat and Movement Labs. It is widely used in the fields of culture, business and social charity, and deeply explores the development status and future opportunities of Non-fungible Token.

The prospect of Non-fungible Tokens is still optimistic and urgently needs to explore new rise paths

In the past few years, Non-fungible Tokens have been followed by artists, technology experts, and investors, opening up new ways for creators to profit and bringing unique digital assets to collectors, allowing the public to glimpse the immense potential of blockchain technology. Although the current Non-fungible Token market faces many challenges and uncertainties, multiple core indicators show that the market is gradually stabilizing. At the same time, the ecosystem of Non-fungible Tokens is quietly changing due to market demand, intense platform competition, and evolving narrative trends, indicating that the existing Non-fungible Token system urgently needs new empowerment and innovation. The combination of some innovative paths brings more development opportunities, such as Decentralized Finance, RWA, consumer applications, and public chains.

PANews released its latest industry report on Non-fungible Token during the event, which provides an in-depth analysis of the current development status of the Non-fungible Token market and explores potential paths for its sustainable development, helping everyone to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the complexity of the Non-fungible Token market and insight into its possible future innovative paths.

Rose, the head of Mint Blockchain ecosystem, further pointed out that despite some pessimism in the market about the prospects of Non-fungible Tokens, the market has not disappeared and is evolving. Ecosystems such as Solana and L2 (such as OP Mainnet, Base, and Mint Blockchain) are gradually becoming the main forces in Non-fungible Token activities, indicating that developers and Non-fungible Token creators are shifting their focus to other ecosystems.

She also revealed that after the Mint Blockchain mainnet went live, it gradually joined the OP Superchain ecosystem, with over 5 million active users and an on-chain volume exceeding 10 million transactions. The Mint Blockchain ecosystem mainly focuses on three major aspects: Non-fungible Token applications (such as games, Decentralized Finance, and social), Non-fungible Token passes, and simplified Non-fungible Token creation.

In the keynote speech on ‘The Future of Decentralized Social’, Mask Network founder Suji Yan reviewed the history of cryptocurrency and cyberspace, pointing out that the emergence of BTC represents a global financial freedom movement independent of any single government. Both BTC and Non-fungible Tokens are products of this decentralization revolution. 'In the new digital world, Non-fungible Tokens are not just financial instruments, but tools for independence, freedom, and revolution, helping us redefine the value and power of cyberspace. In the future, we may see new forms of nation, new social protocols, and even new cultural movements based on Non-fungible Tokens.

With the continuous development of underlying technology, Non-fungible Tokens, combined with technological innovations such as Cross-Chain Interaction and L2, are further enhancing their applications in diverse scenarios, giving rise to new business models and economic ecosystems. At the roundtable on ‘How Non-fungible Token Underlying Technology Expands to Diverse Use Cases’, Sarah, Business Development Manager of BNB Chain, stated, ‘We need to truly consider how to apply Non-fungible Tokens to our daily lives and find practical use cases, especially now that we see many consumer DApps trying to guide Web 2 users to Web 3, whether it’s IP-related, content, game projects, or even digital identity. Overall, I think the future of Non-fungible Tokens will find broader applications in real use cases.’

Pharos Network co-founder Wishlonger also believes that although PFP Non-fungible Tokens have been mainstream in the market, innovation is limited. Returning to the essence of Non-fungible Tokens, it is a tool that can be used to create new value. He believes that Non-fungible Tokens can serve as the entry point for Web3, helping new users enter this field.

RareShop’s Chief Operating Officer Fries added that the true potential of Non-fungible Tokens is not limited to just PFP avatars, but rather in how to integrate Non-fungible Tokens with real-world assets. For example, Non-fungible Tokens can be applied to tickets, artwork, fashion, real estate, and even the investment field, all of which could be the next growth point for Non-fungible Token applications.

“By combining the strengths of Web3 and Web2, it will be possible to drive mass adoption and adoption.” Cheryl Law, Head of Asia Pacific at Pudgy Penguins, shared the rapid growth and brand expansion of Pudgy Penguins at the event. She disclosed that in the past, Pudgy Penguins has increased brand value and market penetration through philanthropic activities, community building and partnerships with well-known brands. For example, Pudgy Penguins collaborated with Walmart to launch toys, all of which were sold out within 5 seconds, and QR code technology to combine toys and Block chains to enable a digital experience for toys.

NFT Breakthrough: Dual Empowerment of Brand Culture and Business

When talking about the future of Non-fungible Tokens, Victor Zhang, Co-founder of Smart Token Labs, said during a panel discussion that although the Non-fungible Token market is still speculative, more and more projects are starting to focus on the utility of Non-fungible Tokens, such as Non-fungible Token membership cards, Non-fungible Token tickets, and Non-fungible Token physical products integrated with e-commerce. In addition, FTs are often limited to specific blockchains or ecosystems, which restrict their use cases and value. Jasmine Tran, Project Manager of Dagora, also believes that in the future, Non-fungible Tokens will not only be collectibles, but there will be more innovative applications with utility at their core, especially those combined with traditional brands.

Sebastien Borget, co-founder and COO of The Sandbox, further illustrated that the application of Non-fungible Tokens in the gaming industry is booming. For example, the integration with Telegram network and multi-platform support enable games to reach a large number of users, promoting the wide application of Non-fungible Tokens in the gaming field. The potential of Non-fungible Tokens in the tokenization of real assets is also gradually being explored.

Movement Labs ecosystem leader Grant Gerbeg, on the future challenges of Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs), pointed out that the expansion of the NFT community is facing dual challenges from external behavior and education. Particularly, the behavior of individual members may negatively impact the overall image of the community, thereby damaging the overall value of the project. He also emphasized that the public needs to recognize that NFTs are not limited to simple avatars or artworks, but their true value lies in the rich functionality and infinite possibilities they encompass. Therefore, education is crucial for breaking through and driving the development of NFTs.

Grant Gerbeg, the head of Movement Labs, also believes that Non-fungible Token projects need to reduce market volatility and promote more sustainable development through education and enhanced user understanding.

In addition, at the roundtable on “Exit or Entry: Views on the Future Economics of Non-fungible Tokens,” several encryption leaders delved into the future development trends of Non-fungible Tokens, especially proposing many insights into innovative paths. Among them, Yat Siu, co-founder and chairman of Animoca Brands, expressed that in the long term, Non-fungible Tokens will become “cultural capital” in the encryption field. To some extent, Non-fungible Tokens and MEME coins have many similarities, but they belong to different eras. From the perspectives of economic capital, social capital, symbolic capital, and cultural capital, MEME coins and Non-fungible Tokens operate in the same field, with the former leaning more towards economic capital, and the latter more towards cultural capital. He further pointed out that unlike other encryption projects, the economic model of Non-fungible Tokens pays more attention to cultural value, and culture is the deepest “TVL” in any economy.

UniSat core contributor Vivian believes that the current Non-fungible Token market is in a consolidation phase. Despite significant price fluctuations, I personally think this is healthy for the entire ecosystem. This phase marks a shift from blindly chasing trends to avoiding entering the market at unreasonable prices. He is very optimistic about BTC Non-fungible Tokens and explains that BTC is the safest blockchain with the most untapped potential.

“I personally have a very positive outlook on Non-fungible Tokens, because they can be combined with BTC, and even with emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).” According to Yang, the investment manager at Bing Ventures, Non-fungible Tokens have two promising areas, one is the consumer end, and the other is the infrastructure end. From the consumer’s perspective, Non-fungible Tokens are a very good tool that can attract more users to join the community and increase user stickiness. From the infrastructure perspective, Non-fungible Tokens can also be combined with Real World Assets (RWA) to support financial instruments and other fields. From an investment perspective, we are more focused on the application scenarios of Non-fungible Tokens, especially their practical value in finance, lending, real estate, and other fields. If an application scenario of a Non-fungible Token has no practical use, its investment potential will be greatly discounted."

Jsquare partner Dinghan Luo and Antalpha Ventures CEO Fang Yuan also expressed optimism about Non-fungible Tokens. They believe that Non-fungible Tokens are not only cultural products, but also have potential in practical applications, especially in the fields of financial instruments and Real World Assets (RWA). This is also the key to improving the entire Non-fungible Token industry. Non-fungible Tokens can be measured in value from the perspective of network effects, but they are often more symbolic, cultural, and even social. It is crucial for Non-fungible Token projects to find the right market positioning and business models for sustainable development in the industry.