Thread by @calchulus

1/n
Today is the start of May, so I'll be challenging myself to share a thread a day this month to increase #education across all web3 fields we're researching at @impossiblefi

Today I'll start with NFTs~

Thesis: I think NFTs have the lowest barrier if entry for new users

2/n
NFT use cases I'd say boil down to 5 major use cases:
1. Art
2. Collectibility/Rarity
3. Verifiability (legit pieces)
4. Easy accessibility/community
5. Luxury/flex
(Maybe will add more later)

3/n
Art has a precedented market and is useful for simply the appreciation of interesting combinations and creations.
Creative Commons licensing and collabs in the space give positive sum wins for multiple communities, unheard of in remixing traditional medias

4/n
Collectibility is something I think innate to humans since there were hunters and "gatherers"
To collect is to gather what others cannot, and barter.
Many of the world started as kids collecting cards, stamps, autographs, whatever it might be

5/n many physical collectibles run into significant legitimacy verification costs. Be it "PSA graded" or other authentication, as well as the costs baked in to traditional auction houses and galleries (see: Christie's, Sotheby's etc) charging 20%+ fees

Blockchains guarantee this

6/n not only is there no squabble or debate on if something is legit, but you can transact with much lower frictions on platforms like @opensea @LooksRareNFT @rarible @the_x2y2

7/n these abundant marketplaces, especially as they support more chains (@NFTradeOfficial @tofuNFT and more who support more affordable l2s) plus solana marketplaces like @fractalwagmi @SolanartNFT @MagicEden, there's so many more users who can access markets than in trad world

8/n this accessibility means that liquidity for nft markets far surpasses the liquidity of traditional "non-fungible investments"
Nfts can be flipped in minutes, a house can be flipped in years

9/n this attracts a lot of capital in the world which were harvesting nice 10% yearly gains pre-covid. Now with covid deemphasizing physical presence as the world becomes more remote, and you have an insane amount of capital to be lured over to the NFT market.

10/n many "utility NFTs", be it access memberships, alpha groups, future airdrops, have captured users already, but I'm excited to see what's next in creating more use cases which drive demand, just like houses have "intrinsic value", ppl buy houses know someone will need it.

11/n this brings us to our last point, people covet the nicest homes, cars, bags chains whatever in the real world. These non fungible physical items (NFPI) are both a store of value and sometimes a medium of exchange, as people climb the ladders of trading up to bigger tickets

12/n people flip houses, watches, art, etc as a pseudohybrid investment and a safe-haven of value in a space they're interested in w/ some tradeoff between liquidity & upside.
Nfts present a indisputable flex-ability (see: pfp's aka profile pictures nfts with a fixed 10k supply)

13/n whether it's being in a community like #bayc Bored Apes or @ProofCollective, flexes are more fun with a friend and audience that wants to be a part of it too, and derivative projects, whitelists, and perceived future airdrops build even more strength

14/n it is super interesting to see the NFT space develop, and we at @impossiblefi are looking for more ways to innovate and use nonfuntible technology to solve the above use cases for users in the real world