Written by Benny Giang
Translation: MetaCat
NFTs from around 2017 to 2022 are similar to websites from the early 1990s.
Early websites were often built by people with limited programming expertise (like myself) using basic HTML and CSS. They tended to be static, difficult to update or extend, and designed for a single, specific purpose.
The launch of the Web in 1989 marked the beginning of the "hyperlink" era. The launch of the first website in 1991 enabled easy navigation, reshaping of content structure and democratized sharing of knowledge.
In the next stage of NFTs, they will become more and more similar to current applications (Apps) or websites, and eventually become autonomous agents, providing enhanced functionality and better user experience!
Assuming that NFTs will move toward a more dynamic, stateful future, we can break down the on-chain stack of NFTs into a structure similar to that of websites today:
There are already a large number of standards and protocols running in the NFT "front-end" field, such as: ERC 4906, 7496, 721M, 721TL, etc. Mainly dedicated to modifying artwork, metadata descriptions, features and visual content. Related projects include: Prrf beauty, Mathcastles, area.tech, etc.
However, in the NFT “backend” space, there hasn’t been a ton of innovation in the past 6 years (2017 to date). All state logic is either on custom contracts or on centralized databases that index on-chain events for gameplay and other scenarios. Unfortunately, this approach has no utility at all.
Thanks to ERC-6551, for the first time ever, we have a standardized on-chain “backend” for NFTs.
Custom contracts, including the ones we wrote for CryptoKitties and CHZWZRDS are awesome, but there’s nothing inherently non-composable about them.
TBA is the general account/utility layer of NFT.
What does all this have to do with hyperlinks and 1990s websites?
NFTs and websites will have similar boom periods.
No one knows what the NFT/website will do or be used for, but everyone knows it will change everything.
If everyone had given up on websites/the internet after the dot-com bubble burst, we would have missed out on owning truly important and more interesting apps/products in the long run, like: ebay, google, facebook, uber, airbnb, etc.
The past can sometimes be a foreshadowing of the future.
In its infancy, NFT still has huge growth potential, but it must double down on differentiating itself from the outset:
Digital uniqueness
Possible items
Verifiable History
Image source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bERVm10ryhY
We are about to witness the explosive growth of the "hyperconnected" era (or as @js_horne calls it, hypermedia/encrypted media).
NFTs begin to link to other on-chain tokens and create what we call a token graph of ownership and relationships, thereby achieving "on-chain" hyperlinks.
Hyperlinks radically enhance websites, just as Wikipedia did the information superhighway. They enable context by connecting related content. Replace “NFT” with “website” and the meaning becomes clear.
NFTs will naturally start to be linked to other on-chain objects/tokens via:
ERC-6551 gives more meaning, depth, and narrative to our shared on-chain history, just like how hyperlinks provide important contextual information to the web.
In a few years, you won’t be calling NFTs “overpriced JPEGs” anymore. They’ll be a native paradigm for the internet, powered by blockchain. Creating ever-richer fantastic experiences that flow seamlessly from one token to another. More importantly, that’s when the fun begins!