3 Predictions for NFTs in 2024

I went and did my very first tarot reading today.

No, not just for 2024. My first ever tarot reading.

“Wait, I thought this was a web3/NFT newsletter?” you’re thinking.

Yes, it is. But just bear with me — it’ll be relevant later.

For those of you who don’t know how tarot reading works, here’s a quick walkthrough: you channel your energy, focus it into a question for the universe and then let cards from the deck answer your question.

Or if you don’t have a specific question like me, one of the beginner reads is to take 3 cards that represent past, present and future. Like I did.

The three cards that I drew were La Lune, Dawn and The Lighthouse. While interpretations are subjective, I think this is as straightforward as it probably gets.

Past｜La Lune (The Moon): represents mystery, fortune & unpredictabilityPresent｜Dawn: represents decision-making, logic & organisationFuture｜The Lighthouse: represents strength, stability & self-discipline

It’s the beginning of a new year and obviously plans are being made for the year ahead (Dawn). Even with almost 3 years of crypto & NFT experience under my belt (I got into NBA Top Shot in January 2021), the web3 landscape has experienced so many huge ups and downs (La Lune) that it’s hard for anyone to really claim to be an expert in the field; the only certain way to establish myself in the space as a trusted voice of reason and authority is to show up every single day (The Lighthouse) and be honest not only to myself, but to the people that look to me for advice and insight.

Committing to a daily newsletter is no small task, even if only on weekdays. Heck, it’s almost 2 a.m. here while I’m writing this and I’ve already considered just starting this one day later. But at the end of the day, while this might not be the best newsletter issue, what’s more important is that it gets out there.

You still with me? Phew. Thought I’d lost you there for a minute.

Ready to get back to crypto & NFT stuff? Me too.

Apart from splashing in some personality to differentiate myself from the other crypto newsletters you’re reading (and making sure I’m a relatable voice), the other reason that I kicked off the first newsletter of the year with a damn tarot reading is because it fits with the “unpredictable” nature of crypto (see, I told you the tarot backstory would be relevant).

Just like the 3 cards I drew, I’m going to give you 3 predictions for 2024. You ready?

#1. NFT Projects are going to go chain-agnostic

The major movers in NFT-land recently have all been… not on Ethereum.

Node Monkes on Bitcoin Ordinals, Froganas on Solana, Injective Quants, Seiyans on SEI… in a gold rush frenzy, the Wild West of NFTs is open for business again, with chain loyalty going out the window.

Even gaming projects like Pixels Online, Matr1x Kuku, Overworld, Nexian Gems, Farcana and more can be counted towards the non-Ethereum category, since while the premium assets are on ETH Mainnet, their gaming counterparts lie on other chains such as Ronin, Arbitrum and other L1/L2 solutions.

Ethereum is still home for most, but with so many people dropping out of the NFT market in 2023, liquidity is hard to come by; not because it doesn’t exist, but because it’s hard for people to commit their precious ETH to if it’s not a sure thing.

The workaround? Chain-agnostic NFTs that can be bridged back and forth so they exist on multiple chains… reducing the effective supply on each chain and capturing degen liquidity in whatever currency they want.

OnChainMonkeys has already approved migration of its entire 10k collection to Bitcoin.

Lil Pudgys are actually on multiple chains already, courtesy of a partnership with LayerZero.

After leaving Solana for Ethereum and Polygon, DeGods & y00ts are contemplating a return to Solana amidst the latest bull run.

Frank be like:

As funny as it is, it might just kick off a new trend for NFT projects. We’ll just have to wait and see how it plays out.

#2. NFT token launches are back for PFPs

Memeland accomplished something monumental in 2023 that has quietly gone under the radar: it became one of the first NFT PFP projects to successfully launch a token to expand its ecosystem since Bored Ape Yacht Club did it with ApeCoin.

The entire crypto & NFT landscape has changed dramatically since ApeCoin launched; and apart from the Otherside mint (which caused token prices to hit an All-Time High of $23.65, compared to $1.66 as of writing), Bored Ape merch drops and voting power in ApeCoin DAO… the lack of use cases has made ApeCoin disappointing to many.

The successful launch of MemeCoin, under new regulations (over here in Asia!) and in an entirely different crypto climate, provides a new blueprint and more importantly, hope to many projects who have hesitated to launch tokens as a result (PFP-centred ones, not web3 gaming focused ones).

While Memeland has activations like Farming, Stakeland and other items up its sleeve, it’s hard to think that other PFP-driven NFT projects aren’t eyeing this and planning ahead to try and capitalise off the liquidity that the crypto market at large can provide.

#3. Increased prevalence of NFT-gated investment groups

How do you get your NFT holders to not dump your NFTs? You have to either make them fall in love with them so it holds an emotional connection… or you have to find a way to provide sustained value.

One of the ways that has worked is holding an NFT for “alpha” and whitelist spots gained through collabs…

…but for Project Godjira Genesis holders (333 total tokens), that extends to investment opportunities in IDOs, ICOs & other real-world assets that are available only by being a member of that exclusive club.

While these opportunities don’t require as big of a buy-in as an institutional investor, that shrinks the risk for the individual while making up for it for the fundraising side in terms of quantity (the group multiplier). When one of these deals makes money, it covers the cost of the price of entry and more; as many of the holders have provided testimonials about.

When there are fewer entrants into the NFT market before the next big bull run, expect more groups like these to show up, whether it’s paid alpha groups like Underground or MVHQ; or investment-focused ones that offer exclusive access to upcoming projects and tokens looking to fundraise.