In the last 3 years, NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), have become so famous that if you’ve never heard of them, people would genuinely think you’re a boomer.
Jokes aside, these tokens are so big right now that billionaires and collectors across the globe are investing or are pouring tons of money into it, with many calling it the future of art or collectibles.
Essentially, NFTs represent a form of digital file that’s in a form of jpeg, video or even real estate. These files are then turned into tokens, which are secured via blockchain before they’re sold, bought and traded to reduce the chances of being pirated.
While most people only know NFTs for such things, it has a lot more to offer.
What is a NFT?
Before we talk about anything else, let’s understand what an NFT is first.
A non-fungible token is a record on a blockchain that’s associated with a particular digital asset or even a physical asset. The ownership of a non-fungible token (NFT) is recorded in blockchain, which can be transferred by the owner, making it sellable or tradable.
Most of the time, NFTs are created by coders or those who do not have coding skills at all. They are mainly references to digital files, which includes pictures, audios and videos. Also, because they are uniquely identifiable assets, they become different from cryptocurrencies, which are fungible.
So in simpler words, each NFT is unique and is different from traditional cryptocurrencies, which means they are not replaceable by other tokens. This makes them amazing to use in a decentralized marketplace.
Where Are NFTs Stored?
Remember, NFTs are encrypted tokens, which means that they are stored on a digital blockchain that are similar to cryptocurrency transactions.
The thing with Blockchain is that it is secure and uses unchangeable ledgers that only within the network can view, making any information stored in it extremely secure and almost impossible to tamper with.
So where are they stored?
When you purchase a non-fungible token, you automatically get a private key, which you can then store in a digital wallet as long as it supports the technology. The key is then required to access and transfer your non-fungible token elsewhere, which is why it is important to keep it secret always.
In case you do lose your private key, please do keep in mind that you will no longer be allowed to access your non-fungible token, which means that you are likely to face a huge financial loss.
So if you do want to keep your non-fungible token (NFT) private key safe, make sure that you keep it somewhere safe all the time and are doing everything to remember it as a single error from your side can
When you buy an NFT, you are provided with a private key that can result in a massive financial loss.
Top 7 Practical NFT Uses
Because of the amazing technology it uses, NFTs can be used in other cases too, which includes:
Authenticating Products Before Purchases
One amazing feature or use that NFTs offer includes ensuring that the product that you are planning to buy is authentic.
Remember, blockchain is capable of permanently storing information about products, which means it can check for its rare, meaning it can be used to store information about all the processes of the product being made, ensuring that everything is intact before a trade or purchase is made.
The best usage for NFTs can be made in consumer products.
NFTs can track and trace food products, which means that you can see where the product came from, where it stayed the most and how long it took for it to arrive at where you are buying it from. Like literally, from how it was manufactured to the entire shipment, you will be getting every single information about it.
Real Estate Deals
A lot of people actually believe that NFTs can be used perfectly in real estate due to how amazing and trackable the technology is.
Like what we said above “the ownership of a non-fungible token (NFT) is recorded in blockchain, which can be transferred by the owner, making it sellable or tradable.” This means that NFTs can be used to transfer proof of ownership, land deeds and even take a close look at the value of the property by using the records available in blockchain.
Not only in those things that we mentioned above, but NFTs can also be used in real estate to speed up transactions, keep track of the purchases, or could be used in making decentralized rental property or real-estate services with the priority to protect user data, which includes personal information and credit card details.
Medical Records
NFT ledgers are capable of storing medical records of an individual while removing the risk of someone actually altering the sources or to ensure that every single record that’s uploaded in the database is accurate and secure from any malware attacks, which can cause data leaks
There are NFT based applications that have been designed specifically to aid healthcare professionals and one of the best examples of this is NFT Birth Certificates, which are directly issued by healthcare providers to the parents of newborn babies. The benefit of NFT Birth Certificates is that they are verified with NFT verification apps, which allows safer methods of storing important and sensitive medical data, which also allows authorized healthcare providers to access them when required.
Not only with birth certificates, but medical datas, hospital admissions, health insurance companies or policies, recording medical procedures and even the verification of patient identification can be done through NFTs thanks to the security that it offers.
School And Student Information
Just like medical records, NFTs can be used to securely store student information at schools, and the best thing about them is that it removes the risk of someone altering the information thanks to its security features. From the names of the students to their grades and even the amount of money that the parents have paid for the tuition, every single thing can be properly stored in a NFT based database.
The usability of NFTs in school based programs are not limited to those that we listed above.
They can also be used to provide proof of attendance, degrees, certificates, awards, clearances and even other important information that are related to students, which will be stored on an NFT chain, which means the security level on all the data will be so good that they cannot be altered or hacked into.
The benefits don’t really stop there.
Thanks to everything being online these days, NFTs will start issuing digital certificates, which can save us humans tons of papers and trees.
Ticketing Systems And Tokens
We live in a world that’s on the verge of transforming into a digital era, and it is likely that in the near future, everything will be paperless.
Because of how trackable and secure NFT databases are, it is likely that they will be used to replace tickets by 100 percent, considering that currently it’s being used in entering certain parking spaces.
The thing with NFT based tickets or ticketing systems is that it solves all the problems that are linked with scams and paper usage.
With NFTs, owners will only need one token instead of having multiple copies of the ticket itself, which can save a lot of trees and paper. The same concept can be applied in almost any form of transportation where paper tickets are involved. They can be replaced by scanners and online payments with digital copies of tickets.
Voting
In most countries these days, voters are required to bring a photo ID and proof with them when it comes to going to polling booths to vote, however, that can change in the future thanks to NFTs and the amazing technology that it offers.
Remember, with classic voter IDs, a single mistake in the physical copy would simply ruin a lot of things, which means that you can be barred from voting, but when they’re or will be integrated with NFTs, the likelihood to solve so many problems can be changed.
From fraud votes to properly identifying people without the requirement to have physical documentation, every single thing could be solved in the right way!
Also the digitalization of voting can save governments across the globe a lot of time thanks to softwares and programs that would automatically count who’s winning or not, and this can actually save a lot of manual labor in the years to come, meaning governments across the globe can save tons of voting money.
Artworks Or Expensive Products Tracking
Throughout history, a lot of expensive products and one in a million artworks have been lost, stolen and destroyed, and the saddest part is that no one has a clue what happened to them or where they went.
However, that can change in the near future, particularly with the implementation of technologies such as blockchain, where they can be tagged for tracking through NFTs, which could allow bidders, sellers and buyers across the globe to properly track everything.
It doesn’t stop there.
With NFTs, the physical art itself could be transformed into an NFT and the NFTs could be turned into physical art. All that while maintaining the digital token to prove that the product is authentic while allowing anyone who owns it to track where it went and where it is going.
NFTs also put a big stoppage to counterfeit artwork circulation, which ensures owners to get their authentic property from an auction house or from a digital artist that sold NFTs and any other products.
Summary
NFTs, which are non-fungible tokens, are not only limited to digital artworks like we see them often in the news. They have more uses and in the future with proper implementation along with the right technologies, the benefits that people will be getting with this can be amazing. From healthcare services to basic ticketing, we can save so much time, get proper security and can access every single data or record about us in a matter of seconds. Not only that, but the encryption that it offers is way better than most of the technologies offer these days.