Non-fungible tokens (NFT) are all the rage now. Everywhere you look, there are people talking about NFTs and trying to jump on the NFT hype train. If you don’t yet know, NFTs are unique and non-interchangeable units of data that are stored on a blockchain. NFTs can take the form of photos, videos, audio clips, and various other digital files, and the use of blockchain technology gives it public proof of ownership. This is big news as for the first time in history, you can prove that you own a digital asset.

The increase in popularity of NFTs has caused a huge craze where many corporations are trying to incorporate and utilize NFTs to their advantage. Nike recently acquired RTKFT studios to help expand its digital footprint capabilities. The studio specializes in blockchain technology and augmented reality and has released popular NFT collections such as “CLONEX”. 

Avatars from the CloneX collection

Closer to home, there have been many exciting projects pushing the boundaries of the NFT space in Singapore, with some that have received a huge amount of attention and interest from the global NFT community.

Dark Zodiac project founders Marc Yeo (L) and Alan Seng (R)

Dark Zodiac 

Dark Zodiac is a project by Marc Yeo and Alan Seng that aims to develop a play-to-earn virtual trading card games on the Ethereum chain. The Dark Zodiac duo designed and released their first series of NFTs based on the twelve Chinese Zodiac folklore. Each of the Dark Zodiac NFT is carefully crafted in-house to be very detailed and visually stunning. Dark Zodiac was able to defy expectations by selling out all 3,876 units of their first series despite not being an established brand. The team managed to pull off this astonishing feat by tapping into the right communities online, and managed to develop a strong following prior to the release. Following the successful launch, the team has pocketed over $1.4 million that will be used to expand their brand and develop the Dark Zodiac game, slated to be released at the end of 2022.

First ever music-themed NFT collectibles Symphony Squirrels from NFTMUSIC.AI

NFTMUSIC.AI

The current music industry is a risky venture, with rampant internet piracy, illegal downloads, and underpaid royalties from music streaming services. This forms a huge problem for many aspiring musicians. NFTMUSIC.AI aims to revolutionize the music industry by creating a platform to empower musicians. The platform allows them to safeguard and monetize their work while enabling them to track and manage their royalties in a fully transparent and secure manner. 

NFTMUSIC.AI strives to achieve its lofty goals by developing two different platforms, MUSETTE LIVE and MUSETTE DIGITAL. MUSETTE LIVE is a live streaming app where users are able to use $MUSIC, NFTMUSIC.AI’s native token, to directly support musicians that are streaming on the app. MUSETTE DIGITAL, on the other hand, is a NFT platform where musicians can upload their music creations to put it up for sale for $MUSIC. The NFTMUSIC.AI project is founded by Leon Lim, a seasoned entrepreneur that has founded other successful ventures such as MRC Ventures and Groundup.ai. He started NFTMUSIC.AI with the belief that the music industry is poised for disruption and aims to use NFTs to redefine the music industry.

James Gaubert, Founder of Republiqe

Republiqe

The pandemic has catalysed the fashion industry to transition into virtual reality shows, short films and other platforms to showcase their fashion designs. This has spurred the rise of many companies and ventures aiming to cash in on these virtual trends. One such company is Republiqe, the world’s first luxury digital brand on the blockchain by James Gaubert. An experienced veteran in the fashion industry, James is a designer and stylist that has worked with huge brands from Chanel to Louis Vuitton. James created Republique as an alternative to physical clothing, with the aim of making clothes more inclusive, ethical, creative, and sustainable. 

Purchasing virtual clothes from Republiqe is very similar to buying physical clothes from a typical online store, but with one additional step – users will have to first upload a photo of themself. Republiqe will then do virtual tailoring and send back an image of the user clothed in their chosen virtual clothes. What this means is that in the virtual world, the possibilities are now endless. Clothing designs are no longer bounded by physical limitations, which means they can be constructed with impossible materials such as broken glass. With the demand for Fortnite skins estimated to be valued at around $40 billion a year, Republiqe aims to be a pioneer in the space and capitalize on the trend of virtual fashion.

Jackson Aw, Founder & CEO, Mighty Jaxx

Mighty Jaxx

Mighty Jaxx designs and manufactures collectibles with many different global talents and brands such as Nickelodeon, DC Comics, and Warner Brothers. With the NFT trend in full swing, Mighty Jaxx is already using blockchain technology to authenticate the collectibles that they produce. Expansion into the NFT space is the natural next step. Since their foray into blockchain, founder Jackson Aw has been anticipating a digital trend and has formed a team solely focused on increasing the interactivity of their collectables. Additionally, the company recently raised $10 million this year to accelerate its push towards digitalisation and blockchain technology. 

Mighty Jaxx provides the option for users to mint an NFT on top of purchasing a physical collectible. These minted NFTs provide an additional value to their owners, giving them the ability to interact with their collectible both physically and virtually. Mighty Jaxx further aims to develop a fully immersive 360-degree experience for their NFTs to create a unique experience for their customers.

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The NFT space here in Singapore is definitely vast and diverse. Companies are using NFTs to revolutionize their respective industry, from gaming to music, and even fashion. With more and more companies incorporating NFT projects to bolster their product offerings, the NFT trend is here for the long term. It will be exciting to see how the NFT trend impacts more industries as we take one step closer into the metaverse.