Fascinated with the puzzle that is modern society

will NFTs make a comeback?

i think that's the wrong question.

think about your most prized possession. the thing you’re most proud to share with others.

it could be your home, your car, a work of art or rare collectible, even something sentimental that might not have any monetary value like an heirloom.

can you imagine a reality where that prized possession is digital?

if you're concerned with whether someone will buy your cartoon monkey picture for a higher price than you paid for it, you're missing the forest through the trees.

there's a difference between owning an investment asset and owning an object.

an asset serves financial purposes. an object serves practical and emotional purposes.

without practical and emotional demand, there would be no financial value.

financial value doesn't exist in a vacuum. it comes from human needs, desires, and utility.

why does the market put a premium on beachfront properties? it's a place to eat and sleep just like any other home. 

but the ocean view commands a premium because it satisfies deep emotional desires for natural beauty and the prestige of owning a scarce, desirable location.

if the ability and desire to own digital **objects** becomes a more widespread and normalized behavior, then the emotional attachment people develop to their digital possessions create the same foundational demand that drives all financial markets.

no one wants your cartoon monkey because it's a cartoon monkey. 

they want your cartoon monkey only when it becomes one of many ways to derive genuine pride, identity, and personal meaning from digital possessions.

most investment theses i've heard argue that old NFTs will reclaim their highs as more people generate wealth onchain and rotate them into your cartoon monkey.

that's completely backwards.

we don't yet treat digital possessions as legitimate forms of ownership because there is no way to legitimately express ownership.

pride, identity, and personal meaning only have financial value when they can be recognized.

you can have an emotional attachment to a painting. but no one wants to buy it if you can't hang it up on your wall.

most digital ownership today exists in a buried tab in your wallet. it feels more like a spreadsheet than a showcase.

so, the question isn't "will NFTs make a comeback?"

the question is: can digital ownership be expressed?

there is still an unspoken, deep-seated expectation that when i collect something i can signal it later.

collecting is a means to an end.

it’s still ambiguous. and most collectors on the purple app are and have always been motivated by this.

most of the friction to collect is gone. 

the next behavior unlock is what to do with your collection, with each individual item and in aggregate.

i think the purple app is primed to answer it.

we need to be able to easily flex, showcase, signal and leverage the digital things we collect in the social context

Stay Curious // iixii // Head of Crypto at https://www.lazertechnologies.com/  // Prev: CoinDesk, Roc Nation // based @basedevo