During an on-stage panel discussion at NFT.NYC 2022, Chainlink Labs’ Lauren Halstead joined Anwa NFT founder Maksym Naboka, Chainlink Spring Hackathon prize-winner Dr. Louell Sala, and MyFi co-founder Dr. Josh Eisenberg to explain why dynamic NFTs (dNFTs) are the future and examine the spectrum of potential use cases.
Naboka noted that while exponentially more projects are building what they call dynamic NFTs, they’re often loosely using the term to describe a variety of digital assets and utilities. The panelists distilled the exact parameters of dynamic NFTs by emphasizing their dependence on decentralized oracle networks.
Halstead explained how Chainlink takes off-chain data about a variety of real-world events from sports to weather and brings that information on-chain, where it can be used to update or evolve dynamic NFTs that reflect the ever-changing world in real time. She highlighted some of her favorite use cases in the realm of professional sports, including Chainlink-powered dNFTs that reflect the stats of star athletes like Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball and Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs.
She also listed a number of use cases with the potential to improve people’s everyday lives. For example, airline passengers could purchase tickets as dynamic NFTs that change to reflect the parameters of insurance smart contracts connected to real-time flight data. dNFT tickets could ameliorate the frustration of enduring a flight delay by automatically updating to show that a refund was issued according to the smart contract’s predefined terms.
All of the panelists agreed that while web3 has just begun to scratch the surface of what’s possible with dynamic NFTs, they will likely play an integral role in the metaverse. And because NFTs represent digital assets that are owned and controlled by users instead of centralized platforms, the potential for using dNFTs in and between virtual worlds could ultimately reflect the countless possible interactions between real-world people, places, and things.
As Halstead put it, “The metaverse already exists. The metaverse is an extension of ourselves.”
Watch the complete panel discussion from NFT.NYC 2022.