2021 was a banner year for NFTs, as they skyrocketed into the mainstream and captured significant mindshare. The world’s first-ever digital artwork sold for a record sum in the tens of millions, and institutional adoption continued with a global payments and banking giant acquiring CryptoPunk NFTs.
Household brands started to participate in the space; more than 15 corporate NFT collection releases across many industries were observed, ranging from food and beverage, sporting goods, high-end luxury fashion and consumer retail to social media and news companies. And OpenSea � the world's first and largest NFT marketplace � continues to stand as the preferred launchpad for corporate NFTs.
Although the current bear market has led to concerns about the value of NFTs, profit-based motivation and issues of environmental sustainability, these may be reflective of periods of volatility and cyclicality expected with any nascent technology as it develops a product-market fit.
The ability to assert ownership and exchange of Web3.0 assets and property is what will likely dictate the long-term value of NFTs.
The following guide aims to help you understand the emergence of the NFT industry, recent trends, institutional adoption, key challenges and how ÀÖÓ㣨Leyu£©ÌåÓý¹ÙÍø can help organisations throughout their digital asset journey.
NFTs by the numbers
$31.9B
Cumulative trade volume
5.6M
Cumulative wallets that have ever owned an NFT
$16B
Q1'22 capital raises
$50B
2021 market cap
All amounts reflected are in Canadian dollars. Sources for statistics and figures found in report.
10 key dimensions of NFT adoption
Digital rights: defining who has ownership of rights to mint intellectual property in an NFT format
Cyber protection: working with information technology to protect NFTs and their supporting platforms to prevent hacking and unauthorised use
Tax and compliance: managing and adhering to regulatory compliance requirements of the cryptocurrency world
Marketing: promoting/advertising an organisation’s NFT across social media channels and on the digital marketplace
Governance: how NFT rights, licensing, purchases and sales are monitored and governed across customer community to protect and preserve an organisation’s brand
Financial reporting: defining the reporting needed, including royalty reporting to artists, when NFTs change hands
Contracting: defining future contractual requirements and rights to enable NFT minting/selling
Data: defining what data is needed to support the NFT initiative
Talent: attracting the talent needed to support and maintain the NFT lifecycle within an organisation�
Enabling technology: defining platforms, internally and externally, to support the NFT initiative
For many, knowing where to start in the NFT space can be difficult. Take a deeper dive into our guide to help you on this digital journey.
