Not Just JPEGS: NFTs explained

When you think about an NFT, if you think about it at all, you may recall a cartoon image or animation circulating around the internet. However, NFTs are not only for digital art and music. They can be used for many other functions. Let's look at some practical applications of NFTs and how they could potentially be used in the future to enhance our lives.

1. Identity Cards, Licenses and Certificates

Since NFTs are essential digital contracts that exist on the blockchain, there is potential that they can be used for official documents such as degrees, licenses (e.g. driving), birth and death certificates, marriage certificates, visas and many others. NFTs could also be used to issue patents and is currently being used to verify intellectual property rights of any digital medium (not just art). While NFT identity cards are still a few years in the future, this is not so far-fetched. Many official documents, while physically existent, are also present in the digital realm. De-centralized documents would help to maintain the authenticity of the information and would reduce fraud and counterfeiting.

2. Medical Records and Healthcare

In addition to identity and life documents, NFTs have the potential to support the Healthcare industry. It is known that the healthcare system in the US has a big problem with data storage, privacy and security. NFTs could help solve this problem by storing medical records safely and ensuring they cannot be altered or forged without clear "ownership" of who made the change. NFTs could, for example, verify a vaccination status, certify that a prescription has been filled, or authorize a medical treatment. This has already started with start-ups like Enjin partnering with Health Hero to create a blockchain-based wellness app that creates tokens based on an individual's fitness activity and health habits.

3. Real Estate

Since NFTs are legal contracts, there are plenty of applications to the real estate world. While NFTs are currently being used to verify digital real estate such as in the game Decentraland, they can also be useful in the physical real estate market. Ownership of real estate and land deeds can be recorded and stored on the digital ledger that cannot be copied or reproduced, and are therefore safer than traditional ledgers. NFTs can be the mechanism to provide proof of ownership of your home, as well as verify ownership history. While this type of NFT is rare at the moment, there is great potential in storing ownership of physical properties in this way.

NFTs are more than just clip art, and these are some of the ways that NFTs can be used to create a more secure future.

At createurnft, we are on a journey to create, mint, sell and buy NFTs and are sharing what we learn along the way. This is not financial advice, please take the time to verify our information before making any financial decisions.