In recent years, digital currencies have been all the rave. However, the idea that digital assets are exclusively some form of currency is slowly falling by the wayside as different use cases are emerging and being rapidly adopted. This May, The Fintech Times is looking to showcase some of these new methods and explore how the digital asset ecosystem is evolving.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) took the world by storm in 2020 and 2021, as seemingly everyone discussed the relatively new concept, and some spent significant amounts to become sole owners of NFT art. However, it didn’t take long for the bubble to burst and the hype to die down.

Most NFTs saw a significant reduction in value as interest in the concept rapidly reduced across the globe. However, in the last couple of years, behind the scenes, some developers have continued to bet on the technology for other use cases.

But can NFTs truly make a comeback, even to half of the extent of popularity seen a few years ago? To find out, we asked industry leaders what it would take for us to see an NFT revival.

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Real-world assets are the ‘new NFTs’

By embracing another use case, NFTs have already begun their own revival, says Billy Sebell, executive director of the XDC Foundation, an open-source blockchain protocol specialising in tokenisation for real-world assets (RWAs) and decentralised finance.

“In a sense, NFTs are already seeing a revival. RWAs are the new NFTs. Through NFTs, we know that by digitising a real-world asset on-chain, that asset becomes tokenised, and its rights of ownership can be held, traded, or used as collateral for other investment instruments.

“With the increased confidence in blockchain technology’s capabilities, fintech innovators will create high-demand RWA projects in areas that stretch beyond the current landscape.

“RWA tokenisation will solve problems in big industries such as trade finance, where the $5 trillion trade finance gap has long limited micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from participating in global trade.”

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