NFT Projects: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
It’s impossible to escape the march of NFTs, and while it’s the tech (the smart contract) that is paving the way toward tokenised rental agreements, insurance, ID, tickets and more, the projects that exist today are paving the way for this future utility.
So how can you tell a good project from a maybe not so good projects in today’s climate?
Here’s a quick guide so you can be well-informed before FOMO-ing into anything too quickly.
Red Flags
Great! You’ve found a project that you like. You might enjoy the artwork, the community or think there’s some awesome utility later in the roadmap. Before going any further, watch out for the following red flags:
Founding team are anonymous and don’t have a reputable online presence.
Sure, the Web 3 space in general has largely accepted anonymous personas (even the founders of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) were anonymous until very recently) but as new projects are brought out, a fully anonymous team with no existing large online following can signal that maybe, they don’t ant to expose their identity for a reason.
2. Artwork is a derivative or a plain old copy of a popular collection.
When hype around a certain style of project reaches its climax, there’s always going to be opportunistic individuals looking for easy sales. For example, Cryptopunks spawned countless derivatives using an identical pixelated image format and BAYC’s success lead to a legion of {adjective} + {animal} collections – most of which were nothing of any substance.
3. Toxic Discords, bad vibes and those looking for a quick buck.
Well lead and managed projects tend towards cultivated a meaningful online experience for their holders – moderating the Discord and leaning on a set of values which are clearly visible in all aspects of their online presence. Whereas the founders of a cash-grab project may manage the space poorly, promoting spam to gain ranks in the server through over-engagement, as well as encouraging profit-centric behaviour.
If you see an Instagram filled with bots and a chorus of “To The Moon!!!” and little else, you should probably leave and never look back.
A Few Things to Keep in Mind
Good projects often have a long term plan or vision for the NFT project; whether that’s developing it into a brand and creating a clothing line, TV shoes and cultural intersections; or providing real utility such as membership into a private real-world dining experience or exclusive parties.
In my experience, their founders will often under-promise and over-deliver.
In fact, the single differentiator that I skew towards most heavily when researching a project is this: who are the founders?
You could think of an NFT collections as like a start-up company, with a collection launch as a kind of initial capital raise. Provable depth of experience in development, media, design or whatever the project’s theme is should be a given when buying into something, which might be present in the form of previously successful business ventures or a clear mastery of their craft.
Closing Notes
NFTs are fun to experiment with, but only play with money you can afford to lose.
There’s no guarantee if the value will go up, down or sideways – even with a skilled captain at the helm, there’s no controlling the ocean.
Blue-chip projects such as VeeFriends, World of Women, BAYC and Cryptopunks will most likely do well in the long-term.
Many projects that haven’t yet been conceived will dominate culture in 10 years time with utility and concepts we can’t imagine yet.
Simply enjoy the fact that if you’re reading this, you’re in the top 1% of the world when it comes to NFTs!
