Phygital NFTs, comes from the acronym for physical and digital. They are non-fungible tokens that are linked to physical items in different ways and represent a broad category of NFTs that allow blockchain developers to innovate, combining the physical and digital world. We will take a deeper look at this topic in the next NFTexpress article.
Phygital NFTs, an acronym for physical and digital. The result that these new non-fungible tokens yield is the ability to represent a digital asset in the real world. It also allows blockchain developers to be able to innovate and invent new ways to combine the digital world with IRL experiences with all kinds of digital figures, including activities in a metaverse.
How many Phygital NFT classes are there?
As we have reviewed, a Phygital NFT, is a term that encompasses any type of experience related to a service, object, product, etc., linked to or represented by an NFT on the blockchain.
One of the classes that currently exist may be for example, augmented reality (AR). By combining this technology with NFTs, AR developers can invent multiple immersive experiences that allow us to try on virtual fashion items or learn more about a piece of art located on our cell phones while visiting that piece in a physical art gallery.
Another type of Phygital NFTs, are the redeemable non fungible tokens. These incorporate a unique identifier of a physical product in the metadata of an NFT to which it is linked. Consequently, the owners of the physical item, receive the address of the non-fungible token that is stored within the blockchain.
The digital cufflinks are also related in some way to the Phygital NFTs. These are digital clones of physical entities and are updated with real-time data. The most successful example of digital cufflinks is the luxury fashion house Givenchywhich launched a collection following a partnership with the art collective Web3. Felt Zine. They presented digital cufflinks of six different physical products.
Phygital NFTs for authentication
In the blockchain industry, authentication is a main feature to build trust between different parties. Therefore, Phygital NFTs can be implemented in different cases, as they can be traceable and their information transparent. This is thanks to the tamper-proof mechanisms provided by smart contracts.
In addition, they can be applied to combat crime, such as product counterfeiting and the possibility of proving the true authenticity of the product or service.
Mostly, we see Phygital NFTs for authentication in the art and luxury industry, where product provenance is a major issue.
The platform Marbleis a clear example that allows artists the ability to mint NFTs of their physical artwork in order to authenticate their work. Artists can exhibit the final Phygital NFTs through technologies such as AR (augmented reality) or VR (virtual reality).
Marble also encourages digital NFTs to allow artists to incorporate different customized royalty models and intellectual property rights into smart contracts. With these features, they enable the platform to offer a variety of IP options.
Another use for Phygital NFTs is in the food and beverage industry. For example, BlockBarthe company that connects whiskey and blockchain, offers Phygital NFTs that are backed by corresponding physical bottles in the real world.
This company stores the bottles in its own warehouse and ensures that 100% of the NFTs are authentic until the buyer of the non-fungible token exchanges it for the physical counterpart.
BlockBar Marketplace with beverages in NFTs
Do Phygital NFTs burn out?
Phygital NFTs are not always associated with redemption terms. One of the formats that has been most commonly applied is to burn the NFT to achieve the physical target or product. One of the best-known collections that implements this method is the project Nouns. This company delivers physical glasses to the owners of the NFTs and upon burning, a “representative” NFT is sent to the collector’s wallet. Subsequently, physical delivery of the glasses is made.
There are also options where the NFTs are not burned. Here, the projects seek that only the user replaces the original NFT, with other NFTs after the exchange. The difference is that this NFT is not “representative”, but the new non-fungible token delivered maintains its utilities, but is replaced with the objective of not performing many exchanges of the same product.
Nike AR Hoodiefrom the collection RTFKTcollection, is a clear example of this last feature, since, once the collectors redeem the original and physical garment, they can benefit from the uses of the NFT left in their wallet for future collections launched by the project.
Usually they do not usually have the possibility to redeem another physical product, but sometimes NFT may give you the opportunity to enter drops or early drops of other collections that the company creates for its users.
Final Conclusions
While the examples we have reviewed in this article show evidence that Phygital NFTs are used in situations where users first purchase an NFT and then redeem it for a physical product, it is also possible that they only choose to get the item physically.
For example, the Givenchy collection we reviewed earlier in the article, gives an NFT to people who buy the product in the brand’s physical stores.
In addition, some companies leverage the NFT Phygital concept in different ways. For example, PhygiPhygital, allows users the opportunity to turn their digital creations into physical items. The way this is done is as follows: when users upload their NFTs to the Phygital NFT platform, the platform prints out a type of NFT. platformThe NFT Phygital, it prints a high quality poster type to turn it into a physical object.
All investment or financial opinions on behalf of NFTexpress should not be taken as recommendations. This article is informational/educational material. Before making any type of investment do your own research.
Written by Rodrigo Catalan (TW: @RodrigoCatalanB) for NFT Express.