The Age of Great Navigations for Rights NFTs

2023.04.11

The Age of Great Navigations for Rights NFTs

"Revolution removes the old; the cauldron brings in the new."

2023.04.11 - 09:53:51

NFTElement

Navigating Web3 tides with focused insights

"Revolution removes the old; the cauldron brings in the new."

"Ge means discarding the old; Ding means taking in the new."

The NFT world is leaving behind the era of empty speculation and entering a new era of innovation and renewal.

NFTs are no longer just about collecting and trading—they are now proof of rights and benefits.

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, once said:

An ideal business generally has four attributes:

First, strong customer demand;
Second, potential for massive scale;
Third, high capital return rates;
Fourth, resilience over time—that is, the ability to endure for many years.

Let’s explore the value of this new NFT era through these four lenses.

1. User Demand

Traditional PFPs (profile pictures) are increasingly unable to meet market demands. Even top-tier projects like BAYC have rolled out various utility upgrades to enhance their NFTs’ benefits. Many projects that were wildly popular in 2022 have since faded into obscurity. "Chasing new, not old" has become the five-word mantra of the NFT community. Yet truly innovative new projects emerge slowly. While everyone agrees the market needs fresh traffic and new blood, existing capital and users often feel directionless during this transitional phase. The market urgently awaits new concepts—not necessarily new projects, but perhaps new sub-sectors.

2. Growth Potential

Utility-based NFTs are not a new idea, but they’ve long been overlooked in a PFP-dominated NFT landscape. In March, Element launched the Element Pass Genesis (hereinafter EPG), heralding the arrival of the utility NFT era and resonating strongly across the industry. Recently, Bitmain—the crypto industry giant and leader in BTC mining—entered the space by launching a BTC-hashrate-backed utility NFT. Leading companies don’t enter markets without sharp commercial instincts. As more high-quality projects and applications rapidly adopt utility NFTs, the entire sector’s market size is poised for significant expansion.

3. Capital Returns

In the crypto industry, early participants and builders have never been let down. The era of utility NFTs has only just begun. Element Pass Genesis (EPG) surged up to 400% in the past two weeks and now trades steadily around 0.5 ETH. $THEO, the leading token in the RWA sector, has gained nearly 20x in value over the past month. The value of asset-backed digital assets is being unlocked. Sailing across this blue ocean of utility NFTs, the discovery of a new continent may not be far off.

4. Resilience Over Time

Many once-popular PFP projects, despite having ambitious roadmaps, have gradually turned into "AirMaps" as hype fades. "Delivery" has become the biggest constraint on PFP projects' survival and growth. Utility NFTs, however, face no such issue. High-quality underlying assets, mature product applications, and stable founding teams will serve as the strongest foundation for utility NFTs to shine in the next cycle. There's no need to agonize over the next step in the roadmap—what matters most is simply tokenizing rights, or "NFT-ifying" benefits. Thus, time is not a barrier to utility NFTs; rather than merely resisting time, I prefer to call it "maturing with time."

For businesses meeting all four criteria, Bezos also offered his advice:

When you find such a business, hold onto it tightly and never let go.

Perhaps in this new era of utility NFTs, with Element, you’ll find something worth holding onto tightly.

The NFT Utility Flywheel Is Beginning to Turn

On April 7, Element announced via its official Twitter account information regarding Element 3.0 and the Element Pass Standard (hereinafter EPS).

Element 3.0 is defined as an NFT utility marketplace, aiming to build an integrated ecosystem offering "Launchpad, Trade, Pro Features, Airdrop," and more. At its core is the concept of "utility NFTs," with the Element Pass serving as the foundational asset for platform rights.

EPS is the standard collection of Element Passes, and this announcement includes details on the EPS launch.

Compared to the previously launched EPG in March, this isn't a matter of version one versus two—it's about Genesis Pass versus Standard Pass.

EPG is now discontinued, making it a cherished collectible and a badge of honor within the ecosystem. EPGs will gradually flow to ELEDAO’s ecosystem partners and project teams. DeBox, BabySwap, and TP Wallet have already announced their holdings. With every transfer, the ELE ecosystem grows stronger.

EPS is a growth-oriented utility NFT. By holding EPS, users gain access to a basic benefits package including governance rights, economic perks, and product privileges. Additionally, by continuously using platform products and services, users can increase their loyalty level and earn additional airdrops—enabling a true Do2Earn model. EPS will encourage more NFT users to participate in and understand utility NFTs, growing together with Element and sharing in the platform’s success.

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The release of EPG has already set the NFT utility flywheel in motion. The launch of EPS will work synergistically with EPG—like interlocking gears driving each other forward.

This announcement marks Element’s decision to chart a new course—one different from others, and unlike anything seen before. Pioneering a new path is always challenging, and the first step is often the hardest. Like a flywheel, getting it moving from a standstill requires tremendous effort—each rotation feels difficult. But no effort is wasted. Once momentum builds, the utility flywheel will spin faster and faster.

Just as I was finalizing this article, Element tweeted another update: confirming the total supply of $ELE at 2 billion tokens. The combined airdrop allocations for users who participated in the 2022 OG Program and Elemental Storm campaign amount to approximately 2.35% of the total supply. The first round of staking rewards for EPG holders accounts for 1.25%. So far, only 3.6% of tokens have known allocation plans. It’s clear that multiple, possibly even dozens of future token incentive rounds will be distributed to both EPG and EPS holders.

Beyond token incentives, Element still has much more to unveil. More revolutionary innovations are building momentum to propel the rise of utility NFTs. As Element founder Wang Feng put it:

Continuous R&D and product development;
Constant engagement on Twitter and in communities;
Ongoing fundraising and investment;
Continuous ecosystem expansion and strategic moves.

Since its inception over a year ago, Element has been quietly laying the groundwork. Now, the sails are fully raised, and a new great voyage is about to begin. Ups and downs, fluctuations, and turbulence will be part of everyday life at sea. But to overcome the stormy waves, we need partners united by shared vision and common purpose—working together to brave the winds and reach the new continent beyond.

Will you embark on this great voyage with Element?

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