Although 2020 was a major year for cryptocurrencies and the start of DeFi’s rise, 2021 will be all about non-fungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs aren’t exactly new. The underlying idea behind NFTs didn’t come to fruition until the launch of Cryptokitties, an Ethereum-based game.

Since then, NFT-mania has erupted, resulting in sky-high prices for one-of-a-kind collectibles. Global musicians, entertainers, actors, and other high-profile individuals have raised visibility and also inspired legacy auction houses including Sotheby’s and Christie’s to participate.

The platforms and tokens that sustain these novel creations are one of the major drivers of this trend. The dynamic approach of NFTs, according to Luis Aureliano, a financial analyst and macroeconomics specialist with more than 15 years of experience, is another significant step toward making blockchain more relatable to a wider audience.

“Cryptocurrencies, though becoming more practical, have had a slow acceptance rate due to their limited appeal. NFTs also sparked widespread interest, due in part to a slew of celebrity endorsements that have brought national exposure to the nascent industry.”

According to Luis, the platforms that have fueled NFTs’ rise in popularity are the very epicenters of their creativity, as evidenced by rising native token valuations.

“Some of these platforms’ services were deemed worthless when they first appeared. Now, these same companies are laughing all the way to the bank as pop culture, art, and collecting make their way into their ecosystems, boosting blockchain interaction. The value of corresponding tokens reflects this fact and foreshadows NFTs’ future potential.

These nine native NFT platform tokens, according to Luis, are worth keeping an eye on as their success and stewardship herald a new age for blockchain’s usability and scope.

Ethernity

At the moment, Ethernity Chain is one of the most popular NFT platforms. In March, the value of its utility token, ERN, increased dramatically. It was listed for $0.275 when it first launched on March 8, 2021, but this number quickly jumped to $3.50 after its IDO on Polkastarter ended. It was trading at $33 within five days, and on March 27, 2021, it hit an all-time high of close to $74. Despite the fact that the price has since fallen to $38.7, its price trajectory in less than a month indicates that it has considerable potential.

Ethernity Chain is a digital art marketplace that sells NFTs sports cards, collectibles, and digital artwork. Its mission is to donate a portion of its profits to charity and encourage social good. It also assists artists and other creatives in auctioning their works, with a portion of the proceeds going to the artist’s chosen charity. The platform is still growing, and it recently announced a partnership with Kinetic Company, a crypto investment firm that will help it broaden its ecosystem.

Ethernity recently took a giant step toward revolutionizing the licensing industry by teaming up with Jason Hauser, a well-known digital artist. This is consistent with Ethernity’s trend of collaborating closely with top artists in order to promote them better.

Theta

Theta blockchain is a network that uses its cryptocurrency to stream videos. It was created to address the issues facing the streaming industry by incentivizing users to share their network bandwidth. In return, users are given Theta tokens. Theta has enormous potential as the only end-to-end platform for decentralized video streaming and distribution.

THETA is currently worth $11.79, and as the Theta blockchain develops, there is more space for development. Surprisingly, the asset was once among the top ten crypto assets by market capitalization, indicating its immense potential. It was founded in 2018, and it already has backing from Samsung Electronics’ venture arm and Sony Corporation’s Innovation Fund, indicating that it has the support of major industry players.

Superfarm

SuperFarm is another NFT platform to keep an eye on. Its creators defined it as a cross-chain DeFi protocol that can convert any token into an NFT farm without the need for any coding. This would address the dilemma of many crypto projects’ underlying assets and tokens having tangible usefulness. The platform provides a set of tools that projects can use to incentivize behaviors and add value to tokens.

The SuperFarm token is currently valued at $2.77, more than double its value from a month ago as more people understand its utility and value. SuperFarm is a fantastic forum for crypto-to-crypto and NFT farming because it is so easy to use. Its user interface is excellent, and its NFT infrastructure is extensive, with an NFT marketplace, NFT generation, ERC20 generation, NFT multiverse video game, NFT farming, and Crypto farming capabilities all available.

Decentraland

This is a platform that should excite anyone who enjoys gaming and is interested in blockchain technology.  Decentraland is a decentralized virtual reality gaming platform that was announced in 2018 but was not available until 2020. The platform is built on Ethereum and is designed to help people create, build, sell, and host virtual assets.

Users can purchase virtual properties on Decentraland in order to start an online or virtual company. The platform’s virtual lands can be used to build various structures that can be monetized or sold for profit. The ERC-721 token LAND represents the land and is a non-fungible asset on the platform. There are 90,000 pieces of LAND, each measuring 33 by 33 feet. A LAND height, on the other hand, has no ceiling, so an owner could potentially keep building higher.

A set of LAND forms a district, which is a community of buildings with a common theme, much like in real cities. The native cryptocurrency, MANA, is an ERC-20 token that gives users the ability to vote on issues affecting their districts. It can also be used to purchase LAND as well as other virtual resources and properties on the platform. Its present value is $0.9858.

LAND in Decentraland can be used for something. Rarible, SuperRare, MakerDAO, and other blockchain companies have used their LAND parcels as virtual offices and galleries. Some people use it for virtual meetings and live events.

Enjin

Another gaming network based on blockchain technology. Enjin is basically a storage and management platform for virtual assets used in games. Enjin can thus store, handle, and sell anything from tokens representing unique in-game objects like accessories or guns to in-game currencies.

It is based on the Ethereum blockchain and uses the ENJ cryptocurrency as its native currency. Users may build digital assets to incorporate into apps and games as required, with the assets being customizable to function on the platform in question. The assets are valued in ENJ, which is currently trading at $2.39 per share. Enjin’s value comes from its ability to mint digital assets for a variety of gaming environments. Already, the platform has partnered with major corporations such as Microsoft, which acknowledges the platform’s immense potential and importance to its ecosystem.

Kiwie

 This platform is a digital art marketplace where street artworks are sold as NFTs. For every painted street artwork, a corresponding digital artwork is created and minted, and an NFT containing the physical coordinates is added. Anyone who purchases digital artwork on the platform will also be the owner of the street art. The digital artwork turns into a ghost version when the street artwork is repainted or destroyed.

This platform’s goal is to have KIWIE “fat monster” street artwork in 195 countries.

Unicly

Unicly is a non-fungible token that is worth considering in addition to all of these. Despite the fact that it has yet to launch, the promise that this platform holds for the NFTs industry as a whole ensures its future success. Unicly’s main selling point is its ability to fractionalize NFTs. NFTs are commonly thought to be one-of-a-kind tokens that contain one-of-a-kind digital properties. Although this has been their main selling point, it has also proven to be difficult, particularly when selling expensive NFTs. Users would be able to own a fraction of an NFT via Unicly, allowing for greater liquidity. The platform will include uTokens, which will enable holders of these NFTs to vote on whether to sell or hold.

Terra Virtua

Terra Virtua can appear to be similar to Decentraland at first glance. Terra Virtua, on the other hand, does not have the same experience; Terra Virtua is an Augmented Virtual Reality platform that allows users to sell, collect, and create NFTs.

Terra Virtua will allow users to buy or build NFT environments such as race tracks and virtual lounges, and then populate them with collectible NFTs that can be won, purchased, or built.

Terra Virtua, which sells collectibles from movies like Pacific Rim and Lost in Space, is designed for collectors to show off and explore their collections in a secure environment protected by Blockchain’s decentralized framework.

Hoard Platform

The Hoard platform has announced the launch of an NFT marketplace where users can lend, rent, and exchange NFTS. Lenders may use NFTs as collateral to grant stablecoin loans with premia.

Staking on Hoard’s HRD coin is also supported by being liquidity providers on decentralized exchanges like Uniswap, in return for UNIv2 coins, percentages on the trading pair, and bonuses on the Hoard marketplace.

In addition, Hoard wants to link its NFT marketplace with software development. This one-of-a-kind value proposition will be realized through infrastructure that connects in-game objects to the Ethereum blockchain.

The Hoard SDK is the software development kit for Hoard’s operation. It will be an easy-to-use Open-Source platform for integrating any game with its blockchain.

The development kit, which is known for its ease of use and thorough documentation, will enable game developers to continue working with NFTs without being bogged down in the world of blockchain coding. Players’ in-game properties, such as virtual real estate or collectibles, can now be easily tokenized, allowing them to exchange items more easily.

To Sum It All Up

Experts and observers predict that 2021 will be the year of NFTs. So far, developments in this space suggest that this is the case. From the millions of NFT artworks already sold to the production of many channels, it is obvious that it is here to stay. The most expensive piece was a $69 million art piece by Beeple. Since it is all in its early stages, there are a lot of things to keep an eye on.