NFT = Key (Case: MetaBrewSociety)
NFT = Key (Case: MetaBrewSociety)
Hello and welcome to MadeMeThink! Once a week I send out this newsletter with curated content, events and examples that have sparked my interest. It's a review of my last 7-days in Web3, NFTs and the Metaverse. Want to follow my thoughts on a daily basis? Then connect with me via Linkedin and Twitter. This article is also available in German.
In the public perception, NFTs are mostly perceived as overpriced pictures (JPEGs). But NFTs are more than JPEGs.
Rather, think of NFTs as keys that unlock different doors.
What is hidden behind these doors can differ depending on the project. Also, an NFT key can unlock new doors over time. I' ll explain what this means in the following with the help of concrete examples1.
The focus of this issue of MadeMeThink.xyz is the NFT project "MetaBrewSociety". The founders of MetaBrewSociety will issue 6,000 NFTs for about 1,000 euros presumably this September or October. The proceeds will be used to buy a brewery. But what will the NFT buyers have in return? To stay in my key analogy: The MetaBrewSociety NFT is a key to ~200 free cans of beer per year as long as the brewery exists2. That means, if the brewery exists for 500 years, NFT owners will get 200 free cans of beer delivered to their homes annually for 500 years. This idea that the NFT can provide a benefit across generations is something I find remarkable. It means I will eventually pass on the MetaBrewSociety NFT to my child, who will pass it on to his or her child, and so on. Then sometime in 2090, my great-grandson may get a MetaBrewSociety beer shipment delivered to his dorm for free, and the drinks for the next student party are taken care of. Hopefully there will be a toast to the great-grandfather then ;) Of course, this mind game only works if MetaBrewSociety lasts that long. If the business idea fails after a few years, the NFT of course loses its utility and its value, then there is consequently no more beer and this door is locked forever, the key worthless. In this respect, only invest money in NFTs that you are prepared to lose.
Fun fact: The annual beer consumption in Germany is about 95 liters per year, which means that with the 200 cans (100 liters) of MetaBrew beer, the owners of the NFT will actually never have to buy any additional beer. In the 1970s, the per capita beer consumption was still about 151 liters per capita, so the MetaBrew NFT would not have completely satisfied their thirst. (Source)
But what if someone has a MetaBrewSociety NFT but doesn't want to drink 200 cans of beer a year? In my opinion, MetaBrew has come up with an interesting solution here. The owners of the NFT get a quarterly NFT voucher for 50 cans of beer dropped into their wallet (article explaining airdrops), which they can then redeem or sell. Say, if I don't need any more beer in a given quarter, I sell my 50-beer NFT voucher through a marketplace like OpenSea, to a thirsty person in the NFT community. Or in my case, I'd probably raffle it off to one of the newsletter subscribers or sponsor the beer for a student party.
To learn more about MetaBrewSociety, I had a conversation with Holger, one of the co-founders. In our conversation, Holger explains the idea behind MetaBrewSociety, what they're up to, and how one can secure a whitelist spot for the mint. We also discuss challenges in starting an NFTs project, how easy or difficult it is to market an NFT project, and how MetaBrew is taking an innovative path regulatory-wise. For me, there were some interesting insights in this conversation and I think it's really worth listening to... but best listen to it yourself and feel free to give me feedback on how you liked it. It's the first interview of this kind I've done for MadeMeThink.xyz and if it is received well, I'll be inviting other interesting stakeholders in the areas of NFTs, Web3 and Metaverse to talk to me in the future.
I would like to continue to provide content on the MetaBrewSociety as an NFT case study. If you're interested in how the project is doing on their NFT mint and how the first year is going, don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter (if you haven't already).
So an NFT is a key that unlocks a door. In the case of MetaBrew the key locks the door to free beer ;) In other NFT projects the key locks other doors. Take for example the NFT project Futera United. Here owners of the NFT can co-manage a soccer club. That means every NFT owner has a vote in the club, for example on which player should play in the next match. This has sparked my interest. I find the use of NFTs in sports clubs interesting. I don't watch much sports myself, as I prefer to study NFTs, Web3 and the Metaverse, but even I often read about conflicts between club management / coaches and the fans. NFTs could blur the lines between club management / coaches and fans. I try to imagine how strong the fans' support would be if, for example, they could have a say in the lineup of their national team (and how little they then can blame the coach for a possible defeat afterwards).
The most common use of NFT keys is certainly access to content or communities. Take ZenAcademy, for example. Roy, the founder of ZenAcademy, creates quite some content on the topic of NFTs. Much of it is available for free. However, some content is only accessible via payment, such as his course on "How to Launch an NFT Project," which costs $399. ZenAcademy NFT owners, however, have with their NFT a key for free participation in this course. And the key not only unlocks the door for free participation in this course, but also unlocks the door for free participation in the follow-up course, "How to Build an NFT Community." In addition to this content, the NFT also opens the door to real-life experiences. For example, at the major NFT conferences, there are often meetups for ZenAcademy NFT owners. I was recently at a ZenAcademy Meetup in Amsterdam and besides Roy, I met other interesting people from the community and had great conversations. Funnily enough, Luca, one of the ZenAcademy moderators, is from Vorarlberg and graduated from my university. It's a small world. We are now looking to host a meetup here in the region in the fall with others interested in NFT/Web3. So if you live in the Lake Constance area and feel like exchanging thoughts and connecting, get in touch with me.
Disclaimer: The thoughts published in this publication are my personal opinions and should not be viewed as investment advice. I am not a financial expert. My specialty is entrepreneurship, innovation & marketing. Readers should always do their own research. I own various cryptocurrencies and NFTs, however in many cases it is for the sake of researching the field and gaining a deeper understanding of Web3, NFTs and the Metaverse and not for investment purposes.
This article is about "Utility NFTs". Art that is issued via NFTs follows different rules. For example, I have a lot of NFTs by artists that are not a key to a door, but simply wonderful pieces of art. The art itself is the utility.
When MetaBrewSociety NFTs are issued, various quantities of beer that can be received with them are allocated. The minimum amount is 160 cans, the maximum amount is 240 cans of beer per year. So for this post, I chose the midpoint of 200 cans of beer per year.