Having always had my finger on the pulse of technological advances, my interest in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) came naturally. I quickly developed a penchant for NFTs when they emerged to the mainstream last year as part of the ‘blockchain craze’.
Non-fungible tokens or NFTs record ownership and are stored on a blockchain. They’re digital tokens or assets with unique identification codes and data that differentiate them from each other. Once I grew familiar with NFTs and how they worked, I put my learnings to use and invested in a few projects that piqued my interest.
Today, NFTs are most commonly tied to virtual art and collectables, but there are several examples where digital tokens have been deployed in tandem with physical assets. We’ve already witnessed this in the real estate sector, with Tech Crunch founder Michael Arrington selling his apartment as part of the world’s first NFT property auction.
The opportunities within the NFT space are manifold. NFTs can help solve daily functionalities. While these opportunities mostly depend on the industry, every business can benefit from the NFT market in some way or the other.
Being from the real estate space, I believe that NFTs can take investment in the sector to a whole new level, be it in the form of fractional ownership or through direct title-deed transaction ease. An advantage for the property market is that royalties can be built into these tokens, which means they have the potential to be used alongside the Real Estate Regulatory Authority title deeds.
In case of the entertainment sector, for instance, having concert tickets put up in the NFT space can help protect customer details as well as streamline secondary sales of tickets. The automotive industry is securing customer service by placing guarantees, warrantees, and policies on NFTs that connect to insurance companies directly. Many industries have shown certain functionalities that can be utilised by incorporating NFTs and block chain into their operations.
As NFTs are still in the nascent phase, it may take time for the concept to be accepted far and wide. At this point, one of the main challenges is being able to differentiate and sift through the frothy NFTs that are plainly based on hype and taking advantage of an unchartered territory.There’s also the uncertainty of choosing projects that have actual value, in comparison with those that aren’t as valuable. As NFTs grow more popular, these fears and insecurities may vanish in due time.
Post-pandemic, technology is going to see drastic growth, and we can expect to see plenty of new developments in blockchain and Web3, in particular. I have no doubt that traditional property deeds and mechanisms will continue to be used for many years to come, but I certainly see the adoption of blockchain-enabled technologies, such as NFTs, playing a key part in the future of our industry.
Amira Sajwani is the General Manager of Sales and Development at DAMAC Properties. She’s a graduate of Uni- versity College London, where she majored in Project Management for Construction. She holds a Masters in Finance from the London School of Economics. She’s an NFT enthusiast and en- joys sports, especially tennis, fencing and boxing. She also promotes healthy living and likes activity-based travels that include skiing and hiking. Follow @Amirasajwani on Instagram; Photography by Aasiya Jagadeesh
