A Quick Overview of the NFT Ecosystem Blueprint: Games, Music, Tools, and Infrastructure, etc

*This article was published in Crypto Valley Live, authors **: *Kevin and Steven, translation: Jeremy.

When approaching the cryptocurrency space, the direct distinction you can make is between fungible tokens and non-fungible tokens.

Bitcoin tokens are fungible. You don’t need to care about which specific Bitcoin token you own; you only need to care about how many tokens are in your wallet. The same goes for Ethereum, Litecoin, and any standard-issued DeFi.

NFT Industry Map via fatcatfun.com

However, non-fungible tokens—commonly known as NFTs—are unique because you care about "which one": whether it's a newly issued Handshake TLD or the rare Axies and Cryptopunks and Hashmasks you have collected.

The uniqueness of NFTs is what makes them special, as the things we cherish in the real world are also unique: there is only one LeBron James, one Mona Lisa, and one Charlie's Angels. As software consumes the world, these real-world items will also be represented by such NFT tokens.

In our own exploration, to better understand this industry, we created a map of key products, participants, and protocols. This is a rapidly growing ecosystem composed of thriving creators, well-known brands, new marketplaces, game studios, whale collectors, and foundational technologies that are reshaping industries like art, music, gaming, and fashion.

Given the pace and creativity of development in this field, we know that our map may become outdated once published and may spark debate. However, we hope it can serve as a starting point for enthusiasts and builders, and we welcome your feedback to make it better.

Market

Like CEXs, marketplaces are often the first interaction point for new NFT users.

Artists and game designers mint and sell these items to collectors and gamers purchasing NFT items.

Marketplaces often form the backbone of a larger online community with additional features such as resale and showcasing.

• Async Art

• Auctionity

• Bounce

• Foundation

• KnownOrigin

• MakersPlace

• Mintable

• Mintbase

• Nifty Gateway

• NFTEX

• OpenBazaar

• OpenSea

• Rarible

• SuperRare

• Terra Virtua

• TokenTrove

Game Studios

Companies that build and publish blockchain games (mostly centralized) are like dynamic visualizations of crypto technology. Emerging leaders include:

• Dapper Labs

• Horizon Blockchain Games

• Lucid Sight

• Platinum Egg

Collectibles

Crypto is akin to collecting coins and trading cards. Crypto collectibles best illustrate the "uniqueness" characteristic of non-fungible tokens.

CryptoPunks and Rare Pepe cards are OG crypto collectibles, while CryptoKitties dominated this category during the 2017 bull market, and now NBA Top Shot and Hashmasks are also growing in this space.

Collectibles often blur with gaming, much like "Magic: The Gathering" did 25 years ago.

• Aavegotchi
• CryptoKitties
• CryptoPunks
• Hashmasks
• NBA Top Shot
• Rare Pepe
• Sorare

Music

The plight of musicians has been well demonstrated: opaque ownership and intermediaries control the distribution between artists and fans.

A new generation of music streaming platforms (like decentralized Spotify) allows fans to own a share of the artist's royalty stream and/or the streaming platform itself. This ownership stake obtained through NFTs is transparent, transferable, and can be used to grant other benefits such as exclusive usage rights and governance voting rights.

• Audius

• ROCKI

Funds

Investment companies that hold exclusive or concentrated NFT portfolios. Many of these "funds" blur the lines between investors and builders—often deceiving them about the concepts they invest in.

Flamingo opens investment decisions to DAO members. Metapurse recently showcased its NFTs within a virtual metaverse. WHALE minted its own social token, backed by a diversified collection of NFTs worth millions of dollars.

• Flamingo

• Metapurse

• Polyient Games

• WHALE

News and Research

As the NFT space evolves, specialized agencies covering NFT news and market research have also emerged:

• CryptoSlam!

• NFT Guru

• NonFungible

Domain Names

Decentralized, permissionless projects are replacing the currently ICANN-dominated domain name industry. You can finally own a domain name that won't be censored or taken away if you forget to pay for renewal, and you can even own TLDs (like ".com", ".org", etc.)

• Ethereum Name Service (ENS)

• Handshake

• Unstoppable Domains

Infrastructure

These are the protocols, blockchains, and building modules of the NFT ecosystem.

• Charged Particles

• Enjin

• Flow

• Forte

• Gala Games

• Immutable

• NFTX

• Phantasma

• Pixura

• Planetarium

• Tari

• Worldwide Asset eXchange (WAX)

• Xaya

Metaverse

Minecraft, but on the blockchain. James Halliday's OASIS. These ambitious projects are building an organic world where you can play, meet, collect, and earn.

• Axie Infinity

• Cryptovoxels

• Decentraland

• Somnium Space

Tools

Projects with specific and useful functions, from minting NFTs to showcasing your crypto art collection.

• Calaxy
• Collab.Land
• Collectors Hub
• NFT Bank
• Outpost
• Rally
• Roll
• Showtime
• Valuables by Cent
• Zora