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Top NFT trends in 2022

Maciej Zieliński

05 Apr 2022
Top NFT trends in 2022

NFTs - 2021 was their year. The world went crazy searching for new NFT projects to generate record secondary sales revenue. What will 2022 bring? This article summarizes everything you need to know about the upcoming NFT trends.

Table of Contents

NFT boom 

Surprisingly, NFT tokens are older than many would expect. It was in 2014 when the first NFT token - rainbow Bitcoin was created. The project didn't get even a fraction of the attention gained by its fungible cousin. ERC-721, a non-fungible token's standard on Ethereum, initially suffered the same fate. While fungible ERC-20 quickly became a fundament of the DeFi industry, ERC-721 remained relatively unknown, without any significant use-cases on a horizon. 

Things began to change with an inconspicuous collectible game - CryptoKitties. Created by DapperLabs, the game was the first commercial use of ERC-721 tokens and NFT in general. Essentially,  it allows players to buy, collect, and sell virtual kitties. The game is based on a simple collectible game pattern, yet with a blockchain technology twist. All the collectibles are stored as non-fungible tokens; moreover, exchanges and transactions in-game are facilitated on a blockchain. The game quickly gained tremendous popularity in the crypto community, bringing DapperLabs revenue of 200 million in just a few months. 

How NFT ownership became a thing in 2021

The game was a breakthrough for NFTs that accelerated processes that later resulted in worldwide usage and mainstream popularity of this technology. Yet, the true boom in the non-fungible assets market began only in 2021. NBA’s opening their NFT marketplace, digital artist Beeple on Sotheby's auctions, or astronomic values of virtual land plots in Axie's Infinity - those events got an immersive coverage in conventional media and attracted the public attention to NFT for good. 

Suddenly, underrated non-fungible tokens became the most discussed element of the blockchain world. Masses of people who had never been interested in Blockchain started searching for new collections, buying tokens, and discussing the most efficient strategies. 

With such a boom in popularity, NFT ventures flourished. Dozens of new collections were created every day. Crypto punks, Bored apes yacht club, Axie Infinity- to name a few - with the highest sales volume. NFT digital art started being displayed in museums all over the world. At some point, NFT collectibles crossed with gaming resulting in exciting NFT gaming projects and redefining the play-to-earn concept. Moreover, Ethereum blockchain more and more often began to be replaced by more efficient solutions, such as Polygon or Solana. 

With such dynamic development in 2021, one question became inevitable: what will 2022 bring? What will be the hottest NFT trends in 2022? 

1. The growing share of Solana 

Solana is a third-generation blockchain that, unlike other blockchains, uses a hybrid consensus algorithm. To be more precise, it combines proof-of-history (PoH) with proof-of-stake (PoS). Due to that, it can process over 50,000 transactions per second. To compare, Ethereum can't handle more than 30 at the same time. 

Launched in 2020 by the Solana foundation, Solana Blockchain aims to solve scaling problems that struggle with most current blockchain protocols. Its main objective is to support DeFi ecosystem growth by fitting in the so-called blockchain trilemma: decentralization, security, and scalability.

Combining those three factors seems to be the holy grail of the blockchain world. Many projects succeed in supporting one or even two of the factors but fail when it comes to others. Solana engineers believe that they have implemented all three. 

Solana NFTs 

OK, so we have a fast, very promising blockchain with quickly increasing popularity. Why shouldn't we use it for NFT minting? Many recently emerged NFT ventures prove that it might be a fantastic idea. 

What new possibilities can the Solana ecosystem bring to the world of NFTs? Think about 3D NFT or whole NFT-based games with mechanics primarily performed on-chain. Because of high gas prices, it would never be possible on Ethereum. The low fees and high speed that Solana offers may open entirely new doors for NFT development. 

Ethereum pushed aside

Ethereum is still the leading Blockchain among NFT ventures. Yet, according to many analyses, including the one done by JPMorgan, it's substantially losing its share. 

According to the bank's report, in 2021, Ethereum's market share of NFTs has dropped from about 95% to around 80%. The same publication stated that the Solana blockchain captured most of the lost volume share. 

2. Fractionalized NFT art

Offering fractionalized NTFs of real-world artworks is one of the most prominent trends on the NFT market that might fill the gap between traditional art and its new redefined form that NFTs initially proposed. For centuries the art market was associated with lucrative investment opportunities. Yet, what has been stopping ordinary investors were high entry barriers. Investing in Picasso or Rothko can generate vast profits, but thinking realistically, how many people would be able to afford them? What fractionalized NFTs offer is the democratization of high art investment. 

Filling the gap between real-life's and digital art

Notwithstanding how futuristic it may sound, the trend already has its beginning with STO's boom and tokenization project backed by art. For example, in 2021, Switzerland-based digital asset bank - Sygnum and art investment business - Artemundi teamed up to mint 4,000 security tokens backed in Picasso's Fillette au béret. Each could be bought for a fraction of the full artwork value. However, if we wanted to distinguish the beginning of art's tokenization, we'd have to go back to 2017 when Maecenas tokenized Andy Warhol's 14 Little Electric Chairs.

Essentially, those projects didn't differ substantially from other tokenization of unconventional assets, such as cars or precious metals. Furthermore, it is notable that in both cases, fungible tokens were used, which means that every single one of them has an equal value and can be traded directly for another. At the same time, none of them represent a particular part of an artwork. But this matter can be changed by applying NFTs.

What NFTs bring to the art world

What differentiates NFT's art tokenization and the one facilitated by fungible tokens is the fact that the first one involves "dividing" an artwork into pieces and minting tokens that represent them. Here every token is unique and represents different parts of an artwork. NFTs give that extra layer of uniqueness that previous forms of fractionalized art ownership were missing. 

The relationship between pop art and NFTs is rather obvious; therefore, it shouldn't be surprising that one of the first artworks tokenized was the one created by a true contemporary pop art icon - Banksy. In 2020, Exposed Wall extracted his mural, Gorilla in a Pink Mask, from one of the buildings in Bristol and tokenized it into 10,000 fractionalized NFTs. Each was sold for $750, which made an ordinary consumer buy their unique part of a piece created by one of the most influential artists of our time.

3. Big brands start to use NFTs

It's quite a common pattern for new technology solutions that the success of smaller projects eventually attracts the greatest of this world. NFTs, for sure, aren't an exception.

Currently, more and more brands are starting to explore opportunities that NFTs can bring them. So far, leading industries are fashion and, surprisingly, food. Companies such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and even McDonald's or Taco Bell have already released their limited digital collectibles. For big brands, minting NFTs allows them to build stronger brand awareness and increase customer engagement. 

What's important, such projects stimulated the significant interest of NFT holders. A great example of that is Pringles, which created a limited collection of NFT crisps with "virtual flavor." Limited to just 50 versions, tokens were sold by the company for the price of the normal pack of crisps - $2. But today, their price hovers around 4 ETH on OpenSeaand Rarible.

The music industry is another branch where we're likely to see more and more applications of NFTs coming this year. Artists all over the world started to notice and use the potential of this technology, which allows them not only to embrace their relationship with fans but also creates new revenue streams. 

American band Kings of Leon was one of the first to leverage this technology in the industry. Their eighth studio album, When You See Yourself, was released in March 2021 as an NFT token. The sale of NFTs, in which the company Yellow Heart was represented, ended on March 19, generating over $2 million in revenue. 

The NFT tokens released by the band in many ways resemble the typical merch of artists: they guarantee access to future concerts, covers, or a limited vinyl edition. The applied technology makes NFT tokens unique. Because NFT tokens use smart contracts, a set of rules may be taken into account by their creator to determine what should happen when an NFT is used or changes hands. It is precisely this aspect of NFT tokens that is the most valuable for the music industry.

Thanks to NFT tokens, musicians can retain direct ownership of the rights to the song and collect royalties for playback and sales without the intervention of intermediaries.

NFT music market flourishes

Kings of Leon were quickly followed by other prominent artists who decided to release their own NFT collections or even whole albums saved as non-fungible-tokens. In 2022 this trend will be even more visible as today artists don't have to launch their own page to sell NFTs; instead, they can use one of the already created NFT marketplaces. 

Band Royalty NFTs is an excellent example of such a venture. This music NFT marketplace not only enables musicians to release their music in the form of NFT, but also allows them to earn a share of income every time their song is played.

5. Personality NFT 

Apps that enable artists to perform as an NFT personality could be the next big thing in 2022. "I think this year [2022] we'll definitely start seeing more of these personalities that are NFTs," says Jace Kay, Bored Ape Yacht Club and Stereoheadz founder. 

Substituting your real-life personality with digital isn't something new for musicians and other stage performers. Yet, what was started by Gorillaz in 1998, is now being taken to a new level in NFT space. 

6. Playable NFTs

NFT games might be the hottest trend in the gaming industry right now. As we mentioned before, the current NFT boom started with a game. Therefore the link between non-fungible tokens and the gaming industry seems almost natural. 

The gaming industry is a powerful branch fueled by its consumers' passion. When gamers launch their favorite title, they immerse themselves in a new, alternative world. A quick look at the most popular games of the last decade, like League of Legends, Fortnite, or Counter-Strike, should be enough to see how modern gamers care about their characters, skins, and other in-game items. They treat them as an extension of their creative self. And what's important, they can pay a lot for it.

The games have shown us how far beyond the real world urge to build a collection of unique items can go. But do the purchased gaming collectibles become their property? Do these items differ somehow from the ones possessed by others? What is the actual value of an asset? Often, the answer is not so simple. In 2021, NFTs showed us that they might change that. 

Everywhere where users collect and trade in-game assets, NFTs can highly improve their experience. Essentially, they assure players about the authenticity and scarcity of gaming assets allowing them to keep full ownership of the purchased assets. 

Collectible games seem to be a perfect environment for NFTs. That's why we have seen a rapid growth of projects of such type during the last year. Yet, the potential of NFT gaming solutions goes far beyond them. Just think about online board games or PVP battle games. 

Currently, the NFT market is the fastest developing branch of the DeFi world. Since 2021, we've been observing an actual boom in the NFT space. Thanks to blockchain technology, new possibilities are constantly emerging, and we can expect even more groundbreaking implementations in 2022.

Last years’ experience shows that even the most prominent companies are not afraid to stray from the path, and introduce innovations. NFT can become one of them. Obviously, in some industries, a more expansive use is only a song of the future, but all signs point to it happening quicker than we may anticipate.

Are you thinking about your own NFT project? In the industry, there is still a lot of space for development, so this may be the perfect moment. Consult our experts at Nextrope for free. Contact us at contact@nextrope.com.

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AI in Real Estate: How Does It Support the Housing Market?

Miłosz Mach

18 Mar 2025
AI in Real Estate: How Does It Support the Housing Market?
Table of Contents

The digital transformation is reshaping numerous sectors of the economy, and real estate is no exception. By 2025, AI will no longer be a mere gadget but a powerful tool that facilitates customer interactions, streamlines decision-making processes, and optimizes sales operations. Simultaneously, blockchain technology ensures security, transparency, and scalability in transactions. With this article, we launch a series of publications exploring AI in business, focusing today on the application of artificial intelligence within the real estate industry.

AI vs. Tradition: Key Implementations of AI in Real Estate

Designing, selling, and managing properties—traditional methods are increasingly giving way to data-driven decision-making.

Breakthroughs in Customer Service

AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are revolutionizing how companies interact with their customers. These tools handle hundreds of inquiries simultaneously, personalize offers, and guide clients through the purchasing process. Implementing AI agents can lead to higher-quality leads for developers and automate responses to most standard customer queries. However, technical challenges in deploying such systems include:

  • Integration with existing real estate databases: Chatbots must have access to up-to-date listings, prices, and availability.
  • Personalization of communication: Systems must adapt their interactions to individual customer needs.
  • Management of industry-specific knowledge: Chatbots require specialized expertise about local real estate markets.

Advanced Data Analysis

Cognitive AI systems utilize deep learning to analyze complex relationships within the real estate market, such as macroeconomic trends, local zoning plans, and user behavior on social media platforms. Deploying such solutions necessitates:

  • Collecting high-quality historical data.
  • Building infrastructure for real-time data processing.
  • Developing appropriate machine learning models.
  • Continuously monitoring and updating models based on new data.

Intelligent Design

Generative artificial intelligence is revolutionizing architectural design. These advanced algorithms can produce dozens of building design variants that account for site constraints, legal requirements, energy efficiency considerations, and aesthetic preferences.

Optimizing Building Energy Efficiency

Smart building management systems (BMS) leverage AI to optimize energy consumption while maintaining resident comfort. Reinforcement learning algorithms analyze data from temperature, humidity, and air quality sensors to adjust heating, cooling, and ventilation parameters effectively.

Integration of AI with Blockchain in Real Estate

The convergence of AI with blockchain technology opens up new possibilities for the real estate sector. Blockchain is a distributed database where information is stored in immutable "blocks." It ensures transaction security and data transparency while AI analyzes these data points to derive actionable insights. In practice, this means that ownership histories, all transactions, and property modifications are recorded in an unalterable format, with AI aiding in interpreting these records and informing decision-making processes.

AI has the potential to bring significant value to the real estate sector—estimated between $110 billion and $180 billion by experts at McKinsey & Company.

Key development directions over the coming years include:

  • Autonomous negotiation systems: AI agents equipped with game theory strategies capable of conducting complex negotiations.
  • AI in urban planning: Algorithms designed to plan city development and optimize spatial allocation.
  • Property tokenization: Leveraging blockchain technology to divide properties into digital tokens that enable fractional investment opportunities.

Conclusion

For companies today, the question is no longer "if" but "how" to implement AI to maximize benefits and enhance competitiveness. A strategic approach begins with identifying specific business challenges followed by selecting appropriate technologies.

What values could AI potentially bring to your organization?
  • Reduction of operational costs through automation
  • Enhanced customer experience and shorter transaction times
  • Increased accuracy in forecasts and valuations, minimizing business risks
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Want to implement AI in your real estate business?

Nextrope specializes in implementing AI and blockchain solutions tailored to specific business needs. Our expertise allows us to:

  • Create intelligent chatbots that serve customers 24/7
  • Implement analytical systems for property valuation
  • Build secure blockchain solutions for real estate transactions
Schedule a free consultation

Or check out other articles from the "AI in Business" series

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AI-Driven Frontend Automation: Elevating Developer Productivity to New Heights

Gracjan Prusik

11 Mar 2025
AI-Driven Frontend Automation: Elevating Developer Productivity to New Heights

AI Revolution in the Frontend Developer's Workshop

In today's world, programming without AI support means giving up a powerful tool that radically increases a developer's productivity and efficiency. For the modern developer, AI in frontend automation is not just a curiosity, but a key tool that enhances productivity. From automatically generating components, to refactoring, and testing – AI tools are fundamentally changing our daily work, allowing us to focus on the creative aspects of programming instead of the tedious task of writing repetitive code. In this article, I will show how these tools are most commonly used to work faster, smarter, and with greater satisfaction.

This post kicks off a series dedicated to the use of AI in frontend automation, where we will analyze and discuss specific tools, techniques, and practical use cases of AI that help developers in their everyday tasks.

AI in Frontend Automation – How It Helps with Code Refactoring

One of the most common uses of AI is improving code quality and finding errors. These tools can analyze code and suggest optimizations. As a result, we will be able to write code much faster and significantly reduce the risk of human error.

How AI Saves Us from Frustrating Bugs

Imagine this situation: you spend hours debugging an application, not understanding why data isn't being fetched. Everything seems correct, the syntax is fine, yet something isn't working. Often, the problem lies in small details that are hard to catch when reviewing the code.

Let’s take a look at an example:

function fetchData() {
    fetch("htts://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts")
      .then((response) => response.json())
      .then((data) => console.log(data))
      .catch((error) => console.error(error));
}

At first glance, the code looks correct. However, upon running it, no data is retrieved. Why? There’s a typo in the URL – "htts" instead of "https." This is a classic example of an error that could cost a developer hours of frustrating debugging.

When we ask AI to refactor this code, not only will we receive a more readable version using newer patterns (async/await), but also – and most importantly – AI will automatically detect and fix the typo in the URL:

async function fetchPosts() {
    try {
      const response = await fetch(
        "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts"
      );
      const data = await response.json();
      console.log(data);
    } catch (error) {
      console.error(error);
    }
}

How AI in Frontend Automation Speeds Up UI Creation

One of the most obvious applications of AI in frontend development is generating UI components. Tools like GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, or Claude can generate component code based on a short description or an image provided to them.

With these tools, we can create complex user interfaces in just a few seconds. Generating a complete, functional UI component often takes less than a minute. Furthermore, the generated code is typically error-free, includes appropriate animations, and is fully responsive, adapting to different screen sizes. It is important to describe exactly what we expect.

Here’s a view generated by Claude after entering the request: “Based on the loaded data, display posts. The page should be responsive. The main colors are: #CCFF89, #151515, and #E4E4E4.”

Generated posts view

AI in Code Analysis and Understanding

AI can analyze existing code and help understand it, which is particularly useful in large, complex projects or code written by someone else.

Example: Generating a summary of a function's behavior

Let’s assume we have a function for processing user data, the workings of which we don’t understand at first glance. AI can analyze the code and generate a readable explanation:

function processUserData(users) {
  return users
    .filter(user => user.isActive) // Checks the `isActive` value for each user and keeps only the objects where `isActive` is true
    .map(user => ({ 
      id: user.id, // Retrieves the `id` value from each user object
      name: `${user.firstName} ${user.lastName}`, // Creates a new string by combining `firstName` and `lastName`
      email: user.email.toLowerCase(), // Converts the email address to lowercase
    }));
}

In this case, AI not only summarizes the code's functionality but also breaks down individual operations into easier-to-understand segments.

AI in Frontend Automation – Translations and Error Detection

Every frontend developer knows that programming isn’t just about creatively building interfaces—it also involves many repetitive, tedious tasks. One of these is implementing translations for multilingual applications (i18n). Adding translations for each key in JSON files and then verifying them can be time-consuming and error-prone.

However, AI can significantly speed up this process. Using ChatGPT, DeepSeek, or Claude allows for automatic generation of translations for the user interface, as well as detecting linguistic and stylistic errors.

Example:

We have a translation file in JSON format:

{
  "welcome_message": "Welcome to our application!",
  "logout_button": "Log out",
  "error_message": "Something went wrong. Please try again later."
}

AI can automatically generate its Polish version:

{
  "welcome_message": "Witaj w naszej aplikacji!",
  "logout_button": "Wyloguj się",
  "error_message": "Coś poszło nie tak. Spróbuj ponownie później."
}

Moreover, AI can detect spelling errors or inconsistencies in translations. For example, if one part of the application uses "Log out" and another says "Exit," AI can suggest unifying the terminology.

This type of automation not only saves time but also minimizes the risk of human errors. And this is just one example – AI also assists in generating documentation, writing tests, and optimizing performance, which we will discuss in upcoming articles.

Summary

Artificial intelligence is transforming the way frontend developers work daily. From generating components and refactoring code to detecting errors, automating testing, and documentation—AI significantly accelerates and streamlines the development process. Without these tools, we would lose a lot of valuable time, which we certainly want to avoid.

In the next parts of this series, we will cover topics such as:

Stay tuned to keep up with the latest insights!

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