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.

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-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!

The Ultimate Web3 Backend Guide: Supercharge dApps with APIs

Tomasz Dybowski

04 Mar 2025
The Ultimate Web3 Backend Guide: Supercharge dApps with APIs

Introduction

Web3 backend development is essential for building scalable, efficient and decentralized applications (dApps) on EVM-compatible blockchains like Ethereum, Polygon, and Base. A robust Web3 backend enables off-chain computations, efficient data management and better security, ensuring seamless interaction between smart contracts, databases and frontend applications.

Unlike traditional Web2 applications that rely entirely on centralized servers, Web3 applications aim to minimize reliance on centralized entities. However, full decentralization isn't always possible or practical, especially when it comes to high-performance requirements, user authentication or storing large datasets. A well-structured backend in Web3 ensures that these limitations are addressed, allowing for a seamless user experience while maintaining decentralization where it matters most.

Furthermore, dApps require efficient backend solutions to handle real-time data processing, reduce latency, and provide smooth user interactions. Without a well-integrated backend, users may experience delays in transactions, inconsistencies in data retrieval, and inefficiencies in accessing decentralized services. Consequently, Web3 backend development is a crucial component in ensuring a balance between decentralization, security, and functionality.

This article explores:

  • When and why Web3 dApps need a backend
  • Why not all applications should be fully on-chain
  • Architecture examples of hybrid dApps
  • A comparison between APIs and blockchain-based logic

This post kicks off a Web3 backend development series, where we focus on the technical aspects of implementing Web3 backend solutions for decentralized applications.

Why Do Some Web3 Projects Need a Backend?

Web3 applications seek to achieve decentralization, but real-world constraints often necessitate hybrid architectures that include both on-chain and off-chain components. While decentralized smart contracts provide trustless execution, they come with significant limitations, such as high gas fees, slow transaction finality, and the inability to store large amounts of data. A backend helps address these challenges by handling logic and data management more efficiently while still ensuring that core transactions remain secure and verifiable on-chain.

Moreover, Web3 applications must consider user experience. Fully decentralized applications often struggle with slow transaction speeds, which can negatively impact usability. A hybrid backend allows for pre-processing operations off-chain while committing final results to the blockchain. This ensures that users experience fast and responsive interactions without compromising security and transparency.

While decentralization is a core principle of blockchain technology, many dApps still rely on a Web2-style backend for practical reasons:

1. Performance & Scalability in Web3 Backend Development

  • Smart contracts are expensive to execute and require gas fees for every interaction.
  • Offloading non-essential computations to a backend reduces costs and improves performance.
  • Caching and load balancing mechanisms in traditional backends ensure smooth dApp performance and improve response times for dApp users.
  • Event-driven architectures using tools like Redis or Kafka can help manage asynchronous data processing efficiently.

2. Web3 APIs for Data Storage and Off-Chain Access

  • Storing large amounts of data on-chain is impractical due to high costs.
  • APIs allow dApps to store & fetch off-chain data (e.g. user profiles, transaction history).
  • Decentralized storage solutions like IPFS, Arweave and Filecoin can be used for storing immutable data (e.g. NFT metadata), but a Web2 backend helps with indexing and querying structured data efficiently.

3. Advanced Logic & Data Aggregation in Web3 Backend

  • Some dApps need complex business logic that is inefficient or impossible to implement in a smart contract.
  • Backend APIs allow for data aggregation from multiple sources, including oracles (e.g. Chainlink) and off-chain databases.
  • Middleware solutions like The Graph help in indexing blockchain data efficiently, reducing the need for on-chain computation.

4. User Authentication & Role Management in Web3 dApps

  • Many applications require user logins, permissions or KYC compliance.
  • Blockchain does not natively support session-based authentication, requiring a backend for handling this logic.
  • Tools like Firebase Auth, Auth0 or Web3Auth can be used to integrate seamless authentication for Web3 applications.

5. Cost Optimization with Web3 APIs

  • Every change in a smart contract requires a new audit, costing tens of thousands of dollars.
  • By handling logic off-chain where possible, projects can minimize expensive redeployments.
  • Using layer 2 solutions like Optimism, Arbitrum and zkSync can significantly reduce gas costs.

Web3 Backend Development: Tools and Technologies

A modern Web3 backend integrates multiple tools to handle smart contract interactions, data storage, and security. Understanding these tools is crucial to developing a scalable and efficient backend for dApps. Without the right stack, developers may face inefficiencies, security risks, and scaling challenges that limit the adoption of their Web3 applications.

Unlike traditional backend development, Web3 requires additional considerations, such as decentralized authentication, smart contract integration, and secure data management across both on-chain and off-chain environments.

Here’s an overview of the essential Web3 backend tech stack:

1. API Development for Web3 Backend Services

  • Node.js is the go-to backend runtime good for Web3 applications due to its asynchronous event-driven architecture.
  • NestJS is a framework built on top of Node.js, providing modular architecture and TypeScript support for structured backend development.

2. Smart Contract Interaction Libraries for Web3 Backend

  • Ethers.js and Web3.js are TypeScript/JavaScript libraries used for interacting with Ethereum-compatible blockchains.

3. Database Solutions for Web3 Backend

  • PostgreSQL: Structured database used for storing off-chain transactional data.
  • MongoDB: NoSQL database for flexible schema data storage.
  • Firebase: A set of tools used, among other things, for user authentication.
  • The Graph: Decentralized indexing protocol used to query blockchain data efficiently.

4. Cloud Services and Hosting for Web3 APIs

When It Doesn't Make Sense to Go Fully On-Chain

Decentralization is valuable, but it comes at a cost. Fully on-chain applications suffer from performance limitations, high costs and slow execution speeds. For many use cases, a hybrid Web3 architecture that utilizes a mix of blockchain-based and off-chain components provides a more scalable and cost-effective solution.

In some cases, forcing full decentralization is unnecessary and inefficient. A hybrid Web3 architecture balances decentralization and practicality by allowing non-essential logic and data storage to be handled off-chain while maintaining trustless and verifiable interactions on-chain.

The key challenge when designing a hybrid Web3 backend is ensuring that off-chain computations remain auditable and transparent. This can be achieved through cryptographic proofs, hash commitments and off-chain data attestations that anchor trust into the blockchain while improving efficiency.

For example, Optimistic Rollups and ZK-Rollups allow computations to happen off-chain while only submitting finalized data to Ethereum, reducing fees and increasing throughput. Similarly, state channels enable fast, low-cost transactions that only require occasional settlement on-chain.

A well-balanced Web3 backend architecture ensures that critical dApp functionalities remain decentralized while offloading resource-intensive tasks to off-chain systems. This makes applications cheaper, faster and more user-friendly while still adhering to blockchain's principles of transparency and security.

Example: NFT-based Game with Off-Chain Logic

Imagine a Web3 game where users buy, trade and battle NFT-based characters. While asset ownership should be on-chain, other elements like:

  • Game logic (e.g., matchmaking, leaderboard calculations)
  • User profiles & stats
  • Off-chain notifications

can be handled off-chain to improve speed and cost-effectiveness.

Architecture Diagram

Below is an example diagram showing how a hybrid Web3 application splits responsibilities between backend and blockchain components.

Hybrid Web3 Architecture

Comparing Web3 Backend APIs vs. Blockchain-Based Logic

FeatureWeb3 Backend (API)Blockchain (Smart Contracts)
Change ManagementCan be updated easilyEvery change requires a new contract deployment
CostTraditional hosting feesHigh gas fees + costly audits
Data StorageCan store large datasetsLimited and expensive storage
SecuritySecure but relies on centralized infrastructureFully decentralized & trustless
PerformanceFast response timesLimited by blockchain throughput

Reducing Web3 Costs with AI Smart Contract Audit

One of the biggest pain points in Web3 development is the cost of smart contract audits. Each change to the contract code requires a new audit, often costing tens of thousands of dollars.

To address this issue, Nextrope is developing an AI-powered smart contract auditing tool, which:

  • Reduces audit costs by automating code analysis.
  • Speeds up development cycles by catching vulnerabilities early.
  • Improves security by providing quick feedback.

This AI-powered solution will be a game-changer for the industry, making smart contract development more cost-effective and accessible.

Conclusion

Web3 backend development plays a crucial role in scalable and efficient dApps. While full decentralization is ideal in some cases, many projects benefit from a hybrid architecture, where off-chain components optimize performance, reduce costs and improve user experience.

In future posts in this Web3 backend series, we’ll explore specific implementation details, including:

  • How to design a Web3 API for dApps
  • Best practices for integrating backend services
  • Security challenges and solutions

Stay tuned for the next article in this series!