Developers recently published an Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) that introduces a new way to use non-fungible tokens (NFTs). With this system, all NFTs can have a smart contract account, which allows them to store NFTs or other crypto tokens.
Cointelegraph spoke with Jayden Windle of Future Primitive and Benny Giang, authors of EIP-6551, to explain ERC-6551 use cases and its implications for the crypto space.
According to Windle, while there is a lot of intricate business behind the feature, a simple way to explain it is that they give NFTs their own crypto wallets. It is to explain:
“The real simple idea behind ERC-6551 is that every NFT has a wallet. So, your NFT has an entire wallet that your NFT owns. This means your NFT can own any asset on the chain, and your NFT can do anything on the chain.” Chain.By giving NFTs wallets, NFTs are now available to users on Ethereum.”
When asked how the idea came about, developer Future Primitive explained that their team went down what he described as a “rabbit hole of experimental anomaly”. He shared that they were working on an NFT project where they wanted to add equipment as a mechanic. The project allows NFTs to wear clothes and other accessories that are also NFTs.
“What we realized was that nothing defined the use case that we really wanted to achieve. We really wanted NFTs to have their own elements in a kind of self-sovereignty. We really wanted to be able to do it in a way that just works with all the tools out there,” he explained.
Furthermore, Windle also shared that they want other projects to also be able to take advantage of this new mechanic and build something that can be applied to NFTs in general.
Possible use cases for ERC-6551
In terms of use cases, the developer also said that this can be applied to blockchain games and take the form of an inventory system. Moreover, it can also be used in Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) where instead of separating a DAO member’s history by an NFT and a wallet, they can all be placed in the same NFT. Apart from that, airdrop assets to NFTs can also increase the value of NFTs as well.
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With the new mechanic having seemingly endless possibilities, Cointelegraph asked Jiang what this could mean for the crypto space. The NFT veteran said that apart from asset ownership, this can also bring social identity to NFTs. This provides new functionality apart from simply being able to buy, sell or trade NFTs. He explained that:
“We are trying to introduce three new actions that you can take with the NFT. Become, Interact and Use. You can become your NFT, you can interact with it, and you can use your NFT.”
Jiang believes this will make NFTs very different from JPEGs. According to Jiang, the new Internet identities could be. Furthermore, the CEO of Future Primitive explained that if artificial intelligence (AI) is used, it can turn NFTs into fully network playable characters (NPCs) in blockchain-based games.
Apart from that, Jiang explained that ERC-6551 is already on the Ethereum mainnet. “It’s not a conceptual idea. It’s not like a testnet thing. It’s real.” According to the founder of Future Primitive, they have already applied it to an NFT pool called Sapienz.
Initial NFT: NFTs that own NFTs within NFTs
Cointelegraph asked the developers if there is a limit to how far NFTs can be placed within NFTs. According to the duo, this can get “really crazy quickly” and go on endlessly. They showed a family tree of NFTs within NFTs.
“You can build apps around NFTs that own NFTs that own NFTs, and it’s all accessible on-chain. You can build apps on-chain that use this hierarchy of NFTs in order to build really cool experiences,” Windle explained.
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