There is an abundance of reasons to enter Web3 and buy NFTs, and the likelihood is that it will vary from person to person. The space has evolved considerably in what has been a very short time span, and during this 12-18 month period one of the main narratives for the majority of people buying NFTs has changed completely.

Back in April 2021, when the Bored Ape Yacht Club launched, the majority were purchasing these BAYC NFTs to simply be a part of a club and get access to exclusive online rooms and digital experiences. There were no real financial expectations because the incredible meteoric rise for a lot of NFT collections rise had not started, it was only really CryptoPunks and a handful of others that had returned any significant value, and so these purchases were not being deemed as investments.

Since then, however, off the back of some once in a lifetime financial opportunities that included the Bored Ape Yacht Club, the space has become very financially driven and investment focused. People actively buy NFTs in the hope they will rise in value, analysis platforms like Nansen are amongst some of highest valued in the industry and the talk of collection floor (entry) price is always front and center for a lot of communities.

Despite the above, there are other, excellent reasons to buy NFTs and it is these ones that we recommend you have front of mind when making your decision on whether or not to enter this evolving market.

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CURIOSITY /

Curiosity is a good a reason as any to enter a new space and being open to exploring your curiosity can sometimes lead to unexpected outcomes. NFTs were the perfect example of this.

Simple curiosity will be why a lot of the ‘early’ adopters of NFTs jumped into the space back in early 2021, there is no way they could have claimed to know what would transpire in the following year and beyond. There will not be one early Bored Ape Yacht Club member that could have predicted that Yuga Labs would raise at a 4 billion dollar valuation just 12 months later, but that was part of the beauty of getting involved in NFTs that early, there were no expectations.

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If you are curious about Web3 and NFTs, or any emerging industry for that matter, one of  the best ways to learn is to jump in with an open mind and low expectations.

ART OWNERSHIP /

NFTs and Web3 as a whole is an extremely exciting wave of innovation for artists and their collectors, and in particular digital artists. This is an opportunity to be a part of history and support your favorite artists in a whole new way.

For the first time, an artist's work can be digitalized and through leveraging blockchain technology will still maintain its scarcity, have provability of ownership and provide an ongoing royalty to the artist from every future sale. Renowned digital artists like Beeple, who has made his fortune through this initial NFT boom believe we are entering a whole new era of art and ownership, and just like how street art, 3D art and sculpture all have their own categories, he believes NFT based art will have it’s own, potentially dominant category in the future.

In the case of Beeple, he has been making digital art for over 15 years, and now believes NFTs and their ability to prove ownership has the potential to unlock the artform’s true potential in a meaningful way. Beeple was one of the first digital artists to pioneer this movement last year, selling his ‘Everydays: the First 5000 Days’ art piece as an NFT for $69 million.

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As well as this, we are seeing more and more artists in the fine art space begin to understand the potential of NFTs, and what they could unlock for them. There is incredible range of potential here, from building a deeper connection with their loyal collectors' to providing a further layer of financial, long term stability so they can continue to create the work they are passionate about.

Even institutions like the Museum of Modern Art are now thinking of selling physical collections to allocate funds (source) towards this exciting new art category.

Digital art is truly entering a whole new phase of innovation and relevance and artists and collectors alike from all categories should be paying attention and thinking about how they can bring their talents and collections to Web3 in a valuable way.

COMMUNITY AND IDENTITY /

For the first time, NFTs and PFP collections in particular have given people a whole new way to represent themselves in the world of Web3 and online as a whole. With value and exclusivity tied to many, they have instantly become digital status and communication tools and when looked at objectively, it’s no different from wearing an expensive watch, or driving a nice car, PFP focused NFTs are simply a means of digital communication as opposed to physical.

Think about how importantly people in today’s culture take their appearance, what they wear and how they use that as a means of communication with one another. The understanding that that is going digital, and how revolutionary that movement is going to be should make you want to at least do some research into what the Rolex, Gucci, and Lamborghini’s of Web3 could look like, and if some of the potentials exist right now.

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There are over 50 million millionaires in the world currently (an ever-increasing number) and top-tier, desirable NFT collections such as CryptpoPunks & Bored Apes have fixed supplies of 10k. There are of course so many variables, but it’s possible they will become ever more desired, yet scarcer as time goes on, especially as our lives continue to take a digital priority.

The creation of NFT communities has also opened up a new opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals. Since they started gaining popularity over a year ago, top tier, exclusive collections have turned into incredible networking opportunities, with a number of businesses and Web3 ventures beginning with people simply being part of the same NFT community.

These opportunities are far from limited to the top tier collections however. There are an incredible number of communities in the world of NFTs now at price points to suit all budgets, and buying them, no matter their value give you access to that specific community. So, finding a group you resonate with, be that through the art, long-term vision or upcoming roadmap activations could provide incredible networking opportunities whether that’s on a professional or personal level.

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