A Review of Non-fungible Tokens Applications in the Real-world and Metaverse

Abstract

The growth of the popularization of blockchain technology has caused new concepts to emerge. Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is one of these concepts introduced based on blockchain technology in 2017. As newly-emerged concepts, NFTs have rapidly become a popular technology in industry and academic research. NFTs currently have various applications in the industry, which are reviewed in the present study. They have also attracted a broad spectrum of research. Metaverse is another exciting blockchain-based technology that enables people to connect with digital avatars in a virtual universe. The importance of this study is to identify new applications of NFTs in the Metaverse making NFTs more applicable. Assisting with identity management and ownership right of digital assets are examples of NFT applications in the Metaverse that are explained in this study in detail. Ultimately, this study presents some future directions of NFT applications in industry and academic research.