WTF is an xNFT? And Why Should You Care

WTF is an xNFT? And Why Should You Care

While crypto markets continue to suffer from rising interest rates and other macroeconomic uncertainties, the NFT market is once again reclaiming its status as an investor’s favorite asset class. 

The overall NFT activity, be it growth in sales or user wallets, has been holding up well compared to other crypto market sectors. Despite low liquidity and frequency of project launches, the NFT market still traded more than $8 billion worth of NFTs in Q1 2022. 

So the road ahead for NFTs looks promising irrespective of bleak market conditions. And what makes NFT space more interesting and worth watching is the emergence of the Solana NFT ecosystem. Until now, we have not seen Solana witness a gold rush event for NFTs. And there hasn’t been a new narrative of innovation or culture for Solana in the NFT community. 

Well, that is now going to change with xNFTs or eXecutable NFTs. Powered by the Solana blockchain, xNFTs are bringing a new framework of building applications with NFTs at the epicenter and a large emphasis on user experience and customizability. This article will go in-depth about xNFT and the possible impact it can have on Web3 as a whole. Let’s get started. 

What is xNFT

xNFT is an executable code of a Web3 application that inherits the ownership qualities of an NFT. We know it sounds confusing. Let’s simplify it. Think of xNFT as apps in the AppStore. What does an App Store do? It simplifies the process for accessing different applications and improves the user experience. That is exactly what xNFT is aiming to achieve. 

By using protocol-agnostic frameworks, xNFT will be creating decentralized apps for the NFT ecosystem that can be used from a single interface. This interface will represent all your crypto assets and allow you to perform any task, be it viewing NFTs or staking, seamlessly. For example, you can view your Aurory NFTs and manage your Mango margin accounts. 

How xNFTs Work

The operating system used for building xNFTs is called Backpack, as mentioned in the blog by Coral Community. You can think of Backpack as a wallet that manages your private keys and opens the gateways to different dApps. But the similarity ends there itself because a Backpack can be so much more than a Web3 wallet. 

The Backpack enhances the interoperability of protocols and personal property rights for users. You can use the OS to gain more control over your Web3 experience and add a touch of personalization. For example, you can create your own version of Magic Eden marketplace and view your NFT collection in a new and unique way. This is possible because of the permissionless nature of Backpack. 

BACKPACK

To further simplify, it’s like bringing your own algorithm and associating it with an immutable art asset. Imagine this. You open your Web3 wallet, and your NFT gives access to a decentralized application. That is essentially what Backpack represents. And the underlying frameworks fueling the OS are extended versions of the Anchor Framework. Anchor is a Solana-based framework containing a set of developer tools for easy deployment of smart contracts. 

Who’s Behind xNFTs

xNFT is being shipped by Tristan and Armani. They are also a part of building Anchor Framework, Anchor Registry, and Coral. Further, they have support from some of the biggest crypto partners, including FTX, Solana, Serum, Jump Trading, Pyth, KS Global, Multicoin Capital, Anagram, and Wormhole. 

With such a line-up of investors and ecosystem partners, we can expect xNFTs to drive a new narrative in the NFT space and spur increased engagement in Web3 communities. In hindsight, the tools and protocols developed by xNFTs might seem obvious. So this can be the start of a new trend and will likely drive up the value of the Solana ecosystem. 

Future Direction of XNFTs 

As of now, there’s nothing to show for xNFTs. But soon, we will see a variety of applications and tools in the Solana ecosystem. The team has already hinted that the first apps to be rolled out will be associated with Magic Eden, Aurory game, Degods, Mango, Psyoptions, and Wormhole. 

On the surface, the value creation will be immense for xNFTs in the Web3 landscape. For the simple reason that it removes the complexity of crypto infrastructures and elevates Web3 primitives like tokenized ownership, composability, and identity with an intuitive innovation layer. If xNFTs are successfully implemented and reach user expectations, they will forever change how crypto products are built and can possibly drive adoption with mobile versions of dApps. 

Check out the detailed video on XNFTs