Vitalik Buterin has compared NFTs to game items in World of Warcraft. This is due to the fact that both the items have specific shortages, social signal values, and additional tools. Social signaling became even more apparent after many social platforms adopted NFT profile pictures. Buterin also suggests that NFTs reflect a person’s wealth, not the ability to obtain a particular NFT. He argues that most NFTs offered on the market can actually be used for legitimate purposes, such as collections that support charities, if someone buys them in the secondary market.
Buterin suggests that the best example is POAP, the “Proof of Attendance Protocol”. This is the standard for distributing tokens to users who attend certain events. POAP can be used to reflect actual participation in something in a similar way to how soul-bound items work in World of Warcraft, which is the proof of participation in some event.
Mentioned items cannot be bought or sold later on. While the proposal and the concept itself sound refreshing, it is not clear what the difference is between selling an NFT or private key to a wallet with non-transferable tokens.
