GM DOers! 🚀
Ever thought of your NFTs becoming mini financial hubs? It’s now possible. 🤯
Since the launch of EIP-6551 (aka Token Bound Accounts), every Ethereum-based NFT in existence, from CryptoKitties to Bored Apes, can now act as a wallet. 🚀
Say whaaaat!?
And each of these NFT-owned wallets can now own other assets like:
$ETH
ERC-20 tokens like USDT
ERC-721 tokens like our W3A PRO Pass
ERC-1155 tokens, aka semi fungible tokens. (If you need a refresher, you can listen to our conversation with Michael Sanders on SFTs on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.)
This means that if you own a Bored Ape, you can now have that Bored Ape own a Moonbird, Azuki and your W3A PRO Pass, all in a single wallet.
Or, you can create an inception of wallets within NFTs and have your BAYC own your MAYC and your MAYC own your CryptoPunk and your Punk own your W3A PRO Pass and your W3A PRO Pass own your ETH…
It’s like a matryoshka (Russian nesting doll):
This madness was unveiled at ETH Denver and has since taken Crypto Twitter by storm. 🌪️
However, we realized that most of the information about it on the internet is drowning in technical jargon. And because we can't let our DOers miss out, we're here to simplify this concept for you, to ensure you can capitalize on the opportunity. 🌊
We’ve now explained what EIP-6551 is. Further, we’ll get into how it works, how you can use it and, most importantly, its benefits, so that you can walk away knowing exactly how to put this new tech to use.
But first, a BIG shout out to our community member @Sonoflasg! 👏🎉
His brainstorming of use-cases for this tech in our Discord has been incredibly helpful in shaping this piece. 🚀
Without further ado… Let’s get into it ⏬
👉 Lens Protocol: The Future of Social Media
Decentralized social media finally allows creators to own their content, data and followers. That’s why we choose to build part of our media platform on Lens Protocol.
How Does EIP-6551 Work? ⚙️
Every NFT has a wallet now. There’s nothing you need to update and there’s no transaction to be signed and approved.
The EIP (Ethereum Improvement Proposal) was deployed and it’s all live now.
If you own an NFT, here’s how you find out its wallet address:
Go to Tokenbound.org
Search for your NFT (I’ve searched for my Stand With Crypto #102946)
Click on the address that’s popping up:
An Etherscan page will open. For instance, the wallet address for my Stand With Crypto #102946 NFT is: 0x05F1a8F48aaCe3A2B30e0C9E1B122f5D713Afa65
I can now send ETH or any ERC-20 or NFT to this wallet address and my Stand With Crypto NFT will own those assets.
However, I’ll still be the owner of each asset I send over, as long as I’m an owner of my Stand With Crypto NFT. If at some point I decide to sell my NFT (or burn it), all assets inside will be gone with it.
Here’s an example of how Benny (one of the people behind EIP-6551) airdropped an NFT inside the wallet owned by Carly Reilly’s DeadFellaz NFT.
So… You may be wondering what’s the point in doing this? Let’s break each one down:
Benefits of EIP-6551 🚀
There are an array of potential benefits that come with Token Bound Accounts (TBAs).
A super obvious one is that your NFT is not valued at Floor Price anymore, but its price is rather decided by the assets it owns.
Another somewhat useful feature is that your NFT can now have a history of transactions.
We often talk about how your wallet is your identity. Now, you have your NFT as your digital identity.
You know… I’m my Meebit and my Meebit is me, kinda thing. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg… We’ll now dive into the most exciting benefits that we’ve found (in no particular order).
Folders
This one is for every person out there with some level of OCD (myself included). It’s for those who prefer to be organized instead of having an absolute mess around them.
In the world of NFTs, we don’t have ANY organization. It’s all super messy.
If we 👀🔛⛓️ at Zeneca’s wallet for example, we can see that his wallet is an absolute mess. He owns a whopping 40k NFTs and 600 ERC-20 tokens. That’s INSANE.
Note that most of these are airdrops from random people in the space. Zeneca didn’t actually buy 40k NFTs. 😂
Btw… We’ve had Zeneca on the podcast twice. Check our convo from 9 months ago here or our convo from 1.5 months ago here.
It’s safe to say that his wallet could use some form of folders. And that’s something that EIP-6551 offers.
Say you own multiple NFTs from a certain ecosystem. For the sake of this being easy, let’s take Yuga Labs for example.
You own 1 BAYC, 4 MAYC, 2 Kennels, 1000 $APE and 50 Otherdeeds. These are currently all in your own wallet. To sort them, you could simply transfer them all to your BAYC (your 1 Ape) wallet.
This would not only keep your main wallet clean, it’d also show the world that this one Ape (that’s your identity) owns so many other NFTs from the Yuga Labs ecosystem. It would really boost the price of your Ape (which isn’t valued at FP anymore).
And if you ever decide you’re done with the Yuga NFTs, you can simply sell them all in a bundle, rather than one by one (if you can find a willing buyer, of course).
Looking Beyond PFPs
If we start thinking beyond just PFPs, we discover far more exciting use cases for EIP-6551.
Imagine this: In the near future, your ownership of a Tesla is represented by an NFT.
Moreover, each unique feature - your performance upgrades, wheel designs, and exquisite leather seats - is also an NFT.
With EIP-6551, these can all be bundled together under your primary car ownership NFT, essentially creating a 'Tesla wallet'.
This doesn't only simplify ownership; it enhances resale value and establishes an immutable, blockchain-powered record of your vehicle's history.
Now, think about season tickets for your favorite sports team. Each ticket is an NFT, all held within your 'season pass' NFT wallet. Sell tickets individually, collectively, or pass on the entire season pass to someone else.
Visualize your Spotify or Sound.xyz playlist as an NFT, each song would be another NFT within it. A perfect symphony of tokens in one place.
Take Social Media lists as another example. A curated list, like "100 Best Lens Accounts for Marketers", can become an NFT, with each account bundled within.
The possibilities are endless…
In conclusion, EIP 6551 turns folders into powerful tools for curation. With the ability to bundle, buy, and sell these collections, we're stepping into a new era of personalized digital ownership.
NFT to NFT Messaging
Wallet to wallet messaging. We’ve talked about this topic with Jaf, the business developer lead at EPNS (now known as Push Protocol). Check that out on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
But as a TL;DR, wallet to wallet messaging works essentially like WhatsApp, where you can text your friend because you have their number. Here, you’d need their wallet address (or their ENS, aka, their .eth handle).
Speaking to other NFT holders is difficult right now. You need to track their wallet address, then identify their Twitter or Telegram and then reach out. It’s a hassle.
With TBAs, since all NFTs now have wallets, you can simply message a fellow Azuki or W3A PRO Pass holder directly onchain.
There are already apps like Push or WalletChat that you can use today to do this.
Gaming Avatars
Lastly, let’s touch on the most exciting use case (in my opinion): gaming!
When I think of web3 gaming, I get slightly confused because of the amount of in-game items that are required.
In your typical game, the character (you) can own multiple assets like swords, helmets, clothes, skins, knives, weapons and more… Furthermore, thanks to the blockchain, your character can now also own fungible assets like $ETH or $PEPE.
But, if every sword, skin or helmet was an NFT, then my wallet would end up having as many NFTs as Zeneca’s. And that’s messing with my OCD.
EIP-6551 fixes that (at some level anyway). Now that your main NFT (your character) can act as a wallet, you can have it store all in-game assets that you collect over time.
No need to store them separately.
And when you decide to sell (or burn) your character, all collected assets go with it.
The problem right now is that if you collect any assets from web3 games, you’re stuck with them even after you sell your main character.
EIP-6551 allows you to bundle everything together and move it seamlessly. And that’s exciting.
I hope I’ve made myself clear enough and gave you a better understanding of EIP-6551.
Please reply to this email with Yes or No.
Yes = You now understand EIP-6551
No = You’re still confused
If you reply with No, we’ll be sure to talk more about this concept on the podcast to further explain it.
But now… Let’s head into the #1 concern around EIP-6551 and whether or not you should start using this new tech. Keep scrolling 👇
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We believe that we’re in the early stages of a bull run and there’s no better time to buy crypto. This is when you should be practising monthly dollar cost averaging into strong network tokens like Ethereum and Bitcoin. 💪
And if you’re buying it’s important to do so with a licensed and reputable exchange. That’s why we recommend using BYDFi. 🚀
Should You Start Using EIP-6551? 👀
As always, we encourage you to go and play in the sandbox. Get your hands dirty and LEARN! It’s the way you start getting web3.
Now… It may seem like the main use case of EIP-6551 (aka Tokenbound Accounts) is to store your PFPs in folders. And that may seem like storing your passport in a drawer, inside a drawer. Cool but not super useful.
But let’s think bigger here.
[An example] Our community member, @Sonoflasg, is considering airdropping a book cover NFT. Over time, he wants to airdrop individual chapters inside the book cover to tell a story chapter by chapter.
That’s a really cool way to start experimenting. Here’s a bonus of ideas from our friend over at Lens, Bradley:
By the way… You should keep in mind that in the event of a hack, losing your #1 NFT, would cause you to lose all other assets that the NFT owns.
And that’s not ideal. So be careful in that regard.
With that said… We want to make it clear that this new technology could prove game-changing!
But right now, this is (for the most part) aimed at the very skilled developers who are looking to build games and tools with EIP-6551 features.
So if you’re a developer, you should 100% start experimenting with this and try to build it inside any app that you’re currently building.
In theory, this makes the UX of web3 so much smoother and enjoyable and as a dev, UX/UI should be your main priority (after safety).
We’ll leave it here for today, frens! We truly hope this piece gives you a better understanding of EIP-6551 and its benefits.
If you’re feeling nerdy and want to learn more about this, check out the technical EIP here.
Until next time… Keep DOing! 😎
Thanks for reading and we’ll see you soon ❤️
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not financial advice. Conduct your own research and consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions or taking any action based on the content.
Great explainer! Looking forward to more web3 native games potentially incorporating EIP-6551 into game designs. It might also be very insightful to hear game devs closer to the tech speak to the feasibility of this actually being incorporated into games today (since there are very strong opinions on this).