NFPrompt: How to Reshape the AIGC Creator Economy Using Web3 Technology

TL; DR:

• Driven by the internet and AIGC technology, the creator economy has seen significant development, providing creators with diverse income streams ranging from advertising revenue to direct sales.

• Publicly available AIGC projects like DALL-E 3, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion have excelled in AI painting applications. The inclusion of AIGC has enhanced the efficiency and creative freedom of content creation in the creator economy.

• Despite facing challenges such as copyright issues and unstable income, the integration of Web3 offers new solutions, particularly in strengthening copyright management and monetizing works.

• NFPrompt, as an emerging platform that combines Web3 and AIGC, provides creators with an integrated environment for creation, trading, and social interaction. By joining Binance LaunchPool for the initial public offering of the $NFP token, NFPrompt has gained broader exposure and participation opportunities.

• In the future, with the development of AIGC and blockchain technology, the creator economy is expected to become more diverse and inclusive, offering more opportunities and freedom to creators and consumers.

I. The Journey of the Creator Economy

1.1 The Internet Unveils

The creator economy refers to a new economic model that allows creators to earn income through the creation of digital content, supported by internet platforms. Driven by the wave of the internet, the creator economy has become an important component of the global economy. Especially with the emergence of AI-generated content (AIGC) and Web3 technologies, this field is undergoing unprecedented transformation. Today, the market size of the creator economy has reached unprecedented heights. According to estimates by Goldman Sachs' research team, the compound annual growth rate of 50 million creators worldwide is expected to reach 10% to 20% over the next five years, with the global total likely to exceed $500 billion by 2027. The technological breakthroughs brought by AIGC have opened new avenues for content creation. This growth is attributed to the advancement of digitalization and globalization, enabling creators to reach a wider audience and earn income through diverse means, including advertising revenue, sponsorships, merchandise sales, and subscription services.

The creator economy can be traced back to the early days of the internet with the rise of blogs and social media sites, where content creators began to utilize these emerging platforms to share their thoughts, works, and life experiences. Over time, the creator economy has experienced significant development. Early blogging and social media platforms like MySpace and YouTube provided individuals with a space to express and share, creating opportunities for income generation. YouTube's Partner Program was a significant early milestone in the creator economy, incentivizing content creation by allowing video creators to earn advertising revenue from their videos.

YouTube marks a new era of the creator economy on the internet

As we entered the 21st century, the popularity of social media and the increased use of smartphones led to the emergence of more mobile platforms, such as the wildly popular Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, providing creators with more diverse ways to express themselves and earn money. At the same time, crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Patreon offered creators diversified income streams, including selling products and services directly to fans, as well as profiting through sponsorships, membership services, and copyright sales.

1.2 AI Enters the Scene, The Rise of AIGC Technology

Entering the 21st century, the rapid development of AI technology has brought a series of innovative applications that greatly impact the creator economy. These applications include intelligent content recognition, which can assess the quality of content, and intelligent system recommendations that optimize the matching of content production and demand. Particularly in 2022, with the launch of several image AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Generated Content) products like DALL·E 2, Stable Diffusion, Imagen, and Midjourney, along with the release of the versatile assistant tool ChatGPT at the end of the year, 2022 officially became the inaugural year of AIGC. The emergence of AIGC technology marks the gradual evolution of AI towards its more advanced forms, and for the creator economy, AIGC's efficient, human-level logic and content generation capabilities have opened new avenues for the creator community.

AIGC can efficiently generate a variety of design content

The core technology of AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Generated Content) is primarily based on the Transformer model, an efficient algorithm pre-trained on massive datasets to understand and process language or images. The general process of AIGC begins with a deep analysis of the input Prompt (i.e., instructions or concepts), typically performed by large language or image models (such as the GPT series, BERT series, and CLIP series); then, it utilizes diffusion models, which apply the principle of reverse Gaussian blurring to complete the final generation of high-quality images.

With the AIGC craze, a plethora of AIGC applications have emerged in the current market, yet the standout performers in AI painting applications remain the early released projects: DALL-E 3, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion, which excel in generating quality outputs. (There is also Google's self-developed product Imagen, but Google adheres to its traditional closed-source style, making it difficult for outsiders to gain insights except through other products launched by Google and various academic papers published, reflecting the negative impact of centralized institutional monopolies, but that is another topic.)

Returning to the main point, the following image shows the different results generated by three products when receiving the same Prompt. It is evident that MidJourney 5.2 produced the best result, perfectly generating the scene according to the Prompt's description while adding numerous details to the scene. Dall-E 3's result follows closely, also generated entirely according to the Prompt's description. Stable Diffusion's result was the least satisfactory, failing to generate the "anime girl" appearance style, possibly due to the characteristics of its open-source project, which may have led to insufficient training data.

Prompt: Anime girl with orange hair looking at tv looking at her favorite show.

The same Prompt yields different results across different applications

Overall, AIGC technology is still in the stage of assisting human creators in their work, and the hot topic in the market is how to cleverly design Prompts to achieve optimized generation effects. From another perspective, this also reflects that AIGC technology is in its early stages, and future AIGC products are expected to gain more creative freedom. With minimal standard prompt input, high-quality generated content can be produced according to different scenarios. As AIGC technology continues to develop, it will increasingly be integrated into creators' daily workflows, and its role in the creator economy will become more significant. This technology not only enhances the efficiency of content creation but also grants creators unprecedented freedom and new forms of creation.

1.3 The Dilemmas and Opportunities of the Creator Economy

Indeed, the inclusion of AIGC has brought tremendous opportunities to the creator economy, but it must be acknowledged that the creator economy still faces numerous challenges, both new and old. These include income being influenced by centralized platforms, copyright issues arising from generated content, difficulties in maintaining the long-term impact of creative content, and potential risks brought by the non-explainability of AI.

Firstly, for many creators, especially individuals or small studios, their income heavily relies on centralized platforms to publish and promote their works. Since many creators depend on project-based work or unstable advertising revenue, their income is easily affected by changes in platform policies. For instance, video bloggers and influencers relying on advertising revenue and sponsorships from traditional online channels like YouTube or TikTok often see their income closely tied to view counts. However, due to changes in centralized platform policies or algorithm adjustments, their videos may suddenly lose exposure, leading to a significant drop in income. This dependency further restricts creators' creative freedom and their ability to monetize their work.

YouTube's AdSense system allows creators to share advertising revenue proportionally

Secondly, in the digital age, the ease of copying and disseminating content poses significant challenges for copyright protection. Especially in the absence of clear copyright statements, their works can easily be used or plagiarized by others without permission. For example, the works of photographers, illustrators, and music producers may be used for commercial purposes without their consent, and they often lack sufficient resources to defend their copyright interests. This issue is particularly pronounced in the AIGC field, as determining the originality and ownership of content created by AI is a complex and costly task. Moreover, the regulation of this emerging field is still immature, which may lead to market uncertainty and risks. However, these challenges have also spurred new business models and innovative opportunities, such as using blockchain technology to track and manage copyrights.

The Fuse Remix Video that went viral on TikTok,
fully unleashing the infinite creativity of the people, while also becoming a "nightmare for copyright lawyers"

Furthermore, in the current creator economy, maintaining the long-term influence of creators and gaining substantial fan support is an essential key factor. However, building and maintaining a loyal and active fan base is a long and arduous process. Fan support is often influenced by content quality, market trends, and the creator's personal brand. Additionally, fans' preferences and interests may change over time, creating uncertainty for creators.

II. Finding Opportunities in Web3

At the core of Web3 are blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, which, after achieving significant success in the financial sector, have gradually sparked more interest from developers who are exploring the application of Web3's core technologies in other fields to uniquely address long-standing issues in those areas.

The creator economy has also actively responded to this trend. Particularly driven by AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Generated Content) technology, the combination of Web3 and the creator economy model brings a new dimension of thinking to this field. The most direct transformation is that, through smart contracts and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), creators can now more easily control the copyright of their works and engage in monetization operations. NFTs play a key role in ensuring the transparency and simplification of copyright, ownership, and transfer processes for digital artworks, which is particularly important for AIGC-generated content. The application of these technologies not only provides creators with new revenue channels but also reduces their reliance on traditional intermediary platforms.

2.1 Building an Integrated Web3 Platform for Creators

Driven by the mission to promote the creator economy and facilitate the integration of Web3 and AIGC, the NFPrompt project (hereinafter referred to as the NFP project) follows a community-driven development approach to establish an integrated Web3 platform for amateur and professional creators that combines creation, trading, and social interaction. Utilizing the latest blockchain and AI technologies, NFP focuses on lowering user thresholds and empowering users to create, allowing new users to quickly and easily get started and produce high-quality content within 30 minutes, converting this content into NFTs (non-fungible tokens) to establish their digital copyright and ownership. The NFP project proposes to transform the core of creation in the current large model environment—Prompts—into NFTs, creating a unique creative process, social environment, and revenue space. As of the time of writing, the NFPrompt project has attracted over 180,000 registered creators and over a million NFTs are in the process of being minted, rightfully earning its title as a leading project in the Web3 x AIGC space.

The NFPrompt project has attracted a large number of users and traffic

Simple and intuitive UI design for the creation interface

• Core Platform Features

At NFP, the core of user experience is extreme simplicity and innovation. Users only need to register using a regular email or Web3 wallet and input a prompt (instruction or creative concept), and the platform's system can quickly generate corresponding content using the latest AI models (including DALL-E 3, Stable Diffusion, and Midjourney V5), covering various forms such as text, images, and audio. This generated content can be flexibly presented according to user needs, whether as standalone artworks, commercial advertising content, or personalized social media posts. This feature greatly simplifies the creation process, especially for those who may lack specific skills or resources, lowering the entry barrier and providing unprecedented convenience and efficiency.

Four interactions between users and NFP products: registration, creation, minting, trading

NFP is not just a content generation tool; it also provides users with a pathway to convert their creative content into economic value. Platform users can mint their generated content into NFTs and trade them on the built-in marketplace. This not only allows creators to produce unique and valuable works but also utilizes blockchain technology to ensure their digital copyrights are protected, enabling them to directly gain economic returns from their creative labor. Furthermore, thanks to the efficient technological architecture of opBNB used by NFP, it provides creators with a highly cost-effective creation environment: the creation cost for each NFT is as low as a few cents, which is an attractive advantage for cost-sensitive small teams or individual creators.

Thanks to opBNB, user transaction gas fees have dropped from $0.3 to $0.01

• Creator Community and Interaction

Moreover, NFP has established a vibrant community that encourages communication and collaboration among NFT content creators and between creators and their audiences. Here, users can freely share their creations, receive valuable feedback, and have opportunities to collaborate with other creators to produce new works, enhancing the impact of their creative content. The community regularly hosts various themed events and creative competitions, not only inspiring creative ideas but also providing users with a stage to showcase their talents and gain recognition. Additionally, NFP has introduced a "Credit System" and corresponding voting mechanisms, allowing users to earn points and tokens, which can be used to purchase works from other creators or enhance the visibility of their own works. These features make NFP a comprehensive creator economy ecosystem that supports creators' artistic pursuits while providing new income opportunities.

The project team regularly hosts various content creative activities

2.2 $NFP Listed on Binance via LaunchPool, Along with Latest Tokenomics

On December 19, 2023, the official $NFP project announced its initial token issuance through participation in Binance LaunchPool. According to the latest Tokenomics released simultaneously, a total of 1 billion $NFP tokens are planned to be minted, with 11% of the tokens to be initially distributed through Binance LaunchPool. Referring to the average project market capitalization of $220 million on Binance LaunchPool, and the previous project Fusionist (ACE) being valued at $350 million, a rough valuation for the $NFP project can be made: the expected opening price is between 1.3 and 1.7, with an annualized return of 60% - 160%, and a 7-day risk-free return of 1% - 3.42%, where the cost of acquiring a single NFP through lending BNB is approximately between 0.4 and 0.6.

The historical average market capitalization of Binance LaunchPool projects is approximately $220 million
Source: https://chainbroker.io/categories/binance-launchpool/list/?page=2

Based on this valuation, it is expected to yield 20% - 40% higher returns than the previous LaunchPool project Fusionist (ACE), which includes factors such as ACE's smaller token allocation in the LaunchPool and higher lending rates for pledged tokens at that time.

In addition to the 11% from Binance LaunchPool, the distribution of other tokens includes: initial airdrop, team, investors, short-term growth fund, and long-term treasury fund, with the distribution ratios shown in the table below. Notably:

• The token distribution model for this issuance follows the fair launch model adopted by currently popular Bitcoin inscription projects, which provides ordinary investors and institutional players with an equal opportunity to compete, reminiscent of early crypto traditions.

• Beyond achieving fairness in the initial launch, subsequent token distributions aim to maintain consistent fairness principles. While ensuring that tokens are fairly distributed to all contributors to the token economic model, it also guarantees healthy competition within the system and stimulates healthy growth of the ecosystem.

• The proportion of large holders and investors in the early stages has been reduced compared to earlier designs, with more tokens gradually being allocated to community creators, ensuring "no passive investors." At the same time, the team is committed to building a long-term project, actively extending the token unlock period for the team: both the team and investors will have a 1-year lock-up period plus a 5-year linear unlock.

• The long-term treasury fund, accounting for 27% of the total, allows public oversight and voting on its use, effectively reducing the token circulation of the project, which is beneficial for long-term value building.

Distribution ratio of $NFP tokens

The unlocking schedule for $NFP tokens is shown in the following diagram, where the shares from Binance LaunchPool and the initial airdrop are fully unlocked immediately, while the shares allocated to the team and investors will undergo a one-year lock-up period before starting linear unlocking in Q4 2024, and the rest will begin linear unlocking in Q4 2023.

Unlocking schedule for $NFP tokens

Finally, as the native token of the NFP project, $NFP is endowed with various functions including fee payment, community governance, staking rewards, receiving airdrops, and community influence, which will gradually be implemented as the project updates, aiming for a launch in Q4 2023.

2.3 New Features to Look Forward To

In addition to frequently collaborating with other projects to host creative activities for project promotion, the project team is also actively preparing for subsequent updates to the NFP product to further attract users. The main goals of the upcoming roadmap are as follows, with the core idea being to further enable users to monetize their imagination and influence through creation.

2023 Q4:

• SocialFi: Establish social games and user tier mechanisms, allowing key opinion leaders (KOLs) to enhance their commercial influence through premium series.

• Market or community activities on the opBNB platform.

• Staking mechanisms in token economics, allowing rewards or participation in project governance through staking tokens.

2024 Q1:

• Establish the NFP Creator Foundation to promote the commercialization of NFTs. The foundation will purchase popular NFT series selected by community votes.

• Establish partnerships with commercial clients, including collaborations with well-known AI companies and expanding partnerships with prominent Web2 retail and cultural brands.

• Provide more AI models and tools for advanced users to create custom art as a paid service.

• Launch an official NFT series tied to platform rights.

2024 Q2:

• NFP AI Foundation: Contribute to cutting-edge generative AI research in the scientific field.

• Expand into emerging countries, providing simpler access and friendly mobile user experiences for mass user adoption and growth.

Notably, the planned SocialFi feature set to launch in Q4 2023:

1. Drawing on the success of the new SocialFi paradigm Friend.tech, the NFP project plans to introduce a new feature that combines user accounts with a pricing mechanism for their creative content. This mechanism will price works based on product popularity and supply, following a preset price curve. Additionally, each NFP work will embed a chat channel aimed at building a direct communication bridge between creators and collectors. This initiative will enhance the impact of creative content while providing creators with effective feedback channels to improve creation efficiency and quality.

Friend.Tech: Each account's key is priced according to the price curve (the more people buy, the higher the price)
After purchase, users can enter an exclusive chat room to communicate directly with the account owner

2. A future update of this feature will allow the sharing volume of creative content on the NFP community platform to directly influence its trend index and final pricing. A higher sharing rate means increased visibility and popularity of the work, potentially enhancing its final market price. This mechanism encourages creators not only to produce high-quality content but also to actively share it to increase exposure and value.

III. A New Journey for the Creator Economy

As a pioneering application of Web3 and AIGC technology, NFPrompt demonstrates how technological innovation empowers creators, opening new revenue channels and providing important insights for the future development of the entire creator economy. The rise of this platform not only signifies that the creator economy will no longer be confined to traditional creation and trading environments but also showcases the market's long-term optimism for the development of AIGC x Web3 in the creator economy through its successful launch on Binance LaunchPool.

Looking ahead, Web3 and AIGC will continue to drive the development of the creator economy, and the AI track within the Web3 space is attracting increasing attention from investors. As these technologies mature and are widely applied, we can expect to see more innovative application cases emerge. For instance, AI technology may further develop to create more complex and personalized content. Meanwhile, as blockchain technology becomes more prevalent, more creators will be able to benefit directly from their works without relying on third-party platforms.

In summary, the AIGC creator economy in the Web3 era is rapidly developing, bringing unprecedented opportunities and challenges. With technological advancements and market adaptations, the future creator economy will be more prosperous and diverse, providing creators with more freedom and opportunities while offering consumers a richer array of digital content.

Disclaimer:

This report is an original work completed by contributor @chenyangjamie of @GryphsisAcademy. The author is solely responsible for all content, which does not necessarily reflect the views of Gryphsis Academy, nor does it necessarily reflect the views of the organization that commissioned the report. Editorial content and decisions are not influenced by readers. Please be aware that the author may hold cryptocurrencies mentioned in this report. This document is for informational reference only and should not be used as the basis for investment decisions. It is strongly recommended that you conduct your own research and consult neutral financial, tax, or legal advisors before making investment decisions. Please remember that past performance of any asset does not guarantee future returns.