Airdrop in NFT? It's just one of the gameplay! Detailed explanation of Backpack's secret weapon xNFT

Original Title: Can you receive airdrops in your NFT? It's just one of the ways! A detailed explanation of x NFT------Backpack's secret weapon

Original Author: Alex Liu, Foresight News

Can you receive airdrops in your NFT?

Mad Lads W airdrop claim page

Holders of Mad Lads NFT have just received W tokens from the Wormhole airdrop within their NFTs. That's right, not on the official airdrop claim site, but "inside the NFT." This relatively novel experience has sparked curiosity among many, and upon deeper investigation, it turns out that the x NFT protocol launched by Backpack can tokenize code, allowing NFTs to also function as executable programs, thereby achieving advanced and customized functionalities.

An NFT in your wallet is an executable program, and holding it grants you the right to use it. By combining NFTs with applications, Mad Lads has previously built a staking point system and a badge achievement system within the NFT, but only the holders were aware of it. When the Wormhole airdrop arrived, discussions online about "Does your Mad Lads have a W badge?" brought this gameplay into the spotlight.

Mad Lads xNFT program entry (left), staking point system and badge system (right)

People may underestimate the xNFT protocol.

"Can you receive airdrops in your NFT?" is a simple question. Currently, aside from Mad Lads holders, the answer is "NO." Previously, top NFT projects that received various project airdrops also required users to go to the official website to claim them, with no interaction with the NFT itself; and more commonly, profile picture NFTs (PFPs) have had no value beyond their art— even if they can receive airdrops. This is because such airdrops are disconnected from the NFT, with value in the airdrop rather than the NFT itself, allowing one to sell the NFT after the airdrop, effectively reducing the NFT's value. The price trend of Tensorians after receiving the TNSR airdrop can somewhat validate this viewpoint.

The first paragraph mentions that xNFT can achieve advanced and customized functionalities. The module behind Mad Lads' airdrop claim is a complex unlocking contract. In addition to the initial unlocking of 3,200 W tokens, the remaining 12,800 W tokens are linearly unlocked daily over the course of a year. The airdrop follows the NFT; "NFT is the airdrop." Sell it, and the unclaimed W tokens are gone. After the Wormhole airdrop, the price of Mad Lads stabilized, and the number of sell orders in the market continued to decline.

Mad Lads' W airdrop share is linearly unlocked by the locking contract

This is a simple use case of xNFT for issuing airdrops. It’s not hard to realize that the underlying concept of "applications and NFTs being one, NFT ownership equals application ownership" may give rise to more possibilities. Mad Lads was the first to showcase such potential to the outside world, serving as a "promotional video." This is also why Backpack, primarily a wallet product, first focused on building the Mad Lads NFT community—active and influential community members allow more people to see what Backpack's products can achieve.

There is much more that can be done.

The Web2 Dilemma in the Web3 World

Let's pose a question first, then discuss solutions. The current Web3 world is actually "very Web2."

Browsers "Stuffed into Wallets"

Why do startup teams want to create wallets? Why can crypto wallets that typically do not issue tokens secure hundreds of millions in funding? I think everyone is betting that wallets can become the "traffic entry" of the Web3 world, just like browsers in the Web2 world. But the problem is that most crypto wallets today are essentially browsers with wallet modules, just wrapped in a shell. If this consideration is to onboard traditional users with a Web2-like experience, how can they compete with browser giants like Brave, which already have millions of users and built-in wallet modules?

Such wallets have high substitutability; they merely offer a Web2-like experience without leveraging the advantages of blockchain as a public ledger to solve ownership issues, failing to create a "Web3 native" experience.

Joining Holder Communities is Full of Challenges

Many people purchase NFTs to join the Token Gated Community behind them (where tokens serve as entry barriers). Being able to chat with celebrities like Stephen Curry, Justin Bieber, and top traders in the same group was once the biggest selling point of NFTs like BAYC.

However, joining holder communities is actually fraught with difficulties. First, during the process of purchasing an NFT, transferring tokens from an exchange to a crypto wallet can be daunting for many users who have never interacted on-chain. Then, they must go to the NFT market, authorize, and purchase. After buying, they need to visit the specified tool link of the corresponding project to connect Discord and verify NFT ownership.

If everything goes smoothly, you finally succeed in entering a Discord holder channel. This is very un-Web3. And if any step goes wrong—sending to the wrong address, falling for phishing during authorization and verification—it can lead to financial loss. As Web3 players, even if we gift a favorite NFT to a Web2 friend, without thorough instructions, they probably won't be able to complete the above steps smoothly. Can such a user experience support mass adoption?

Web3 WeChat

How does xNFT solve the above problems? What inspired it?

The Answer Lies in the East

In China, is the browser still the traffic entry of Web2? Perhaps only domain names priced at a fraction of their peak can tell us the answer—very few Chinese people type URLs into browsers to access services; everyone directly uses different apps. A further trend is that people are using "super apps" like WeChat, where different services run as "mini-programs" on the WeChat platform, making WeChat a new form of traffic entry.

Executable NFTs, Making the Experience Native

Armani Ferrante, co-founder of Backpack, has a Chinese wife, and he has openly stated that Backpack was inspired by China's WeChat. By utilizing the xNFT protocol, Backpack is poised to evolve into a "Web3 WeChat."

With the xNFT protocol, "wallet + executable NFT" may replace "browser + web application," becoming a new interaction paradigm with Web3 characteristics. In this model, the concept of Web2 is dissolved. The wallet manages assets, while executable applications are also components of those assets; users with different xNFTs can access different dApps through them. The relationship between Backpack and different xNFTs is akin to that between WeChat and various mini-programs.

Managing native, token-gated applications in the wallet

Now, if you own a profile picture PFP xNFT, open and execute it, you will enter a chat group exclusive to holders. And all of this happens within your wallet, eliminating the need for Discord, NFT ownership verification sites, and other complex interactions. "Wallet + NFT" is a more Web3 interaction model, and the experience is relatively more natural: if I own this NFT, I should be able to enter the exclusive group; why does achieving this require interaction with unrelated websites?

Now, if you gift a favorite NFT to a Web2 friend, all they need to do is download Backpack and send you their wallet address. After receiving the NFT, they open and execute it, and they are now in the same exclusive encrypted community as you, successfully onboarded. Such a user experience may be more conducive to mass adoption.

Everything happens within Backpack. Executable NFTs may enable a native Web3 experience.

New Distribution Methods, Traffic Entry

xNFT can bring new content and application distribution methods, potentially helping Backpack become a traffic entry.

To get users to use their developed applications, the most common solution in Web2 is advertising. This model is not very efficient. Using massive ads on YouTube to get users to click is costly and does not guarantee the number or proportion of target users among the audience. To ensure NBA fans see it, many domestic companies advertise in Chinese at NBA venues, but for all non-Chinese-speaking fans, these high-value ads are ineffective.

How can content and applications be distributed more targeted and efficiently?

Since xNFT is an application, project teams can filter target users based on on-chain interaction records, proactively and precisely distributing these xNFTs to user wallets with certain behavioral characteristics. For example, for a blockchain game application, the project team can airdrop it for free to many blockchain gaming enthusiasts' wallets while also selling it at a normal price on the NFT market. Would players who receive a paid game for free be interested in trying it out? If it's fun, would they promote it, thereby boosting overall game sales? I think it's possible.

This entirely new distribution method may attract many developers to create their applications as xNFTs and distribute them through Backpack. Backpack could thus become a "traffic entry" and "Web3 WeChat."

xNFT store xnft.gg featuring DeFi and game xNFTs

An Important Piece of Backpack's Vision

Tristan Yver, co-founder of Backpack, mentioned in his speech at Consensus 2023 that it was the sufficiently powerful idea of xNFT that made them feel it was meaningful to start a company for it. This shows the importance of xNFT in Backpack's blueprint.

Tristan Yver speaking at Consensus 2023

Trying out the mobile app of Backpack's exchange reveals that they are attempting to closely integrate the functions of the exchange and the wallet. The originally distinct functional areas have similar user interface designs, allowing for one-click functionality switching. The author believes that Backpack is trying to unify the currently fragmented user experience, integrating all different functions that meet crypto-related needs into a single unified experience— and to achieve this vision, xNFT's ability to make the Web3 experience native and help Backpack become a traffic entry may be indispensable.

Note: This article represents the author's personal views, references publicly available information on the internet, and does not guarantee accurate understanding. It is not related to Backpack.