Why Collectables Are Going Digital, and How You Can Get Your Own!

April 20th, 2018. Rhys Skellern. Collectables. 4min Read

Although digital collectables have been available on the blockchain since 2015, their potential and usability has only recently become viable. Instead of creating platforms with no interoperability, the development of the ERC721 standard has become (as it’s name suggests) the standard for digital collectables. Originally developed with the release of Cryptokitties, ERC721 has spawned over 100 variants since Q4 2017, in a new market whose potential is only just beginning to be realised.

How Do Digital Collectibles Work?

The first crypto-tokens, such as Bitcoin, were designed to be fungible. That is, each Bitcoin is identical, and the system was designed for the tokens to be interchangeable, and to hold the same unit of value.

Like traditional collectibles, the value of a digital collectible is in its ability to be distinguished, or unique. In order to do so, digital collectibles are created, identified, and transferred, as a unique token. They cannot be divided, and represent one unique asset in its entirety. These are called non-fungible tokens or NFT’s, and it is this protocol that was established with the ERC721 standard.

Thanks to the blockchain, and distributed ledger technology, the sale and movement of these NFT’s can be traced, verified and recorded on an immutable ledger. This means that their creation, unique identifiers, and ownership is not only traceable, but also verifiable.There can only ever be one owner of an NFT at any one time.

Why Are Collectibles Becoming Digital?

Although we’ve been living in a digital world for a long time, collectible items have been slow to come to the party. Up until now, it has been impossible to truly authenticate digital commodities. Not only has this become possible with the blockchain, but it has also led to a number of other practicalities that stand to revolutionise the collectible industry:

Distribution is now possible, instantly, and on a global scale through platforms such as ECOMI Collect.
Lower operating costs. As a physical product is no longer required to provide the same inherit value, creators and licensors of collectibles are able to increase their brand awareness on a grander scale, with less outlay.
Digital collectibles, artworks and intellectual property are now fully protected, as each item can be traced to its origins. This means digital collectibles can be authenticated and verified, protecting both the creators and the owners from scams and fakes.
The rarity of collectibles translates onto digital platforms. Thanks to NFTs it is possible to produce a limited number of tokens, with each being individually identifiable. This means character series and limited editions can be created, as well as opening the potential for signed digital artworks.
Digital collectibles have returned property rights to the digital economy.

Augmented Reality

ECOMI Collect aims to visualise crypto-digital collectables using the latest in Augmented Reality (AR) technologies, which now come standard with Apple and Samsung phones. With quality, licensed materials, ECOMI will create an experience like no other, bringing to life one-of-a-kind licensed crypto-digital collectables, right in front of the owners eyes.Each crypto-digital collectables will have animated properties, such as movement and a limited range of actions. Future releases of ECOMI Collect will allow collectable owners to augment their collectables, with new clothes or props, and eventually, collectables will be able to interact with each other - for example two collectable owners could battle their one-of-a-kind Stormtroopers in the AR / 3D space.

Own Digital Collectibles with ECOMI Collect

Up until now, interacting with the blockchain and digital collectibles has been a hard and confusing sequence, requiring new users to:

Understand and purchase tokens
Create wallets to store these tokens
Use these native tokens to purchase collectibles
Work out how to store them
Protect their collectibles from cyber criminals

For digital collectibles to truly be adopted by mainstream audiences, the process has to be simplified to the point that new users don’t even realise the underlying technologies exist, let alone understand them.

ECOMI Collect is the first platform designed to fill this gap. This decentralised application brings all of the benefits of the blockchain (security, verifiable ownership, immutable ledgers etc…) to the user in a familiar and easy to use interface. Other key points of difference include:

Marketing licensed and recognisable digital collectibles- a worlds first in the digital collectible space.
Allowing users to buy, swap and sell digital collectibles and commodities from their smart phone.
ECOMI Collect is designed to work in conjunction with the Secure Wallet and ECOMI One cold storage devices. This adds an extra layer of protection by keeping your NFT’s in secure offline storage, whilst providing the convenience of portability and instant access.
The platform even has an augmented reality function, so you can bring your collectibles to life, display them in your showroom, and share them with friends/socials!