For budding collectors, investing in the best utility NFTs can be a great route to go. Utility NFTs tend to hold value far better than collections based purely on art or hype, making them a less risky investment. However, the trouble is that finding top utility NFTs is a rather difficult task. However, we’ve done the research and compiled this list covering the top 12 utility NFTs on the market.
Throughout our guide, we’ll be taking a look at the best utility NFT projects, explaining what utility NFTs are, and providing a quick review of a couple of the best NFT marketplaces. Let’s get started.
The 12 Best Utility NFTs for 2023
Below, we’ve included a quick overview of the best utility NFTs on the market. However, for investors that prefer a little more detail, we’ve included more in-depth reviews of each in the section that follows.
- IMPT – Overall Best Utility NFT Project to Fight Global Warming
- Tamadoge – NFT, P2E, and Meme Coin Project with Trending OpenSea Collection
- Silks – The Ultimate P2E Ecosystem Replicating Real-World Horseracing
- Cocky – An NFT Project Providing Access to Real-World Music Events Globally
- Awesome Possum – Wholesome NFT Collection
- Souls of Nature – Environmental NFT Project
- NFT Academy – Collection Offering Guidance on Creating NFT Projects
- JNRY Club – NFT Collection Providing Access to an Exclusive Community
- Cyber Frogs – Cool NFT Art Packed with Utility
- Pixelmon – Gamified Pokemon-Style Collection
- Moonbirds – Blue-Chip Project with a Wide Range of Utility
- Admit One – Private Community from Gmoney
A Closer Look at the NFTs with the Best Utility
Finding projects with excellent NFT utility ideas can be a lengthy process but it doesn’t have to be. Each of the projects we’ve reviewed is solid and has utility in droves, making them worthy of consideration.
1. IMPT – Overall Best Utility NFT Project to Fight Global Warming
Our top overall best utility NFT project is IMPT, a new NFT project and blockchain protocol that is aiming to help in the fight against global warming.
It will do that by transforming carbon credits – permits that allow companies to emit CO2 into the atmosphere – into fully tradeable NFTs.
Carbon credits are used to fund conservation projects globally and will become fully tradeable on the blockchain, reducing instances of fraud and double counting.
Investors will be able to buy, and sell carbon credit NFTs, hold them as long-term investments, or even ‘retire’ them – permanently erase them from the blockchain in exchange for another NFT.
While the carbon credit market is worth just $2 billion annually right now, Bloomberg estimates it could increase to $100 billion by 2030.
IMPT users will also be able to earn carbon credits while doing their shopping.
Retailers will offer a percentage of their sales back to users as IMPT tokens, which can be converted to carbon credits.
More than 10,000 retailers are already on board, including Amazon and Microsoft, with shoppers making even greener choices by selecting retailers with larger percentages.
IMPT is currently racing through its token presale, selling out stage one four weeks ahead of schedule after raising $11 million in just three weeks and is one the top new cryptos to invest in.
Tokens are currently on sale at $0.023 each but will increase to $0.028 in the final stage – built on Ethereum, IMPT have a fully doxxed team and an audited smart contract.
Read the IMPT whitepaper or join the Telegram group for more information.
2. Tamadoge – NFT, P2E, and Meme Coin Project with Trending OpenSea Collection
Tamadoge is a crypto project that offers numerous strands of utility in its ecosystem, dubbed the Tamaverse.
The TAMA meme coin launched at the end of September and has already made huge gains for some of its investors, pumping almost 2,000% from its early presale price on massive volume.
The project has now entered its next phase ahead of its play-to-earn gaming function with its NFT Pets released and for sale on OpenSea.
The Ultra Rare collection will be at the center of the Tamaverse and boast improved speed, agility, and awareness compared to the NFT pets from the other tiers (rare and common).
Styled like 90s craze Tamagotchi, holders of the pets will be able to feed, care for and grow their pets into adults. When they grow into adults holders can do battle against others for the chance to move up the global leaderboard and earn rewards and TAMA.
Furthermore, digital assets such as food, toys and treats can be bought in the pet store, with 5% of all pet store transactions being burned, in turn making TAMA a deflationary asset.
A total of 21,100 NFT pets will eventually go on sale with 100 ultra-rare, 1,000 rare, and 20,000 common, with each having a unique look and traits.
Later in the roadmap, other P2E arcade games will be released, while the pets will turn 3D and eventually leap out of the screen when an augmented reality app is released.
The Ultra Rare pets became the top trending collection on OpenSea after launching, raising more than 250ETH in the first 24 hours.
The floor price is now set at 4ETH, with only six Pets listed below 80ETH.
3. Silks – The Ultimate P2E Ecosystem Replicating Real-World Horseracing
Silks is the ultimate P2E ecosystem that replicates real-world horseracing through NFT derivatives. The Silks Horses are direct replicas of real-world thoroughbred racing horse yearlings – horses that turn one year old. If you own one of the Silks Horses that win in real-world races – you are rewarded in the Silks metaverse.
The platform takes the stats from the yearlings, such as bloodline, training progress, and racing results, and links them to the NFT derivatives. As you can see, Silks is one of the only NFT ecosystems that provide real-world utility to its owners.
As a result of the utility, the Silks Avatars NFT collection quickly became one of the top #10 best-selling sports NFTs on OpenSea. The Silks Avatars were quickly bought by top investment firms and owners of prominent NFT collections, such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks holders.
Users must own a Silks Avatar to participate in the ecosystem and access the metaverse. It also grants them the lifetime right to mint Silks Horses each year and allows them to collect racing rewards in the P2E game. The Avatars are the digital uniforms representing the identity of individual racehorse owners in the metaverse.
The first drop of Silks Avatars was in April 2022, and they quickly sold out. They were released in separate batches, and of the overall 10,000 NFTs in the collection, only around 65% are still available to buy. You can currently purchase them for 0.25 ETH – but once they are all sold out, you will only be able to purchase them from NFT holders on secondary markets such as OpenSea.
The future growth prospects of Silks are incredible as it mirrors real thoroughbred horse racing, which generates over $11 billion annually. The horseracing industry does very well in all market conditions – including recessions. Owners of thoroughbred racehorses spend up to $60,000 at auctions to purchase yearlings. As the Silks Horses are direct replicas of these yearlings, it is expected that they will continue to skyrocket in value as the Silks ecosystem starts to gain traction.
Alongside the Silks Avatars and Silks Horses, participants in the ecosystem will also be able to purchase Silks Land in the metaverse and create Silks Stables to house their horses. The entire ecosystem is the brainchild of horse-racing entrepreneur Troy Levy, the CEO of Tropical Racing, which owns Circle 8 Farms. As a result, the project certainly has the expertise behind it to push Silks to the forefront of the P2E fantasy sports sector.
To participate in the ecosystem and start earning, you need a Silks Avatar. Buy one today before they are all sold out.
4. Cocky – An NFT Project Providing Access to Real-World Music Events Globally
Providing utility for NFT holders is the core focus for Cocky. They seek to change the definition of utility by creating an exclusive lifestyle events club for all of their NFT holders through in-person world-class musical events.
The musical events held by Cocky will focus on electronic music in prestigious locations to provide an immersive, once-in-a-lifetime experience for their NFT holders. They intend to hold at least two in-person events annually and will host regular virtual events in between.
The NFT collection for Cocky will be minted on the Ethereum network sometime in Q4 2022 and will be sold through the project’s website. It consists of 10,000 Cocky Can NFTs with 51 different skin variations and a tier-based system depending on the color of the lid – Silver, Gold, or Black.
The tier-based system is randomly assigned on minting, and they unlock a range of benefits that include;
- Subsidized transport
- Accommodation
- Additional invites
- Bar tabs
- Exclusive merchandise
One core feature of the NFT collection is its ability to present Mutations that are displayed on the background of each NFT. The Mutations are stamps that NFT holders receive when they attend events, allowing them to write their own stories on their NFTs depending on which events they manage to attend. This will make every NFT unique as Cocky hosts more events over time.
All of the Cocky in-person events will be held in unconventional locations across the globe. So naturally, the ticket volume will depend on the venue’s capacity, and NFT holders must be quick in registering their intention to attend each event.
In the case that an NFT holder receives a ticket and cannot attend, they can sell their ticket on the custom-built secondary marketplace. To add further utility for holders, only Cocky token holders are allowed to purchase tickets from the secondary market.
Finally, it is essential to note that Cocky has the vision to build its community by throwing bigger and better events as time goes on. Eventually, they hope their musical events will be as popular as Glastonbury and Coachella’s festivals and will ultimately open their ticket sales to the general public. However, exclusive VVVIP benefits will still be reserved for NFT holders only.
Overall, Cocky has created a fantastic ecosystem that actually provides real-world utility for all of its NFT holders. The world-class music events are set to be once-in-a-lifetime experiences that money cannot buy – but ownership of the NFTs can, so get your hands on one when they launch!
5. Awesome Possums – Wholesome NFT Collection
Awesome Possums is a collection of 12,000 possum-based NFTs with a positive message. The project is dedicated to helping those struggling with addiction and mental health, making it one of the few projects offering something other than money. The collection officially releases on July 12th and will cost 0.08 ETH. However, the team is also hosting a presale 48 hours beforehand which will allow some lucky investors to snag an Awesome Possum for just 0.055 ETH.
While each NFT in this collection is exquisitely crafted and features beautiful artwork, 2000 will be hyper-realistic and a further 10 will be super-rare. At the core of Awesome Possums is its community. The project is very supporter-focused so it’ll be frequently rewarding holders throughout its lifecycle. Holders and early minters will be awarded a series of prizes like free ETH, all expenses paid vacations, and music festival tickets.
Although rewarding loyal supporters is valiant, Awesome Possums also has another noble vision. Awesome Possums holders will receive entry to the community discord where those interested in crypto can share knowledge, seek advice, and make friends. Slightly later down the line, the team will be hosting free therapy, counseling, and motivational services. On top of this, Awesome Possums also plans on regularly donating to charities focused on Mental Health and addiction recovery.
All in all, Awesome Possums is a project with some of the best NFT utility on the market. It provides its supporters with not just monetary but also mental value. Few projects are working as hard to help people as Awesome Possums so it’ll be great to see just how far the community can take this project.
Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product.
6. Souls of Nature – Environmental NFT Project
Souls of Nature is another project with valiant goals. The collection consists of 9,271 nature souls; animal-based NFTs that act as the holder’s avatar in an exclusive experience. Although the collection is yet to release, there’s a lot of hype behind it so it’s worth keeping updated with its development as once released, it’ll likely sell out quickly.
At the core of the Souls of Nature is its unique experience-to-earn model. Every holder will be entitled to enjoy the Souls of Nature experience, in which the player goes on a journey to unlock their soul. The project, created by Metazooie, will be one of the first Metaverses created using the Unreal Engine, allowing the team to create an experience of unapparelled quality. As most Metaverse projects feature pixel-based worlds, it’ll be hugely exciting to see the Souls of Nature world.
As expected from a nature-focused project, the Souls of Nature team is dedicated to helping the environment. To this effect, the team will be donating a percentage of sales to charities focused on helping to protect endangered ecosystems around the world. On top of its charitable aims, Souls of Nature will also be releasing the $ZOOIE cryptocurrency as well as a dedicated marketplace. Both of these factors will enable the team to create a bustling ecosystem and continue to provide investors with value for the long term.
Not many projects can claim to offer the best utility NFTs but Souls of Nature is certainly an exception. The project has a great team, a positive ethos, and seems set to take over the Metaverse/play-to-earn sectors. While it’s still early days, all eyes should be locked on to this top utility NFT project.
Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product.
7. NFT Academy – Collection Offering Guidance on Creating NFT Projects
NFT Academy is a collection doing something slightly different from most. Rather than focusing on creating value through airdrops, and exclusive communities, NFT Academy aims to provide creators with access to the tools to create their own NFT projects. The collection consists of 3,000 limited Elite NFT Academy Passes which provide the holders with access to a step-by-step blueprint to success.
This promising NFT utility collection aims to provide NFT enthusiasts with the tools and training required to launch a successful collection of their own. Pass holders will receive assistance in every area of the NFT project creation process. From assistance marketing a project without much of a budget to building a bustling discord community, and even ways to make the development cycle a bit more forgiving, NFT Academy does it all.
NFT Academy is really dedicated to helping its supporters launch a solid, profitable collection of their own. Holders get access to exclusive training videos, networking opportunities, and also in-person events. It’s great to see a collection focused on education rather than fancy marketing gimmicks so it’ll be intriguing to see just how far things go for NFT Academy.
The team has already helped a few collections hit the fabled million-dollar mint mark so it seems like the project is offering actionable advice. We’ll have to wait and see where things end up for NFT Academy but with the second drop coming soon it’s one crypto project to watch.
Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product.
8. JNRY Club – NFT Collection Providing Access to an Exclusive Community
JNRY Club is a project consisting of 10,000 NFTs that provide the holder with access to future drops, private communities, and early access to partner projects. With a trading volume of over 15,000 ETH, it seems like investors have been rather fond of the collection.
The JNRY Club collection is set to release new utility each quarter, so the project’s development is likely to be fairly speedy. As the JNRY Club NFT is the first in a planned series, holders of the token will be rewarded with one free mint on two future NFT projects that are currently in the works, meaning investors essentially get three NFTs for the price of one.
For investors looking for a long-term NFT with the best utility, JNRY Club is a solid choice. It has a clear plan for the future and frequently releases mini-roadmaps that explain the project’s developments.
9. Cyber Frogs – Cool NFT Art Packed with Utility
Created on the Solana network, Cyber Frogs is a collection of NFTs with unique art and loads of utility. If the project sounds familiar, that’s because it was the victim of an infamous rug pull that left the community fund drained. However, following this unfortunate incident, the collection organized a community takeover and began the slow process of rebuilding.
Since its 2.0 release, the project has done well to brand and shift its image to that of a trustworthy, community-driven project. The project has been consistently releasing new updates and improving the project. The team released the ‘Frog Machine’ platform which allows users to create custom PFPs, and modify metadata.
Holders can earn passive $FLYZ evolve their Cyber Frogs similar to the utility offered by the Board Ape Yacht club. The world-famous collection provided holders with an ApeCoin airdrop, allowed them to adopt a Bored Kennel Club dog NFT for free and even allowed them to mint a Mutant Ape NFT with mutant serum.
While this project may have come from unfortunate beginnings, it’s since managed to shed its past and become a genuine collection with a distinct focus on the community.
10. Pixelmon – Gamified Pokemon-Style Collection
Pixelmon is a collection of 10,000 gamified voxel-style NFTs similar to Pokemon. The project has been massively successful and is currently developing what they claim to be the ‘largest and highest quality’ NFT game on the market.
The generation one collection entitles the holders to additional benefits like an exclusive airdrop of Pixelmon Land which will be used to create rooms, shops, and all kinds of buildings once the game is officially released. Each Pixelmon can be bought, sold, battled, and when the game is released, caught. The team expects development to finish up towards the end of the year with a release slated for early 2023.
With the success of Pokemon, it’s no surprise that this collection has garnered so much attention. What is a surprise, however, is just how well run the project is. The team has consistently been forthcoming about the project and working hard to ensure the finished result is as good as possible. Only time will tell if the game lives up to the hype, but things seem promising.
11. Moonbirds – Blue-Chip Project with a Wide Range of Utility
The Moonbirds collection consists of 10,000 PFP-style NFTs with added utility and an extensive pool of traits. It’s one of the best-performing collections in recent history and with the massive utility offered it seems likely that the collection will continue to perform well for the foreseeable future.
Outside of being a swanky profile picture, the Moonbirds collection offers its holders a fair amount of utility. Ever wondered what the best NFT staking project is? Investors can nest (stake) their Moonbird to upgrade the NFT and accrue additional benefits. As the total nesting time for a Moonbird increases, it can achieve new levels and upgrades its next, providing the holder with enhanced rewards and drops.
The Moonbirds collection is up there with the likes of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, a blue-chip project packed with benefits. It’s one of the best utility NFTs on the market. However, the one downside is a fairly large (25+ ETH) barrier to entry.
12. Admit One – Private Community from Gmoney
Admit One is the latest collection created by world-famous investor and NFT enthusiast gmoney. The collection consists of 1,000 individually numbered tickets that provide the owners with access to a private group of web3 aficionados, builders, and prominent figures.
The collection, which was free to mint, now has a 20 ETH floor price, so it’s clear that the community provides holders with value. Gmoney’s vision for the project is to create a community of the best and brightest web3 enthusiasts that can collaborate and share ideas. Furthermore, the group will be the center of all future gmoney projects, making it very attractive to fans of the investor.
Admit One has increased in value massively since its release and with gmoney’s track recorded for delivering excellent experiences, it seems likely that it’ll continue to flourish going into the future. It’s one of the best community-based collections out there and a great place to share NFT utility ideas with like-minded investors.
What are Utility NFTs?
Utility NFTs are a broad category. There are a lot of ways NFTs can provide utility (which we’ll get into shortly) but there are a few easy ways to determine whether a collection can be considered a ‘utility NFT’.
- Does it solve an issue? – Many utility-based NFTs are designed to solve a problem. This provides intrinsic value and gives the NFT a tangible worth rather than being purely decorative.
- Does it have a clearly defined purpose? – If an NFT has a clearly defined purpose (e.g. a ticketing system, in-game items, etc) then it’s probably a utility NFT. The NFTs with the best utility will not be ambiguous, they will be designed to be used in a specific way or system.
- Is it part of a larger ecosystem? – Oftentimes, utility NFTs will be part of a wider system. For example, tokenized video game characters. If an NFT is a cog in a larger machine it provides utility in some form.
How NFTs Can Offer Utility
For anyone wondering how to add utility to NFTs, there are a lot of options. The best utility NFT projects will often feature multiple utility mechanisms in order to create greater value for its holders. To make it easier to understand, we’ve included some NFT utility examples. Each of the following points are fairly common ways that NFT creators add utility to their collections.
Passive Income
One of the most common NFT utility examples is passive income. It’s great for investors and easy for creators to set up, making it an obvious contender. A standard way NFT can generate passive income is through sales on secondary marketplaces. Typically, NFTs have a fee distribution system set up where the creator gets a certain percentage and the rest of the fees are sent to a community fund or something similar.
To provide investors with passive income, some collections share fees with holders. For instance, if a collection distributes 50% of fees back to its holders and there are 1000 NFTs in the collection, each holder will receive 0.05% of the total fees.
In-game NFTs
In-game NFTs are quickly growing in popularity and it’s likely we’ll begin to see them implemented in larger games in the near future. In terms of NFT utility ideas, this is one of the best. It enables players to easily buy, sell, and trade in-game items and provides developers with long-term, reoccurring passive income.
While the birth of tokenized in-game assets is still relatively recent, it’s not a far stretch of the imagination to envision a platform similar to the Steam Marketplace, in which players will be able to easily buy and sell in-game NFTs for fiat. While there aren’t many triple-A games with tokenized items currently available, we’ve got a great guide covering some of the best NFT games that are playable right now.
Tokenization of Assets
The tokenization of assets is a broad sector. There are a plethora of industries that could benefit from the ease of transacting that NFTs offer. Some examples of NFT utility in this form include tokenized concert tickets and insurance. While still in its early days, the tokenization of tickets is rapidly becoming mainstream. It’s likely we’ll see these types of utility NFTs bleed into cinema, music, and sports before long.
Expanding the Metaverse
One of the most exciting aspects of both crypto and NFTs is the Metaverse. There are already a multitude of Metaverse NFT projects on the market but this sector is still growing rapidly. We’re even beginning to see entire tokenized Metaverse NFT worlds, like those created by NFT Worlds. Things like this are massively exciting for an already flourishing industry as it allows people to create or buy dedicated, tradable experiences. Having a tokenized Metaverse is akin to owning an easily tradable virtual business. While the sector is still young, it’s got massive potential.
Real World Utility
The lines between the real world and NFTs are becoming increasingly blurred. Several cool NFT projects like the Adidas into the Metaverse collection have already offered people physical items for holding an NFT and this trend seems to be picking up steam. While the ways NFTs can provide real-world utility are currently limited, as the planet becomes more crypto-friendly a whole host of possibilities are set to open up. There’s clearly demand for utilities that offer tangible real-world value so it’ll be interesting to see how far this idea goes once the sector has had ample time to mature.
Are Utility NFTs a Good Investment?
The utility of NFTs is quickly growing and becoming more diverse. As such, there are a large amount of projects cropping up claiming to be the next collection destined for a 10x but few are actually worth their salt. NFTs are riskier than most investments, but some can be extremely lucrative.
As there’s so much diversity in the space, it’s impossible to blanketly say utility NFTs are a good or bad investment. Instead, it’s better to judge each project individually. In general, a project that offers working technology, a clear plan, and solves an issue is often a good investments. Conversely, hyped-based collections with no real way of fulfilling their claims are best avoided.
The projects we’ve taken a look at are some of the best utility NFTs on the market and are as solid as they come. They all have good fundamentals and provide real utility, making them less risky than more speculative NFT collections. With that said, it’s still always worth doing your own research to ensure a project aligns with an investor’s individual goals.
Where to Buy Utility NFTs
Figuring out where to buy utility NFTs is almost as difficult as choosing which collection to purchase. Luckily, however, we’ve included a couple of reviews on two of the best NFT marketplaces out there.
1. NFT LaunchPad
Launched in February 2022, NFT Launchpad is still a comparatively new platform but in the short time it’s been around, the innovative marketplace has made waves within the industry and attached a large number of users. At a glance, it’s well-designed, offers plenty of intriguing features, and best of all it’s extremely cost-effective.
As the marketplace supports collections created on both the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) as well as Polygon (MATIC) networks, there’s a massive variety of assets to choose from. NFT Launchpad allows NFTs to be created and minted in a range of assets including MP4, meaning that’s a good diversity among collections on the marketplace. Furthermore, as NFT LaunchPad uses Wrapped BNB (WBNB) as its primary currency, transactions are cheap and blazing fast.
Buying, minting, and selling NFTs on the marketplace is as simple as it gets. The interface is clear and concise, making it easy to find key information, and furthermore, important details like fees are easily visible, preventing any nasty surprises. NFT LaunchPad is available on both mobile and desktop, so it’s easily accessible for anyone, a big bonus for on-the-go investors.
For investors looking for a new NFT marketplace that brings a lot to the table, NFT LaunchPad is the perfect choice. It has a plethora of features that will appeal to buyers, sellers, and creators, making it a truly all-in-one platform. There are plenty of cheap NFT projects on the marketplace, so investors can begin their collection without much overhead. Overall, NFT LaunchPad has a lot going for it and it certainly has the potential to become a household name further down the road.
Pros Cons
Your capital is at risk.
2. Crypto.com NFT Marketplace
Few platforms are as widely known as Crypto.com. In 2021, the leading crypto exchange made its first foray into the world of NFTs by launching the Crypto.com NFT marketplace. After its launch, the platform quickly garnered attention from investors due to its low fees and intriguing collections.
The Crypto.com NFT marketplace is a well-designed platform that features collections created on the Ethereum, Polygon, Cronos, Solana, and Crypto.org chains. As a result of supporting 5 separate networks, there are thousands of unique NFTS on the marketplace, providing investors with plenty of the best NFT utility projects. To make it easy for investors to understand how much they’re spending, Crypto.com denominates its NFTs in the dollar.
Using the Crypto.com NFT marketplace is a treat. The navy on light blue color scheme aligns with the wider Crypto.com brand and highlights important sections of the site, making it incredibly simple to navigate the website. There is a wide range of filters that can make whittling down the best utility NFTs near-effortless. The marketplace’s ecosystem is bustling, so there are plenty of new NFT projects getting released constantly, meaning there’s always something fresh on the platform.
All in all, the Crypto.com NFT marketplace is excellent. It has a massive variety of NFTs, all of which meet the platform’s vetting requirements. It’s a pleasure to use and will serve any utility NFT investor well.
Pros Cons
Your capital is at risk.
Conclusion
Throughout this guide, we’ve taken a look at some of the best NFT utility projects on the market, discussed some NFT utility ideas, and even explored the best marketplaces to buy the top utility NFTs. However, while writing our reviews, we noticed that one collection stood out from the others.
IMPT is a new eco-friendly protocol that is using blockchain technology to make a difference in the real world, helping to fight global warming.
The project, which is racing through its token presale, will offer carbon credits as NFTs – making them fully tradeable or perfect as a long-term investment in a high-growth industry.
IMPT - New Eco Friendly Crypto
- Carbon Offsetting Crypto & NFT Project
- Industry Partnerships, Public Team
- Listed on LBank, Uniswap
- Upcoming Listings - Bitmart Dec 28, Gate.io Jan 1st