So yeh. By May 2023, the NFT hype cycle had peaked (2021-2022), crashed spectacularly (2022-2023), and settled into something more interesting: actual utility for enterprises.
I wrote this piece for WordPress VIP about how brands could use NFTs for distinctive experiences. Not speculation, not get-rich-quick schemes – practical applications for media companies, publishers, and brands running on enterprise WordPress infrastructure.
The timing was intentional. The speculators were gone. The serious builders remained.
The Post-Hype Reality
Let’s acknowledge what happened between 2021 and 2023:
2021: NFT summer. Bored Apes selling for hundreds of thousands. Every celebrity launching a collection. “Right-click save doesn’t mean you own it” arguments everywhere.
2022: Peak mania. Trading volumes in billions. Brands scrambling to have NFT strategies. FOMO at maximum.
2023: The crash. Floor prices collapsed. Trading volumes dried up. Most collections went to zero. Media declared NFTs dead.
But something interesting happened after the tourists left: the infrastructure got better, the use cases got clearer, and enterprises started figuring out what actually worked.
What NFTs Actually Enable for Brands
Strip away the speculation and you’re left with a few core capabilities:
Digital Ownership and Provenance
NFTs create verifiable records of ownership for digital assets. This matters when:
- Media companies want to authenticate original content
- Publishers need to prove article authorship and licensing
- Creators want to establish ownership of their work
- Collectors want assurance of authenticity
It’s a digital certificate of authenticity that can’t be forged, doesn’t depend on any single company, and travels with the asset.
Token-Gating and Access Control
Own a specific NFT, get access to specific experiences:
- Exclusive content – Articles, videos, podcasts behind NFT gates
- Member communities – Discord, forums, or events requiring NFT ownership
- Premium experiences – VIP sections, early access, special perks
- Tiered access – Different NFT levels unlock different benefits
This is membership cards reimagined for the digital age. Transferable, tradeable, programmable.
Creator Royalties and Secondary Markets
Smart contracts can enforce royalties on secondary sales:
- Artist sells NFT for $1,000
- Buyer resells for $5,000
- Artist automatically receives 10% ($500)
- No intermediary, no contracts, no tracking – it’s programmatic
For creators, this changes the economics fundamentally. You earn from your work’s increasing value over time, not just the initial sale.
Proof of Attendance and Engagement
POAPs (Proof of Attendance Protocol) create verifiable records of participation:
- Attended a conference
- Participated in a community event
- Completed a course
- Engaged with a campaign
These become portable reputation and relationship history. “Here’s proof I’ve been part of this community for three years.”
WordPress VIP + WooCommerce: The Enterprise Infrastructure
WordPress VIP provides the enterprise-grade infrastructure. WooCommerce handles the commerce layer. Together, they enable brands to:
Mint NFTs – Create collections directly from WordPress
Sell NFTs – E-commerce flow people already understand
Gate content – Conditional access based on wallet contents
Manage communities – Integrate with Discord, verify NFT ownership
Track engagement – Analytics on NFT holder behavior
The advantage: brands control their platform. No dependency on OpenSea, Rarible, or third-party marketplaces. Own the customer relationship, own the data, own the experience.
Why This Matters for Enterprise
Large organizations have specific requirements:
- Security and compliance – WordPress VIP’s infrastructure meets enterprise standards
- Scalability – Handle traffic spikes when drops happen
- Customization – Brand-specific experiences, not generic marketplace templates
- Support – Actual humans to call when things break
- Integration – Connect to existing CRM, analytics, and business systems
You can’t build sustainable enterprise NFT strategies on consumer tools. You need proper infrastructure.
Real Use Cases (Beyond Speculation)
Media and Publishing
TIME Magazine sold digital covers as NFTs. Collectors get verifiable ownership of iconic covers. TIME gets new revenue stream. Both parties benefit without speculation.
The Associated Press sells photojournalism NFTs. Photojournalists earn ongoing royalties. Collectors own authenticated historical moments.
Publishers can tokenize premium content – not replacing subscriptions, but augmenting them with collectible special editions.
Brand Loyalty and Membership
Fashion brands issue NFTs that unlock physical merchandise, events, or future drops. The NFT becomes membership card + collectible + access pass.
Sports teams create digital collectibles tied to memorable moments. Fans collect, trade, and access exclusive experiences based on what they hold.
Music artists bundle album releases with NFTs granting concert access, merchandise discounts, or exclusive content.
Credential and Certification
Educational institutions issue certificates as NFTs. Verifiable, tamper-proof, portable credentials.
Professional organizations create membership credentials that can’t be forged and don’t depend on central databases.
Event organizers use POAPs to build communities of verified attendees across multiple events.
The Technical Architecture
Here’s how it works on WordPress VIP + WooCommerce:
1. Smart Contract Deployment – Brand deploys NFT contract (usually ERC-721 or ERC-1155 on Ethereum or Polygon)
2. WordPress Integration – Custom plugin connects WordPress to blockchain via web3 providers
3. WooCommerce Product Setup – NFTs listed as products with metadata, images, and descriptions
4. Wallet Connection – Users connect MetaMask or similar wallets
5. Minting Flow – Purchase triggers smart contract mint function
6. Content Gating – Middleware checks wallet contents, grants/denies access
7. Community Integration – Discord bots verify ownership, assign roles
All of this needs to work reliably at scale. That’s why enterprise infrastructure matters.
What I Sanitized from the Original
The WordPress VIP post had (understandably) promotional content about WordPress VIP’s capabilities, case studies featuring VIP clients, and calls-to-action about contacting VIP for implementations.
That’s appropriate for a vendor blog post. For this archive, I’m focusing on the broader concepts and technical patterns rather than specific platform promotion.
The core ideas stand independent of any particular platform: NFTs enable new forms of digital ownership, access control, and creator economics. WordPress (VIP or otherwise) provides infrastructure for brands to implement these capabilities while maintaining control.
The Honest Assessment: What’s Working in 2025
Looking back from 2025, which use cases actually proved valuable?
Working:
- Token-gated communities – Turns out people do value exclusive access
- POAPs and engagement tracking – Portable reputation has utility
- Digital collectibles for fandom – Not speculative investments, but meaningful fan expressions
- Creator royalties – Secondary sales royalties work when enforced at platform level
- Brand loyalty programs – NFT-based membership has advantages over traditional programs
Not Working:
- Most profile picture projects – Novelty wore off, communities dispersed
- Speculative art NFTs – Market collapsed, hasn’t recovered
- “Utility” promises – Many projects promised utility, few delivered
- Metaverse integrations – The metaverse didn’t materialize as expected
Still Evolving:
- Ticketing – Logical use case but adoption slower than expected
- Credentials – Makes sense theoretically, coordination problems in practice
- Media monetization – Niche successes, not widespread adoption
Looking Forward: Where This Goes
The NFT market in 2025 looks nothing like 2021-2022. Trading volumes are a fraction of peak. Mainstream media stopped covering it. Most projects died.
But for enterprises with specific use cases, NFTs became useful tools:
- Access control that’s portable across platforms
- Ownership records that don’t depend on any single company
- Creator economics that program ongoing value sharing
- Community building with verifiable membership
This isn’t revolutionary. It’s incremental improvement to existing business models. But incremental improvements compound.
The brands succeeding with NFTs in 2025:
1. Have clear utility beyond speculation
2. Integrate with existing customer experiences
3. Don’t oversell the technology
4. Focus on community and engagement
5. Build on reliable infrastructure
WordPress VIP + WooCommerce (or similar enterprise platforms) provide that reliable infrastructure. The technology works. The question is whether the use case makes sense for your brand and audience.
The WordPress Opportunity
WordPress powers 40%+ of the web. WooCommerce powers millions of online stores. That’s massive distribution for Web3 capabilities.
The opportunity isn’t “WordPress goes crypto.” It’s “Web3 capabilities become opt-in features for the WordPress ecosystem.”
Want to add token-gated content? Plugin.
Want to sell NFTs? WooCommerce extension.
Want to verify wallet ownership? Authentication integration.
Make it optional, make it easy, make it work reliably. Let brands choose whether and how to experiment.
That’s the pragmatic path forward. Not revolution. Evolution.
What I’d Emphasize Now
If I were writing this today, I’d stress:
Start small – Don’t bet the company on NFTs. Experiment at the edges.
Solve real problems – Use NFTs where they’re actually better than alternatives, not because they’re trendy.
Manage expectations – Underpromise, overdeliver. The technology has limitations.
Focus on community – The technology is a tool. Community building is the goal.
Build on stable infrastructure – Consumer tools are fine for testing. Enterprises need reliability.
Prepare for volatility – Crypto markets are volatile. Gas fees fluctuate. User experience is still rough. Plan accordingly.
NFTs aren’t magic. They’re database entries with specific properties (publicly verifiable, transferable, programmable). Sometimes those properties solve problems elegantly. Often, they don’t.
The art is knowing the difference.
—
Published: May 16, 2023
Updated: July 18, 2024
Source: Originally published on WordPress VIP Blog
Author role: Web3 Lead at Automattic
2025 Note: This post was sanitized to remove WordPress VIP promotional content while preserving the technical and strategic insights about enterprise NFT implementations. The core concepts apply regardless of platform choice.
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- BIMA NFT Masterclass – Educational workshop on NFT fundamentals