The Top NFT Projects to Follow in 2022

There are millions of NFT’s for sale, and it seems like thousands of new projects are launching daily. How do you cut through all the noise to determine the best NFT projects to follow and potentially invest in?

For one, and depending on how much money you are looking to spend, you may not want to look at NFT’s as an investment. There are currently 4 million assets on OpenSea (Opens in a new window) (the most popular NFT marketplace) and potentially millions across other marketplaces like (Rarible (Opens in a new window), Foundation (Opens in a new window), SuperRare (Opens in a new window), NBA Top Shot (Opens in a new window), and more). Knowing that the NFT universe is immense and ever-expanding, it is safe to say not all these assets will appreciate.

So, you might ask, what should you look for in a project? We find NFT’s with utility (defined below) as a great first introduction into NFT’s and their potential future uses.

Utility NFT: An NFT assigns a use to the digital asset outside of owning just a piece of art. A utility NFT can be one in which you receive a physical piece of art that matches the NFT you purchased; it could be special access to an event, exclusive in-person memberships, or future use in the digital world (think to the game).

Suppose you can find a project with a mission that you can relate to, which also has some form of utility. In that case, you are getting more out of the NFT purchase than simply digital ownership of an asset (art, photo, video, audio, etc.).

Here are the best NFT projects in 2022

• VeeFriends (Opens in a new window)

• Crypto Baristas (Opens in a new window)

• Moon Boyz (Opens in a new window)

• Meka Verse (Opens in a new window)

• Nouns (Opens in a new window)

• Creature World (Opens in a new window)

• Adam Bomb Squad (Opens in a new window)

• Claylings (Opens in a new window)

• Autograph.io (Opens in a new window)

• Decentraland (Opens in a new window)

VeeFriends

VeeFriends (Opens in a new window) is from none other than serial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary serves as the Chairman of VaynerX, CEO of VaynerMedia, and the owner/creator of VeeFriends.

Simply put, VeeFriends is a ticket to Gary V’s multi-day super conference, where only VeeFriends token holders gain access.

VeeCon is the first NFT ticketed conference in the world. VeeCon is where VeeFriends token holders come together as one community to build lasting friendships, share ideas, and learn together.

Join the VeeFriends Discord (Opens in a new window)

Crypto Baristas

The World’s First NFT Funded Café hits the Blockchain on 11/2/21

Coffee Bros. announced a new NFT project that puts a twist on crowdfunding to help support their first café in NYC. Crypto Barista’s Season 1 will launch with 60 caffeine-loving characters on the Blockchain whose ownership helps open the World’s First NFT funded café while giving caffeinated perks, roadmap, and project fund governance back to the NFT owners.

Learn More (Opens in a new window)

Crypto Baristas

The world’s first NFT funded café & more.

Crypto Barista’s Season 1 (Opens in a new window) will launch with 60 caffeine-loving characters whose ownership helps conceptualize and open the World’s First NFT funded Café.

Owners of a Crypto Barista (Opens in a new window) enjoy caffeinated perks for life at all future cafe spaces and websites. Owners also control the “Barista Bank,” a 15% fund set aside from the project’s revenue for future use in the coffee space. Some potential uses for the Barista Bank can support charitable organizations in the coffee space, advance the Crypto Barista project, or start something new.

– Dan Hunnewell (Owner, Coffee Bros.)“The goal of Crypto Barista’s is to build a community of like-minded individuals that appreciate art, caffeine, entrepreneurship, and innovation. The project’s ambition is to initially open a physical space in NYC where art and innovation are at the forefront. The future of Crypto Baristas beyond that will be up to the holders and followers of our campaign.”

The Coffee Bros. Crypto Barista project looks to solve the three sometimes lacking pieces in many NFT projects, governance, community, and ownership. The project will evolve through Seasonal launches, where each season focuses on a new endeavor within the coffee space while providing perks and governance to all holders.

Join the Crypto Barista Discord (Opens in a new window)

Moon Boyz

The Moon Boyz (Opens in a new window) is a collection of 11,111 unique characters living on the Ethereum Blockchain. Unique and 3D designed, each NFT comes full membership to an ever-growing community and excellent utilities.

The Moon Boyz project is ever-evolving where the Phase 1 roadmap includes:

• Moon Boyz Party (for the holders of the rarest characters)

• Exclusive merch for holders

• Private club access

• And more

Join the Moon Boyz Discord (Opens in a new window)

MekaVerse

The MekaVerse (Opens in a new window) is a collection of 8,888 generative Mekas with hundreds of elements inspired by the Japan Mecha universes.

The MekaVerse project was created by Mattey and Matt B, two friends and 3D artists who have jumped feet first into the NFT space.

The roadmap of the MekaVerse project includes bringing to life the Mekas through high-quality, 3D-printed toys. The MekaVerse project continues to unfold as the roadmap is driven by the founders and holders of the characters. The project’s future ambitions include streetwear, collaborations with famous artists, and potential short films using the characters.

Join the MekaVerse Discord (Opens in a new window)

Nouns

The Nouns (Opens in a new window) project attempts to bootstrap identity, community, governance, and a treasury that the community can use to create long-term value and project expansion.

Nouns. wtf will be minting one Noun (NFT character) every day, forever. The unique aspect of the Noun project is the formation of their own DAO treasury (decentralized autonomous organization) which collects 100% of the funds from the NFT sales. The treasury is controlled and governed by the Noun holders who will decide its future use, project direction, and more.

Join the Nouns.wtf Discord (Opens in a new window)

Creature World

A 21-year-old visual artist from NYC, Danny Cole strives to actualize imagination through his Creature World project.

The project itself has a ton of buzz around it in the NFT space but is still somewhat mysterious. There is www.creature.world (Opens in a new window), an interactive space where the creatures guide you through a virtual journey. It is unclear if your purchased characters will eventually make it into the virtual world or the project’s overall intention. Regardless of the direction, we are excited to see how this one unfolds, as the secrecy behind the project is quite captivating.

Join the Creature World Discord (Opens in a new window)

Adam Bomb Squad

If you are a fan of streetwear fashion, then the Adam Bomb Squad (Opens in a new window) project is for you. The Adam Bomb Squad project was created by The Hundreds (a famous streetwear brand that launched in 2003).

The project’s premise is three-fold, where they look to bring identity, community, and ownership to the NFT space. The “Adam Bomb” is The Hundred world-famous logo/character and the Adam Bomb Squad project looks to chronicle the 18-year history and use of this character.

The Hudreds“As is customary, we will be anointing NFT holders with perks like exclusive merchandise and early links to drops. Our dreams are outrunning the infrastructure, but a major unlock with these NFTs will resolve that outstanding Ownership piece in promoting a brand. We are working on technology to allow Adam Bomb Squad NFT holders to 1) buy The Hundreds clothing featuring their bomb and 2) be rewarded for the sales of the clothing to others. We want The Hundreds to win, but there’s no reason why our community shouldn’t also partake in the upside.”

Join the Adam Bomb Squad Discord (Opens in a new window)

Claylings

The Claylings (Opens in a new window) are another highly sought-after project and are currently ranked 5th in overall trending volume ($6.42 million as of the writing of this article).

The Claylings project looks to bring clay animation to the blockchain, where they intend to launch 4,040 characters. One of the project goals is to establish a Claymation short film that can feature one of the previously minted characters (it would be cool to see your character in the movie).

Join the Claylings Discord (Opens in a new window)

Autograph.io

Autograph.io (Opens in a new window) is more of a marketplace than an individual project focused on athletes, entertainment, culture, and unique digital experiences.

The project was Co-founded by Tom Brady and had tremendous backing, including a well-represented board of advisors from Naomi Osaka, Wayne Gretzky, Tiger Woods, and more.

Athletes drive the current focus of Autograph.io focused NFT’s, including the professional’s authentic signature, future drops access, and private Discord channel entry.

It will be interesting to watch this project unfold due to the support and backing of all those involved. Though it is very athletic-focused now, keep an eye out for a quick expansion into entertainment and unique digital/in-person experiences.

Join the Autograph.io Discord (Opens in a new window)

Decentraland

Decentraland (Opens in a new window) is a virtual world with its own DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) that hands over control to the virtual space users.

Decentraland’s world is fueled by their marketplace of virtual in-game assets like land, wearables (for your characters), and more.

All that is needed to play is a web browser and a cryptocurrency/digital asset wallet like MetaMask. While the wallet is unnecessary, it improves the game’s experience as your wallet keeps all your digital assets safe, like names, collectibles, and LANDS.

Join the Decentraland Discord (Opens in a new window)

Honorable Mentions

Here are some honorable mentions that we have been keeping our eyes on in 2021. We will continue adding to the above list as new projects of note are released.

Other Projects We Love

Women Rise

Women Rise (Opens in a new window) is a 10,000 randomly generated collection by the internationally acclaimed visual artist Maliha Abidi. The goal of the collection is to make the NFT space more inclusive and diverse by introducing more women characters as well as donating a percentage of primary sales to funds that focus on gender equality, girls’ education, and mental health in marginalized societies.

Cryptoon Goonz

Cryptoon Goonz (Opens in a new window) is by creator and tattooer @SeanTat2s (Opens in a new window) and is a 6969 generative rubber hose style characters project with hundreds of unique traits.

Cryptoon Goonz reminds us of early Mickey Mouse style art, and each piece is decked out in pop culture, hip-hop, and streetwear references.

Cryptoon Goonz has a solid and passionate Discord community of >10,000 members and is worth the following to learn more about the project.

Property’s Virtual Reality

Property (Opens in a new window) is the most innovative real estate collecting game in the NFT & metaverse space. Bringing together the mechanics of the world’s most popular games, they aim to provide an experience never seen before – on & off the metaverse. Each NFT is a collectible card that displays a piece of real estate inspired by different cultures & economics.

Properties (Opens in a new window) have been feverishly adding partnerships with other brands and NFT communities ahead of their launch. One such partnership is with the Crypto Baristas (Opens in a new window) where the Property’s game will feature Crypto Barista-themed coffee shops and carts throughout the land.

Keep an eye on Property’s as their game is part of the Sandbox (Opens in a new window) user-generated world which is just beginning to take shape.

Conclusion

It is not always easy to determine what makes a great NFT project or a worthy investment. When choosing the best NFT projects in 2022, we assembled projects that were more than just artwork (called Utility NFTs).

Utility NFT’s are those that assign a user to the piece of artwork, such as access to an event, exclusive in-person membership, or assets in a game. When deciding what to look for with your first purchase of an NFT, find a utility project that you would benefit from. For example, Crypto Barista’s (Opens in a new window) is a coffee-themed NFT project that funds a café in NYC while giving caffeinated perks back to the holders (such as discounted coffee, free drinks, and more). VeeFriends (Opens in a new window) is another Utility NFT that provides access to a multi-day super conference. Both of these NFT’s hold value beyond the artwork, which makes the purchase more sound.