The Ultimate Guide to Dynamic NFTs

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have become one of the hottest trends in crypto. But now, there’s a new evolution: dynamic NFTs (dNFTs). Unlike traditional NFTs that remain static, dNFTs are designed to change over time, making them more interactive and versatile.

In this post, we’ll explore what dNFTs are, how they work, their potential applications, and how Gelato enables developers to bring them to life.

What are dNFTs?

dNFTs are non-fungible tokens that evolve. They’re powered by smart contracts that allow their content or attributes to be modified, updated, or even interacted with by users.

Think of them as living digital organisms: an NFT that updates its artwork based on local weather, reflects a real-world sporting result, or adapts in response to user actions.

How to Create a dNFT

While building a dNFT requires planning and development, the process can be summarized in a few key steps:

1. Decide the purpose: What behaviors or attributes should the dNFT have?

2. Write a smart contract: Define how the dNFT evolves over time.

3. Deploy the smart contract: Publish it to the Ethereum blockchain.

4. Mint the dNFT: Use a marketplace like OpenSea or Rarible.

5. Promote your dNFT: Share it on social media and with communities.

Applications of dNFTs

🎮 Gaming

dNFTs can evolve with player performance. For example, an in-game character NFT could gain new attributes as the player levels up.

🎨 Art

Digital artworks can change dynamically. A painting might reflect the weather in real time or update based on global events.

🎵 Music

Musicians could create dNFTs that evolve with popularity — for instance, updating visuals or content based on stream/download counts.

📢 Advertising

dNFTs can enable highly personalized ad campaigns. An NFT could adapt based on user browsing data or demographic inputs.

Gelato & dNFTs

Here’s how Gelato’s Web3 Functions can be used to create a dynamic NFT collection — for example, a sports-themed collection that updates in real time:

1. Create a smart contract: Define your NFT collection and its metadata (e.g., player stats, team, image). Store metadata on IPFS for transparency and immutability.

2. Fetch real-time data: Use Gelato Web3 Functions to pull data from sports APIs (e.g., top goal scorers, latest match results).

3. Update NFT attributes: Based on new data, trigger contract functions that update player stats in NFT metadata. Configure Gelato to run at intervals or when specific events occur, ensuring the NFTs remain dynamic.

Conclusion

Dynamic NFTs open a world of programmable, interactive digital assets. Whether you’re an artist, game developer, or crypto enthusiast, dNFTs represent the next step in NFT innovation. With Gelato, automating updates and integrating off-chain data becomes simple — making dNFTs accessible for real-world use cases.

About Gelato

Gelato is the Web3 Cloud Platform empowering developers to create automated, gasless, and off-chain-aware Layer 2 chains and smart contracts. Over 400 projects already trust Gelato to execute millions of transactions across DeFi, NFTs, and gaming.

• Gelato RaaS: Deploy custom ZK or OP L2 chains with Account Abstraction and Gelato middleware.

• Web3 Functions: Connect smart contracts to off-chain data with decentralized cloud functions.

• Automate: Automate smart contract actions via reliable, decentralized infrastructure.

• Relay: Enable gasless transactions with Gelato’s relay API.

• Account Abstraction SDK: Built with Safe to combine Gelato’s infra with secure smart contract wallets.

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