Author: Jiyun Kyung, Business Development (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jiyunkyung/)
[TL;DR]
- The problem of not being able to immediately verify NFTs in wallets after minting acts as an obstacle to NFT popularization, and this issue is disconnected from Web2 user experiences.
- Especially when using NFTs offline, wallet synchronization delays after minting can cause confusion on-site. In offline situations where the immediacy of NFT use is more important, this significantly degrades the user experience.
- The Wepin wallet solves these problems by pre-storing NFT metadata and visualizing the minting process in real-time.
- For the popularization of NFTs, innovations that hide technical complexity and provide user-friendly experiences, like the Wepin wallet, are necessary.
1. Introduction
NWhile NFTs and blockchain technology are innovating digital asset ownership, there are still many user experience (UX) elements that need improvement in the process of popularization. Especially, the inconvenience experienced by general users familiar with Web2 when encountering NFTs can be a stumbling block to NFT popularization.
One of these is the inability to immediately verify NFTs in wallets after minting. It can take anywhere from about 1 minute to tens of minutes to record and confirm minting transactions on the blockchain, and during this process, users feel anxious as they can't know if the NFT has been properly minted.
2. Reasons Why NFTs Don't Appear Immediately in Wallets After Minting
In the past, there were more cases where NFTs didn't appear in wallets after minting or receiving. Users couldn't immediately verify NFTs in Metamask and had to make additional checks on NFT marketplaces like OpenSea. There are several reasons why NFTs don't appear in wallets after minting, and some of the main reasons are as follows:
- Transaction confirmation time: It takes some time for NFT minting transactions to be recorded and confirmed on the blockchain. For Ethereum, it usually takes a few minutes, but can take longer depending on network congestion.
- Indexing delay: Even after an NFT is minted and recorded on the blockchain, it takes some time for wallets or NFT marketplaces to index and synchronize that information.
- Metadata reflection: It takes additional time for metadata information such as NFT images and attributes to be properly linked to the token and reflected in wallets or marketplaces.
- Cache update: In some cases, the browser or wallet app's cache needs to be cleared or updated for the latest information to be reflected.
On the other hand, the Web2 services we've been using allow us to see results immediately. When we upload a photo to SNS, it appears in the feed right away, and products purchased or added to the cart in shopping apps are immediately added to the user's inventory. Web2 users are accustomed to this immediate feedback.
For Web3 and NFTs to become mainstream, they need to provide a user experience on par with Web2. Being able to immediately verify minted NFTs in wallets could be the starting point for popularization.
3. Cases of Wallet Synchronization Delays After NFT Minting
Wallet synchronization delay issues after NFT minting in offline situations can cause greater inconvenience than online. In online cases, users can wait without much inconvenience even if there's some delay after NFT minting. It's possible to wait a while to verify that their NFT appears in the wallet. Since users can continuously get updates on the NFT project's roadmap or progress through SNS, there's less anxiety about delays after minting.
On the other hand, in offline situations, problems arise on the spot if NFTs can't be verified immediately. The immediacy of NFT use is more emphasized offline. In situations where NFTs are exchanged on-site, delays are hard to tolerate. Ultimately, users expect to exchange NFTs as easily as physical certificates or tickets in offline situations, just like in Web2.
3.1 NFT Ticketing and Delays After Minting
NFTs can be actively used not only online but also in offline ticketing. However, if NFT tickets don't appear immediately in users' wallets after issuance (minting), it can cause great confusion at offline event venues. This is because ticket buyers can't be sure if they've received the NFT, and it might be difficult to verify if it's a valid ticket at the entrance gate.
This is especially true for NFT tickets purchased on-site on the day of the event. Waiting for wallet synchronization after NFT minting when there's not much time left before the performance starts can be very stressful for users.
Also, if long lines form at entrance gates for NFT verification, it can disrupt event proceedings. Blockchain queries are needed to verify each ticket holder's NFT, and if minted NFTs aren't immediately reflected in wallets, the entry process will inevitably be delayed.
To solve these problems, close integration between the NFT issuance platform and user wallets is necessary. By synchronizing or immediately displaying in wallets upon NFT minting, on-site confusion can be minimized.
For NFT ticketing to become mainstream, such user experience improvements are essential. When the entire process from minting to entry is smoothly connected, the advantages of NFT tickets can be leveraged while increasing user convenience. While considering the characteristics of blockchain technology, user-centered service design should be further emphasized as it's a case of NFT use closely related to real life.
3.2 NFT Certificates/Proofs and Delays After Minting
NFTs are being used to issue various certificates or proofs beyond ticketing. Issuing education completion certificates, qualifications, awards, and diplomas as NFTs enables forgery prevention and original proof. It's convenient as received certificates can be safely stored for life and easily submitted whenever needed.
However, if minted NFTs don't immediately appear in recipients' wallets at the issuance site of NFT certificates/proofs, several problems can occur.
First, the significance of the award ceremony might be diminished. If recipients can't immediately verify the NFT and feel the joy of ownership, it will be difficult for the award ceremony to remain as a moving experience.
Second, trust in NFTs might decrease. From the issuing institution's perspective, they say the NFT has been properly transferred, but if it doesn't appear in the recipient's wallet, doubts about the overall NFT system might arise.
Third, on-site confusion might be exacerbated. The sight of recipients constantly refreshing their wallets to check if they've received the NFT might disrupt the progress of the award ceremony. It will also be difficult for operational staff to individually verify NFT receipt for all recipients.
To prevent this, technology that can synchronize with the recipient's wallet simultaneously with NFT minting is needed. If NFT certificate metadata is immediately updated and reflected in real-time on the wallet UI, recipients will be able to verify NFTs on the spot.
Also, platforms that issue or manage NFTs should be able to stably handle large-scale simultaneous access and minting. Traffic management and scalability assurance are needed, assuming situations where hundreds or thousands of recipients mint NFTs simultaneously at award ceremonies.
NFT certificates/proofs are key documents proving an individual's career and achievements. The user experience during the issuance process must be satisfactory for NFT certificates to be widely adopted and utilized.
4. How Wepin Wallet Solves NFT Minting Synchronization Delay Issues
The Wepin wallet presents a new approach to metadata synchronization after NFT minting. While existing NFT wallets take time to synchronize metadata from the blockchain network after minting, the Wepin wallet pre-stores NFT metadata and visualizes the minting process in real-time.
In other words, before NFT issuance, the Wepin wallet already has the metadata such as the NFT's name, description, and image loaded. And when minting begins, the entire process of NFT creation and transfer to the user is shown in real-time through the wallet UI. It provides an experience similar to tracking the step-by-step processing of an order in an online shopping mall.
This greatly helps in increasing users' understanding and trust in the NFT minting process. Users can grasp the NFT issuance process at a glance and check for delays due to network conditions in real-time. They can also immediately feel the thrill of receiving an NFT.
The advantages of the Wepin wallet are especially prominent in offline NFT issuance sites. When purchasing an NFT ticket, users can immediately see the ticket being generated and entering their wallet screen, allowing them to quickly confirm NFT ownership. Also, at NFT certificate award ceremonies, the excitement of the award can be doubled through real-time visualization of the minting process.
The Wepin wallet's pre-storage of metadata and real-time visualization of the minting process can be considered an innovative feature that elevates the usability of NFTs to the next level. It implements a user-friendly NFT experience by overcoming the technical limitations of blockchain networks. It will have the effect of lowering the entry barrier for NFT beginners while increasing the satisfaction of existing NFT users. By transparently disclosing the entire minting process, it can also contribute to improving the credibility of NFT projects.
5. Conclusion: User-Centered Innovation Leading to NFT Popularization
NFTs are opening new horizons in the digital economy by enabling proof of ownership and trading of digital assets. However, for NFTs to secure true popularity, innovation in terms of user experience is essential. In particular, the issue of wallet synchronization delays after NFT minting has been pointed out as a major factor hindering NFT usability both online and offline.
As mentioned above, the Wepin wallet is a good example of user-centered innovation that shields users from the complexity of blockchain technology and provides an intuitive and convenient NFT experience. The visualization of the minting process can lower the entry barrier for NFT beginners, increase the satisfaction of existing users, and contribute to improving the credibility of NFT projects.
For the popularization of NFTs, such user-friendly innovations need to spread further. Beyond simply applying new technology, we need to continuously improve the NFT experience from the user's perspective. Creative solutions that can maximize usability in various NFT use cases, encompassing both online and offline, should be continuously discovered.
Services like the Wepin wallet aim to suggest the direction that NFTs and Web3 should take. Innovation for and by users is a path that Web3 and NFTs must take to become mainstream, and the Wepin wallet is leading this path. If more NFT solutions aiming for user-centricity emerge and compete in the future, NFTs will soon establish themselves as a mainstream technology that naturally permeates our daily lives.
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