Local NFT project hopes to bring organizations into the future of the internet

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Nonfungible tokens, better known as NFTs, have skyrocketed in creation and popularity in recent years in everything from art, music, sports, and fashion, especially in South Florida.

Even though NFTs are common now, one student wants to take NFTs to the next level with the project he’s created.

Dylan Hopen, a Miami native and soon-to-be business graduate from the University of Michigan, is behind Bulldog Buddies, an NFT project that wants to help organizations better integrate themselves into an ever-changing digital world.

“Our main goal really is to use our project to creatively strengthen the bridge between Web2 organizations and the Web3 world, all while simultaneously giving our holder some awesome utility,” Hopen said.

Web3 is the term now commonly used to describe the next evolution of the internet, following Web2 and Web1.

Web1 was the beginning of the internet in the 90′s when all people could really do was read and download basic things online.

Web2 was the “read and write” stage of the internet starting in the mid-to-late 2000′s when users started creating and uploading more of their own content -- similar to a social media era when huge companies like Google, Facebook and others started to dominate the platform.

The next step is Web3, which is where individual ownership and community relationships are some of the key building blocks -- something creators and entrepreneurs like Hopen hope to capitalize on.

“Traditionally, it was very difficult to do that, but NFT technology allows for verifiable digital assets online, which just makes it so much easier and much more powerful,” Hopen said.

These assets for Bulldog Buddies are exactly as the name suggests -- digital artwork of bulldogs stored on a blockchain.

“I’ve loved dogs my entire life, and it’s a saying that dogs are your best friend and the fact that NFTs really bring communities together, we kind of want to focus on the idea that everyone is friends with each other and that we’re all just one family,” Hopen said.

Hopen and the Bulldog Buddies team have officially partnered with the National Breast Cancer Foundation and the Humane Society of Miami.

These organizations will feature unique, Bulldog Buddies artwork from the project that people can buy, with a portion of sales donated to the non-profits. They could potentially earn perpetual royalties from the secondary transactions associated with NFT sales.

Bulldog Buddies generates revenue from both the sales of the NFTs and the minting of them. The NFTs can also serve as a token for users to receive added benefits.

“Whether that’s, you know, discounted rewards, exclusive access to stuff, even social events, both in the metaverse as well as the real world,” Hopen said.

NFTs are popular in art, music, and most recently in fashion, but Hopen says this community-focused effort wants to give consumers more access to brands they know and love. The partnerships also allow these groups to raise more money than traditional fundraising and also connect with more people than ever before.

“It’s an extremely new space, it’s growing rapidly. There’s no perfect answer to how to utilize NFTs fast. There’s no perfect project, so I think it is all part of the journey, just learning as much as possible. Of course, there are going to be ups and downs, but I’m really excited for everything to come,” Hopen said.

The NFT bulldog teams want to creatively partner with more organizations, primarily dog-oriented ones, like Chewy and Barkbox, all while expanding from South Florida to across the world.