Farokh Sarmad: Web3 must become invisible for mainstream adoption, emotional connections are vital for NFT longevity, and the market needs innovation beyond cultural trends | Raoul Pal

Emotional connections could be the key to revitalizing the stagnant NFT market and driving mainstream adoption.

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Add us on Google by Editorial Team Apr. 10, 2026

Key takeaways

• Web3 needs to become invisible to achieve mainstream adoption.
• Emotional connections are vital for the longevity of digital products.
• NFTs offer on-chain provenance, ensuring authenticity and perpetual royalties for digital art.
• The NFT market has hit a ceiling and requires evolution beyond current cultural and utility trends.
• Emotional connections are the missing element in the future development of NFTs.
• Disney’s success is largely due to the emotional bonds people form with its characters.
• Social and emotional bonding is essential for user retention in NFT projects.
• New digital products will focus on enhancing social layers in gaming and prediction markets.
• Too many voices in DAOs can impede progress and decision-making.
• The sustainability of Web3 initiatives depends on more than just utility; cultural relevance and emotional engagement are key.
• NFTs’ initial focus was on ownership and identity, primarily through art and profile pictures.
• The NFT space needs innovation to move beyond its current limitations.
• Emotional engagement is the evergreen layer that NFTs currently lack.
• Effective leadership is crucial in decentralized communities to avoid decision-making gridlock.
• The future of NFTs lies in integrating emotional connections to enhance user engagement.

Guest intro

Farokh Sarmad is President of Rug Radio, Decrypt, and Myriad Markets, leading DASTAN following the merger of Rug Radio and Decrypt. He founded Rug Radio in January 2022 as a decentralized media platform designed to support independent creators through blockchain technology. As a founder and investor with deep expertise in Web3 ecosystems, Sarmad has built one of the largest decentralized creator platforms in the space while pioneering innovative approaches to media and ad-tech networks.

Why Web3 needs to disappear to go mainstream

• Web three needs to disappear to go mainstream.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• The current state of Web3 faces adoption challenges that require fundamental changes.

• That might be controversial but web three has to disappear to go mainstream.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• The necessity for Web3 to evolve is driven by the need for broader acceptance.
• Taking profits at the right time is crucial as many projects may not survive long-term.

• Make sure when time comes take your money off the table because 99% of these products are more than zero.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• The evolution of Web3 is essential for its sustainability and mainstream integration.
• Understanding the current limitations of Web3 can guide future developments.

The importance of emotional connections in digital products

• Utility alone is not enough; social and emotional bonding are crucial for longevity in the market.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• Emotional connections create a retention loop that keeps users engaged.

• Utility gives you access culture delivers relevance but social and emotional bonding gives you longevity.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• The sustainability of digital products relies heavily on emotional engagement.
• Social and emotional bonds are key to retaining users in the competitive digital market.

• This is your retention loop this is what people comes back to to connect.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• The role of emotional connections is critical for the success of digital assets.
• Understanding consumer behavior is essential for creating emotionally engaging products.

NFTs and the art world: Ensuring authenticity and royalties

• NFTs provide on-chain provenance for digital art, ensuring authenticity and enabling perpetual royalties.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• On-chain provenance allows for tracking the authenticity of digital art.
• NFTs enable artists to receive royalties long after the initial sale.

• The idea of like you know on chain provenance for art for digital art.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• The financial sustainability of artists is supported by NFT technology.

• You could buy the physical and then for the next hundreds of years you could know where it was a real one.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• NFTs play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of digital art.
• The art sector benefits from NFTs by ensuring long-term financial returns for artists.

The evolution of NFTs: From ownership to emotional engagement

• NFTs began primarily focused on ownership and identity, centered around art collection and profile pictures.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• The initial purpose of NFTs was to establish ownership and identity.

• Obviously NFT started as two simple things ownership and identity.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• The evolution of NFTs is necessary to move beyond their original functions.
• Understanding the foundational aspects of NFTs helps in discussing their future.

• It was all around basically buying the art collecting it and and using it for pfp.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• The NFT market needs to innovate to remain relevant.
• The future of NFTs lies in integrating emotional connections with users.

The ceiling of the NFT market and the need for innovation

• The NFT space has reached a ceiling and needs to evolve beyond culture and utility.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• Current NFT offerings are limited by cultural trends and utility.

• I think we all agree that we’ve reached a ceiling where we need to evolve the nft.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• Innovation is required to overcome the limitations of the current NFT market.
• Cultural relevance and utility are not enough for the long-term success of NFTs.

• Culture is asking yourself the question is it cool now… it’s cyclical… it shifts.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• The NFT market needs to explore new avenues for growth and engagement.

• Someone will always come around build something better faster stronger than you.

  — Farokh Sarmad

The missing layer in NFTs: Emotional connection

• The emotional connection is the key layer missing in the future of NFTs.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• Emotional engagement is crucial for the future development of NFTs.

• When we talk about the future right what is the future of nfts for me the layer that we’re missing is the emotional connection.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• The evergreen layer of emotional connection can enhance NFT projects.
• Understanding the role of emotions can guide the evolution of NFTs.

• That’s what you’re missing because that is the evergreen layer.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• Emotional connections can differentiate NFTs in a saturated market.
• The future of NFTs depends on integrating emotional engagement with users.

Learning from Disney: Emotional bonds and brand success

• Disney’s success is rooted in the emotional connections people have with its characters.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• Emotional branding is a key factor in Disney’s success.

• That’s why we all love disney and it’s such a big company today.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• The emotional connection with characters drives consumer loyalty.
• NFTs can learn from Disney’s approach to emotional engagement.
• Understanding Disney’s brand strategy can inform NFT development.

• It’s the emotional connection that we all have with the characters.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• Emotional bonds are essential for building successful digital brands.

The role of social and emotional bonding in NFT projects

• Social and emotional bonding is crucial for user retention in NFT projects.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• Retention in NFT projects relies on social and emotional connections.

• Social and emotional bonding gives you longevity this is your retention loop.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• Community engagement is key to the success of NFT projects.
• Understanding the importance of social dynamics can enhance NFT offerings.

• This is what people comes back to to connect.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• Social and emotional bonds can differentiate NFT projects in the market.
• The success of NFT projects depends on fostering strong community ties.

Building new products with a social layer

• The new products being developed will focus on a social layer that enhances existing gaming, gambling, and prediction markets.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• Integrating a social layer can differentiate new digital products.

• We’re building around the new products that are gonna be build designed around that social layer.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• The social layer can enhance user engagement in established markets.
• Understanding social dynamics is crucial for developing innovative products.
• The future of digital products lies in integrating social elements.

• Designed around that social layer

  — Farokh Sarmad

• Social integration can drive the success of new digital offerings.

The challenges of decision-making in DAOs

• Too many voices in a DAO can hinder progress and decision-making.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• Decentralized organizations face challenges in effective decision-making.

• The biggest problem nft communities have and had is that there are too many cooks in the kitchen.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• Effective leadership is crucial in managing decentralized communities.
• Understanding the challenges of DAOs can guide future governance models.

• We realized that in order to move the company forward then it doesn’t work that way.

  — Farokh Sarmad

• Streamlining decision-making processes can enhance DAO effectiveness.
• The success of DAOs depends on balancing decentralization with leadership.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.