NFTs: overhyped or underestimated?

NFTs: overhyped or underestimated?

While scrolling through your social media you’ve definitely bumped into the scandalous NFT-news. The jaw-dropping prices of the CryptoPunks or listing of the Bored Apes on Sotheby’s auction always draw attention en masse. Extremely easy money, intrigues, foolishness, the new elites, — that’s what the NFT community is all about in eyes of many. Today though, most analysts are talking about a significant decrease in market sales and diminishing interest in the topic itself. Those who called digital art «worthless, glorified PNGs» and poked fun at NFT collectors may be right then?

 

In the storming information field around NFTs, only one thing remains clear, the whole story must be sophisticatedly analyzed and careful conclusions should be drawn. In this article, we’ll provide you with an unbiased view of the current situation as well as some tips on new trends in digital art.

 

What do the numbers say?

According to the Coinmarketcap, in the 30-day run, the market capitalization of the NFT segment has dropped by a whopping 79%. The number of sales displayed by Statista shows pretty much the same picture, if not worse. Compared to August 2021, the quantity of NFTs sold in March 2022 has decreased fivefold. A similar situation can be seen on the Google Trends graph — interest in the search term «NFT» has fallen drastically worldwide, almost by 70 points out of 100. 

 

However, the hype around non-fungible tokens seems to be far from cooling off. Big brands like Lamborghini and Samsung have jumped in the NFT wagon recently. Fresh projects are arising daily, huge 7-digit deals are still being made and finally, the NFT community is holding its ground, so what’s the problem? Why are statistics telling us horrific numbers, but the reality is not even close to being that bad? The trick behind all these scary «NFT is dying» articles is pretty simple. They compare today’s picture to the all-time high and «all-time hype» not only of the NFT market itself but also of the cryptocurrencies in general. If you switch the chart to a broader timeline using the same sources, you’ll notice that the market cap, volume, etc. are increasing. Slowly but steadily.

 

Right now it’s hard to define whether we’re witnessing a temporary plunge after the market’s overheating, or a concerning downtrend, which will lead to serious consequences. But the simple fact remains the same — there are still a lot of sick events happening in the NFT world, so why won’t you grab your fair share of the future CryptoPunks, huh? 

 

Trends: music, big brands. 

Until the last months, NFTs were considered almost purely a form of «painted» digital art, but now things are changing. More and more professional producers and amateur musicians are joining the community. If I were to recommend something, in particular, it’d be Arpeggi Studio. Classy open source studio, that brings together amateur creators all around the world and presents their works on the OpenSea marketplace. 

 

Big brands, Hollywood stars, and fashion houses are also hopping into the NFTs. The relatively recent ones were Lamborghini, Pepsi, and Louis Vuitton. For the most part, these were only the first small steps on the long road of NFTs as a real revenue source, but who knows what awaits us in the future.