Can this revolution last or is it only hype?
Jack Dorsey is selling his first-ever tweet for millions of dollars and so is the musician Grimes. Artists from all over the world are cashing out with the sale of their NFTs and iconic memes are also being immortalized through them. eBay has announced plans to start selling them and they are on the lips of investors everywhere. It is official, the NFT revolution is upon us.
While NFTs have existed for years now, it is in the last year specifically that they have captured the attention of the world. But can this revolution last or is it only hype?
The NFT Bubble
It seems that there is nowhere else for NFTs to go but up. A year ago, they would occasionally be mentioned in the mainstream news but now, they are everywhere. eBay’s announcement of NFTs being added to its site will catapult them even higher into the mainstream
For artists and other content creators, NFTs could become a necessity when releasing new work and not just a novelty. This is because of both the amounts of money to be made from the industry as of now and their increasing cultural relevance. It is worth noting that despite all its current success, we are only just scratching the surface of what NFTs can become as an industry.
Why are NFTs so Popular?
With all the recent progress of the NFT sector, it is worth investigating why NFTs are so popular these days.
Simply put, NFTs represent something that is quite important, especially in the worlds of pop culture and art; ownership. This is why art collectors pay small fortunes for original pieces because there is value in ownership. With NFTs, this ownership is publicly verifiable for anyone to see and ownership can be transferred without the need for a physical presence.
NFTs are able to take a concept that already existed in the art world and in the collectibles industry and infuse it with the innovation of blockchain. For artists, it is an easier way to make money from their craft and for fans, it offers access to exclusive content in a way that is easy to verify in terms of authenticity.
A lot of emphasis is being placed on the financial value of NFTs at the moment and this, of course, means that the industry behind it will continue to grow for a good amount of time to come.
When Does the Bubble burst?
With all the attention that the NFT bubble is getting, is it sustainable? That mostly depends on if what NFTs offer will be needed long term. NFT critics often claim that there is no point in paying for NFTs for digital content that is widely available. After all, what is the point of paying a million dollars for the NFT of a meme that everyone uses on the internet for free?
NFTs, however, will likely survive into the future and while the bubble might not burst per se, there is a limit to its growth. In the same way that original paintings are still being sold for millions of dollars year after year, NFTs will likely find a home among collectors and rich art enthusiasts and become a niche market.
The average consumer who doesn’t have the means or the interest to buy an original artwork will engage with NFTs the same way, which is not at all. The collectibles industry is well established but hyperspecific market and while the current narrative would have the public thinking that NFTs for collectibles are meant to be a mass-consumed product, it isn’t.
NFTs will engage with the public in more practical (and less expensive) ways like buying assets in video games or cheaper NFTs for sports fans and the like. All things considered, the NFT ‘bubble’ is not going to burst but will evolve to accommodate market needs.
Learn how to earn…
Become part of our community.
Follow our socials.
Subscribe to our podcast.
Subscribe to this publication.
It’s free (for now)
If you can explain why we pay millions of dollars on physical art you can explain why we spend millions of dollars on NFTs.
We’ve done it for decades, even centuries. It’s human nature in a sense and part of the record of our existence. It may seem illogical but that’s us.
Exactly! A lot of the criticism about NFTs could be said about any physical collectible.
"That baseball card is 'just' a piece of paper with a picture printed on it."
"You can just buy a 'copy' of that old movie poster."
Like you mentioned, NFTs will continue to find a home among collectors and enthusiasts. As I've immersed myself in the NFT world, I have found that the community is one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle that makes this work. Big or small, I believe the bonds formed in the many communities surrounding NFTs are going to continue to get stronger. Numbers may get smaller, but the community of collectors and enthusiasts will keep this ship flying.