March 6, 2023
By Murtuza Merchant
The market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) may have experienced a decline from its peak, but recent data shows that it is still a viable option for buyers and sellers.
According to industry reports, over $480 million worth of NFTs were traded in the past 30 days, indicating that there is still significant money to be made in the NFT market.
NFTs are unique digital assets that represent a wide range of items, including artwork, music, video game items, and more.
The value of these assets is derived from their uniqueness and the fact that they are one-of-a-kind.
As such, they cannot be replicated or exchanged for other tokens or currencies in the same way as fungible tokens like Bitcoin or Ethereum.
The decline in the NFT market has not gone unnoticed, and many young and ambitious investors are still interested in the asset class.
Despite the dip, the market remains attractive to investors looking to make a profit. However, there is still a gap between the potential use cases of NFTs and where they are currently used.
Guneet Kaur, a digital assets researcher at the University of Stirling, believes that NFTs have the power to authenticate and verify digital assets, unlocking untapped revenue streams and establishing new paradigms of value. However, Kaur notes that there is still a significant difference between the potential use cases of NFTs and their current application.
Aliasgar Merchant, a developer relations engineer at Informal Systems, shares Kaur’s belief that NFTs have strong growth potential and will truly change different industries.
Merchant suggests that the true power of NFTs will be unlocked when they are used in applications like DeFi, supply chain, and logistics.
Clem Chambers, CEO of Online Blockchain plc, believes that despite the decline in NFT trading from billions to millions, NFTs remain a gigantic untapped application.
Chambers suggests that the potential to create new genres of use cases and streaming and remove all kinds of legacy processes is still very much there.
According to Chambers, NFTs are capturing the imagination of a new generation of digital art lovers, and digital art is their natural artistic format.
This belief is shared by Riccardo Pellegrini, co-founder, and CEO of Web3 Builders, who suggests that NFTs have the potential to provide an extra layer of security for physical and digital assets.
Pellegrini believes that once NFTs become safe and secure enough to make their use cases mainstream, their adoption will pick up, and we will see a rebound to previous levels.
The potential for NFTs to provide an extra layer of security for physical and digital assets is also noted by Bob Juburi, co-founder, and head of partnerships at The Quest of Evolution.
Despite the decline in transaction volumes, Juburi notes that the projects being built will bring about disruptive changes to various industries and cast a spotlight on the underlying technology.
Max Thake, the co-founder at peaq, believes that NFTs are not dead; they are just looking for a purpose beyond JPEGs. While the market was largely down in 2022, talented teams kept experimenting with use cases for the technology that would push it beyond JPEGs.
Thake suggests that the focus is now moving toward bringing the promise of decentralized ownership of unique assets to life with more user value in mind.
Andy Treys, the founder of Cereal Club, believes that those who truly support NFTs, including collectors, creators, and companies, are here to stay.
Treys suggests that the potential for NFTs to generate high returns for investors will always be appealing, and there will always be an appetite for crypto collectibles.
About the author
Murtuza Merchant is a senior journalist and an avid follower of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
