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It’s been a while since “NFT” was the 2021 word of the year. The big NFT bust of 2022/23 had some writing the trend off as a mirage, or as an investment bubble that was unlikely to be seen again for some time. For many, this has proved true so far. Some NFTs that had once been worth millions have lost almost all value, and the many NFT collections are reporting a value of zero ETH in studies.
But some in the crypto space are predicting an NFT resurgence for 2024. Is there any truth to that? There’s arguably enough of a resurgence in the larger crypto space to warrant a second look at other kinds of tokens on the blockchain.
It’s a Different Kind of NFT Future
NFTs of the past were framed as highly speculative assets. NFT creators would mint a minimal number of NFTs on exclusive blockchains, set ambitious prices, or put them up for bidding, and hope that the value of a single NFT in the collection would skyrocket to staggering heights. New NFT creators seem unlikely to take the same approach.
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The new year has, indeed, seen renewed interest in NFTs by varied companies, while NFT marketplaces are seeing familiar kinds of NFT brands surfacing with names like Pudgy Penguins and Cool Cats (giving echoes of Bored Ape NFTs). Some of these come with so-called “Phygital activations,” where a physical product comes with an NFT. This can be attached to the product or come as a claim code, but the point is that the NFT is coupled with a non-speculative real object that supposedly has inherent value.
This indicates a new approach that might characterize this generation of NFTs. Instead of large, exclusive sales at high prices, these NFTs might be more readily available. Creators are often working to produce NFTs in large quantities for sale to the general consumer market. The goal of this is that people who would not normally have an interest in NFTs might find they own one as part of a ticket or product purchase.
A Shift in How Consumers Access Blockchains
Someone with no interest in NFTs may be less likely to have a crypto wallet on an NFT marketplace or proprietary blockchain that they can readily slot their accidentally acquired NFT into. They may not know how to set one up, and they may not want to. Instead of requiring an account, these NFTs often come attached to a blockchain managed by the company that sold it, which consumers might not realize is a blockchain at all. This NFT wallet may be part of a membership app used to make online purchases, with the app itself serving as a user’s interface with the blockchain.
Producing NFTs in large quantities for the broad consumer market might’ve seemed counterproductive to the NFT creators of 2021, but that idea didn’t have longevity, so companies are giving a new approach its chance. By making NFTs so widely available that they can be attached to other purchases, companies might be able to rapidly expand the NFT market. Consumers could be collecting NFTs on blockchains as a matter of course before they know it.