NFTs Are Dead: So Why Do People Keep Talking About Them?
When you head over to Google and type in “NFTs are -” you’ll be met with a kickback flurry of very interesting search engine results.
“NFTs are worthless”
“NFTs are a joke”
“NFTs killed my Husband, so I learned martial arts in China and I’m currently seeking revenge”
The first question that comes to mind is “what exactly did NFTs do to Google?” and why do people seem to enjoy dancing on the supposed grave of non-fungible tokens?
The second question is a bit more nuanced: If (and this is a big IF) NFTs are dead, then why do people talk about them so damn much?
Today we unravel these questions, dive into a bit of history and discover the meaning of life.
Well, kinda.
The Great 2021 Explosion
In 2021 CryptoPunks were selling for millions of dollars, Beeple was blowing up, Bored Ape Yacht Club launched and some blockchain called “Solana” was doing astronomical amounts of volume in NFT sales due to how fast and cheap it was compared to the other popular chains retail pursued at the time.
We were seeing historic amounts of volume from collections like Okay Bears, DeGods and Solana Monkey Business. This surge in popularity was covered in the news media, popular culture and even hit a peak on Google Trends. Everything was great… Then one day, the bubble popped.
This was the opportunity for the media and the general public that either didn’t understand NFTs or missed out on the fun to congregate together and create a metaphorical spirit bomb out of thin air to end NFTs once and for all.
Now, this is usually where the story ends; but in 2023 when NFT volume took a nose-dive into the pits of hell, the space had a much needed ‘coming to Jesus’ moment. It was time for NFTs to evolve beyond speculative assets, and for marketplaces like Tensor to innovate in ways that would make even the likes of great scientists like J. Robert Oppenheimer proud.
NFTs needed a reset. And trust me, they got one.
The Evolution of the JPEG
Due to the dollar sign attached alongside their mythological past, NFTs are inherently speculative – but those shouldn’t be the only things that separate them from regular JPEGs.
NFTs have always been fantastic branding and community building tools.
NFTs are stored on the blockchain, which points to domains to verify ownership.
NFTs are not static. They are dynamic assets that constantly evolve (as we’ve seen with SPL-20 and even more recently; Hybrid NFTs).
And last but not least, NFTs get people — and keep people — talking.
Not only do they bring people together and significantly boost a brand's presence, they are controversial by nature. Controversy starts conversations, and these conversations can not be gate kept so long as creators continue to produce.
Here’s what I mean: If NFTs died – really died – in 2023, then why do we all still talk about them so much?
How would it be possible for our ecosystem to interact with something that has been “dead” for so long?
Even if volume took a dip, how is it possible that Solana is still doing millions of dollars in NFT sales on a daily basis?
When was the last time something “dead” did that?
Through marketplace incentives and the reincarnation of the idea of NFTs, I’d argue that NFTs were inflated and simply cooled off.
I’d argue that maybe a picture of a rock shouldn’t be selling for millions of dollars.
And I’d argue that NFTs work in cycles, just like everything else in life.
Managing Expectations
There was a time when NFTs simply defied reality. If that defiance of reality continued to persist without fail, it’s safe to say we would have probably stumbled upon other anomalies like AI-Robot Unicorns from outer space, or something.
The truth is we were conditioned into believing that NFTs were front-row seat tickets to financial freedom. We saw things that made no sense, and normalized them in our minds. Reality quite literally slapped us in the face and some of us either don’t know how to deal with it, or don’t want to accept it.
I think it’s time to accept it.
NFTs are a part of the new technological revolution unfolding before our eyes in real time, and the truth is… they aren’t going anywhere. Hybrid NFTs, product verification and the sheer amount of updates we’ve seen this year alone are barely scratching the surface of what’s possible.
The truth is NFTs aren’t dead, because deep down, we love NFTs – and you (yes, you) just can’t seem to stop talking about them.
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