Two years ago, NFTs were a multi-billion dollar industry. Pieces of digital art were selling for millions of dollars. By 2024, 95% of NFTs will hold absolutely zero value. The speculative bubble eventually burst, causing huge losses for those who took the bait. In the end, the ones who profited the most were those who got out early, and the exchanges, which sometimes charge outrageous fees as transaction fees after the sale.
Why are NFTs so popular? NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) first appeared in 2014, but did not attract the world's attention until the beginning of 2021. One of the digital artworks, called "Everydays: The First 5000 Days", created by Beeple, was sold for $69 million. The work, which consists of 5,000 pieces created by Beeple every day for more than 13 years, became the most expensive NFT sold at the time, triggering a huge interest in this way of distributing art. In just one year, NFT trading volume increased from $1.7 billion in 2021 to $82 million in 2022. Celebrity promotion is also one of the reasons why this new trend has swept the Internet, with big stars like Eminem or Justin Bieber showing off their NFTs on Twitter. However, some accusations claim that celebrities buy NFTs for paid marketing promotions aimed at driving up the price of listed products.