As the world economic climate takes a nosedive, people are questioning the longevity of NFTs and other crypto projects. While many corporations have started to engage with them - Apple, Roblox, Reddit, and Starbucks, to name a few - there are still doubts about their utility, value and even their impact on the environment.

What are NFTs?

For those unfamiliar with NFTs (Non fungible tokens), they can be a confusing concept. Essentially, an NFT is a digital asset that is verified on a blockchain (a decentralized and secure digital ledger). This verification makes the asset unique and gives it value. NFTs are often used to sell digital art or other collectibles, and they have also been used in the gaming industry to confirm the veracity of different items and skins.

NFTs have also gained a lot of attention over the past three years in the art world and beyond. Because they are digital assets that are unique and indivisible, they cannot be exchanged for other assets on a one-to-one basis like a dollar bill can be traded for another dollar bill. This absolute uniqueness makes NFTs extremely reliable at ensuring the proper provenance of a digital item, allowing them to be used to sell everything from digital art to tweets. There’s also a unique capability for NFT assets to continue paying royalties to artists, allowing for a more predictable revenue stream as they pass into different wallets. They’re great news for artists!

Environmental concerns resolved

But let’s talk about their physical impact for a minute. One potential issue that often is discussed with NFTs is their potential negative impact on the environment. The process of creating and trading NFTs used to  require a lot of energy, as the primary chain was Ethereum,, which used to have a high energy consumption.This argument is no longer valid, however, since the merge occurred - lowering energy consumption by 99%. There are also concerns about the carbon footprint of hosting and storing the digital assets, as well as the potential for NFTs to contribute to e-waste. But this argument applies to literally all digital, web-based technology.

Crazy spikes

Despite these environmental concerns, NFTs have gained a lot of attention by helping to sell incredibly high value items. For example, a digital artwork by the artist Beeple sold for $69 million in an auction as an NFT.

PFP collections can be even more of a roller coaster. Crypto Punks and Bored Ape hacks are incredibly common because they're often worth upwards of $100,000 or even $1M. At times you'll see individual pieces fluctuate by 500% in a day.


This volatility has led some to question whether NFTs are just a fad or if they have real staying power. 

Hint: it’s a lot of both!

Investments

One reason people buy NFTs is because they believe they will increase in value over time. However, it is important to note that the value of an NFT is largely based on speculation and it is not guaranteed to increase - in fact, they often lose 90% of their value in just a few months. Some people also buy NFTs as a form of investment that doubles as support for the artist or creator.

New movers in the space

Crypto.com, a cryptocurrency exchange and wallet, announced that it will be offering NFTs in addition to OpenSea and LooksRare, two of the largest entrenched players. This move has attracted some attention, as Crypto.com is a well-known and respected company in the cryptocurrency space. It is not yet clear what types of NFTs Crypto.com will offer or if they’ll be a success.

Anti-NFT sentiment

Despite their popularity, not everyone is a fan of NFTs. Some critics argue that NFTs are worthless because they are simply digital assets with no tangible value. Others believe that the hype around NFTs is overblown and that they are being used to speculate on the market rather than for their intrinsic value.

Some real, trending search terms over the past 3 months have included fuck nfts, why are nfts so ugly, are nfts dead, and NFTs are worthless. In a nutshell, they’ve had their fair share of PR issues.

There are also some people who simply dislike NFTs and believe they are a waste of time and resources. Some of these critics argue that NFTs are ugly or unappealing and that the money spent on them could be better used elsewhere. “They’re just ugly ape JPEGs,” is their argument. And some of them are :)

Despite the criticism, NFTs show no signs of slowing down. In fact, some believe that the future of NFTs is bright and that they will continue to grow in popularity and value. For example, the social media platform Reddit has announced that it will be exploring the use of NFTs on its platform. Additionally, the gaming company Roblox has announced that it will be using NFTs in some of its games.

It is also worth noting that Apple has allowed NFT apps to be sold on its App Store. This decision has sparked some controversy, as some believe that Apple should not be facilitating the sale of NFTs due to their potential negative environmental impact. Apple also is expecting a 30% cut of them like all other digital goods in the app store, which has caused huge ripples in the space.

Future of NFTs

Overall, NFTs have had a rocky past but seem to be emerging into a brighter spot with more common acceptance. Now that the environmental concerns are resolved and the overall market has cleared out many charlatans, it’s likely that a new foundational layer for real artists will emerge in 2023 as well. It's certainly worth keeping an eye on the space!