Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) were once the talk of the town in the digital art and collectibles world. However, a recent study conducted by Web3 review website dappGambl has revealed a sobering truth – more than 95% of NFT collections are now effectively worthless. This study, which utilized data from crypto tracking sites CoinMarketCap and NFT Scan, marks a clear burst of the NFT bubble that was accompanied by extravagant sales and hype just a year ago. Digital art pieces were changing hands for millions of dollars, but now, the majority of these collections hold no tangible value.
The Bursting of the NFT Bubble
Out of the 73,257 NFT collections examined in the study, a staggering 69,795 of them held a market capitalization of precisely zero Ether (ETH). This startling revelation indicates that millions of people are currently holding worthless NFTs. The study’s findings widely circulated among the cryptocurrency community on the social media platform X, leaving many to acknowledge that the NFT market is now “super dead.”
The Rise and Fall
The NFT market experienced explosive growth in 2021 and 2022, reaching a peak of $2.8 billion in monthly trading volume. High-profile collections like Bored Apes and CryptoPunks were being traded for millions of dollars, and even celebrities such as Stephen Curry and Snoop Dogg were caught up in the NFT frenzy. However, as the study’s findings show, the once-skyrocketing market has significantly cooled down since then.
An overwhelming 79% of all NFT collections remain unsold, creating an environment where buyers hold the advantage while sellers grow increasingly desperate. Even when filtering out lower-value projects, the majority of collections retain little value in today’s market. Among the top 8,850 collections by market cap, 18% are worthless, and 41% are priced at a modest $5 to $10. This is a far cry from the million-dollar deals that were once commonplace.
