NFT buyers don’t know what to do with them

One third of buyers non-fungible tokens (NFTs) does not know what to do with them currently, a fact that reflects the decline in popularity of this digital asset after the peak it reached a couple of years ago.

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The NFT market suffered a drop of more than 90% in 2022, mainly as a result of the collapse of some cryptocurrencies such as Luna or FTX. OpenSea, the largest sales platform for these crypto assets, went from selling $3 billion in September 2021 to $350 million in September 2022.

The fall in its value has called into question the viability of the future of NFTs and in this regard, according to the Hiscox Online Art Report 2023, 36% of those who own assets of this type say that their intention is to sell part of their collections and 6% would donate them to charitable causes.

Some NFTs have sold for millions of dollars. | Photo: Pixabay

On the contrary, 43% of shoppers say they will keep their NFTs for personal enjoyment, 28% would like to exhibit them in the metaverse and 19% in a museum or physical gallery. However, the report highlights that there is “a third” of the owners of these assets who do not know what to do with them.

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At the moment, only 12% of buyers say they will buy one in the next twelve months, which is 15 percentage points less than the previous year. One of the main reasons why NFTs are interesting is for the potential return on investment, as 66% of buyers agree (versus 82% in 2022).

On the contrary, The percentages of buyers who see social impact and patronage as a reason to acquire NFTs are increasing (from 39% in 2022 to 54% in 2023), as well as belonging to an open-minded community (from 38% to 44%).

In the last year, only 20% of art buyers have purchased an NFTa percentage similar to last year (19%).

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FOR 39% IT IS A SPECULATIVE BUBBLE

The collapse in the sales of these assets in recent years has put the debate on whether the NFT bubble has burst and its legitimacy as a new ‘online’ art form.

Illustrated NFT concept. (Freepik/)

According to the report, 39% of art buyers consider this market a speculative bubble and half (50%) see no artistic value in NFTs. In fact, 59% are not interested in this format and prefer more traditional physical art.

However, buyers would be more confident in buying an NFT if there were more market regulation (37%), if the buying and selling process was more similar to that of the more traditional ‘eCommerces’ (29%) and if traditional artists made works in this format (28%).

Source: Elcomercio