The entry and ascent of NFTs have completely changed the shape of the crypto-industry. Now, NFT creators, collectors, and analysts desperately want to understand the day’s trends so that they can ensure the best possible returns on their investment.
To that end, Ripple’s 2022 Crypto Trends Report – “New Value: Crypto Trends in Business and Beyond” – certainly revealed a lot about this booming asset.
Take me home, please?
One fascinating takeaway from the report is that users across international regions often buy NFTs for vastly different reasons. For example, while most survey respondents answered that they would want to buy NFTs for a “functional reason,” three times the number of Asia Pacific-based customers said they would buy NFTs to celebrate a milestone in their life.
APAC customers also expressed more interest in purchasing NFTs to support a celebrity or brand. This is key marketing data for creators.
But, what kind of NFTs should creators focus on? Ripple’s report stated,
“Despite some minor differences, by and large the number of consumers interested in NFTs related to one area or another was fairly steady across regions, with music being the area of highest interest, collectibles second, and gaming third.”
Myth versus reality: green NFTs
NFT creators have a bad reputation, as most unencrypted users tend to assume that those who make NFTs don’t care about the environment. However, this may not be (strictly) true as Ripple’s report showed that sustainability is close to the hearts of many consumers and developers. While nearly a fifth of customers surveyed said they only buy a sustainable NFT, two-thirds of developers said their customers want them to switch to a “more sustainable blockchain”.
Ripple’s report cited Solana, Flow, and the XRP Ledger as examples of blockchains with low energy usage.
Don’t say “but”
That being said, with the widespread adoption of NFTs comes an increase in complaints. Traditional and digital artists have accused the OpenSea NFT marketplace of enabling art theft and not doing enough to combat stolen works minted as NFT. Meanwhile, organizations trying to adopt NFTs have also faced backlash.
As it stands now, NFTs have a serious image problem outside the crypto-industry.
Watch out for the doldrums
NFTs may be on the rise, but looking at OpenSea data [Ethereum], you would find it hard to believe. Dune Analytics revealed that the number of NFTs sold has been falling sharply since January 2022.
At press time, 1,626,818 NFTs had been sold in March 2022.
What does it mean? In short, NFT creators must innovate to stay afloat in a diversifying market.
