From boom-era prices to utility and real-world use
The post From boom-era prices to utility and real-world use appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
In 2021, a non-fungible token (NFT) by digital artist Beeple was sold for a staggering $69.3 million at a Christie’s auction. Roughly a year later, blockchain entrepreneur Deepak Thapliyal bought a CryptoPunk NFT for $23.7 million in one of the most expensive digital art pieces ever sold. But those were the glory days of NFTs, when digital collectibles routinely commanded eight-figure prices and mainstream institutions rushed to legitimize the market. In 2025, the market has changed, with NFT trading volumes down sharply from their 2021 peaks and buyers placing greater emphasis on utility, community and long-term relevance rather than headline-grabbing prices. Source: Christie’s The NFT market in 2025 The NFT market opened 2025 under pressure, with first-quarter sales falling 63% year over year to $1.5 billion, down from $4.1 billion during the same period in 2024. The downturn accelerated in March, when monthly sales plunged 76% to $373 million from $1.6 billion a year earlier. In November, NFT sales fell to their lowest monthly level of the year, with digital collectibles down more than 66% in market capitalization from their January highs. CryptoSlam data shows monthly sales dropped to $320 million, roughly half of October’s $629 million. Despite the broader slowdown, a small number of collections continued to attract buyers. Pudgy Penguins recorded $72 million in Q1 sales, up 13% year-over-year, potentially supported by a market transition beyond Web3 into a physical toy brand. Pudgy Penguins toys and apparel. Source: Pudgy Penguins’ Amazon page Long-running blue-chip collections have also leaned into cultural positioning rather than price momentum. In May, Yuga Labs sold the intellectual property rights to CryptoPunks to the nonprofit Infinite Node Foundation, a move aimed at placing one of the earliest NFT projects under long-term cultural stewardship. CryptoPunks’ floor price now stands at 26.99 ETH (ETH), down roughly…
Filed under: News - @ December 25, 2025 2:21 am