It’s the question I’ve been asked most frequently over the last 2 months…so what’s the answer?

TL;DR:

While NFT sales and trading volumes are down significantly, the activity in the space - from a tech, talent and fundraising perspective is encouraging.

The roots being grown right now will enable adoption for those new to web 3 and expand the scope of existing projects.

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The case in favour:

• Sales volumes are down massively - Monthly sales volume on OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, dropped to $700 million in June from a high of nearly $5 billion in January.
• Prices of the leading “blue chip” NFT projects are down - such as CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club and Moonbirds. The values are lower in both ETH and USD.
• Crypto crash - there is less money in the market. $2 trillion in wealth was destroyed in the cryptocurrency markets, with Bitcoin and Ether having lost over 50% of their value at one point.

The case against:

• Meta, Snap, Twitter and Reddit have all launched NFT features on their platforms. In each case, the focus is on using NFTs as the tool to create your digital identity.
• In other “big tech” news, eBay acquired NFT marketplace KnownOrigin, sighting NFTs as part of the company’s vision to connect buyers and sellers with “the perfect, hard-to-find, or unique addition to their collection.”
• A host of NFT startups have raised funding and brought talent into the space over the last few months.
• Promisingly, many are targeting the increasing adoption of NFTs within specific niches. For example, Draup is building a fashion metaverse platform, Verse has successfully launched, targeting fine art and curated exhibitions, while Zoop unveiled its offering centred on collectables from leading social media creators.

In conclusion, NFTs are happening. The current market is tough, but there’s a long way to go.

As this article explains we’ve merely reached “the end of the beginning.”