- Market NFT is going through hard times: the number of active members has fallen by a factor of 20, and prices for top collections have reached multi-year lows. In the new article Happy Coin News We'll look into the reasons for the industry's deep crisis and find out whether it has NFT a chance to survive in a world where investors are more interested in government bonds and meme coins than digital art.
NFT, which were once a regular feature on the front pages of news feeds, now rarely attract public attention, so the editorial board Happy Coin News I decided to analyze the state of the non-fungible token market and answer the question of whether it will be completely forgotten or make a triumphant return.
What are the trends in the NFT space?
Non-fungible tokens peaked in popularity in April 2022, when their market capitalization reached an all-time high of $17,1 billion, with daily trading volume exceeding $112 million. However, demand for NFTs quickly declined, and a bearish trend took hold, resulting in the value of issued digital art pieces declining more than tenfold to $1,6 billion, while the value of transactions with the coins fell to a modest $1,3 million per day.
Changes in NFT market capitalization and trading volume
In January 2022, the number of buyers and sellers of non-fungible tokens on the Ethereum blockchain reached an all-time high of 92,370. However, since then, the number of market participants has declined significantly, hovering around 5,000 in February 2026. The number of completed digital asset purchases and sales fell 20-fold from 83,890 to 4,140.
Fluctuations in the number of sellers (blue line) and buyers (red line) of NFTs
Tokens have failed to escape the influence of the market law, which dictates that the price of a commodity decreases when demand falls while supply remains constant. While the fact that coins have fallen in value was surprising to few, the extent of their decline has been astonishing. For example, the price of the Azuki Bumblebee NFT , purchased by blogger Logan Paul in 2021 for $635,000, fell to $155 by February 2026, while the Bored Ape Yacht Club #3001 token purchased by singer Justin Bieber fell from $1,3 million to $12,660 over four years.
Why have NFTs lost their former popularity?
The main reasons for the dismal state of the non-fungible token industry include:
- Excessively high price volatility NFT;
- Decline in earnings for coin creators;
- A reduction in the number of celebrity marketing campaigns promoting digital assets;
- Investor interest is shifting towards tokenized assets, such as those based on stocks and precious metals.
NFTs were promoted as a digital equivalent of physical art, allowing not only to preserve but also to increase the capital spent on their purchase. In reality, it turned out that the value of tokens from even the most popular collections is declining sharply, putting their buyers at risk of incurring huge losses. Specifically, the minimum price of CryptoPunks NFTs fell from 113,9 to 29,9 ETH between October 2021 and February 2026.
Reduction of the minimum price for tokens from the CryptoPunks series
Some NFT trading platforms have begun to hinder token creators' ability to make money. For example, the once-leading OpenSea marketplace has disabled mandatory royalty payments to creators of digital art when they are sold. Billionaire Mark Cuban correctly assessed the consequences of this measure, declaring in August 2023 that it would destroy the industry.
Mark Cuban
Falling revenues forced NFT developers to spend less on promoting their creations, and they gradually faded from the news. Furthermore, in 2023, investor attention shifted to tokenized assets thanks to the emergence of cryptocurrencies based on US government bonds. The appeal of these coins, currently offering 3,68% annual returns, was driven by declining yields on lending products and virtual currency staking.
What should we expect from NFTs in the future?
The negative factors that led to the decline in the non-fungible token market have not gone away and remain in effect, meaning the NFT space will not be able to reach its former heights. Tokenized assets will be trending for at least a year, and the experience of investors who lost money on NFTs is discouraging many buyers of digital art. Furthermore, the situation is exacerbated by the bearish trend that has dominated the cryptocurrency market since October 2025.
However, it's not as if the non-fungible token industry will completely collapse. NFTs won't fade into oblivion and will retain their niche in the digital asset industry, attracting the attention of art enthusiasts. This is evidenced by the recovery that began in January, marked by an increase in token trading volume and the number of completed transactions.
However, a positive trend is not stable or strong, so it can be replaced by a negative trend at any moment. Given the above, the analyst Happy Coin News Yuri Savelyev assesses the industry's prospects NFT with cautious optimism.
Weekly trading volume of non-fungible tokens issued on different networks
Is it possible to make a profit by investing in NFTs?
The value of non-fungible tokens is traditionally determined in cryptocurrency, such as Ethereum. This means NFTs appreciate when the ETH price rises, but a fall in the coin's price causes them to fall. The Ethereum market bearish trend is expected to last until August 2026, after which the cryptocurrency will begin to appreciate. Therefore, NFTs can be bought at the bottom and profit from selling them when ETH appreciates significantly.
The value of digital assets will increase not only due to the rise in the Ethereum price. Toward the end of the bull run, market participants will be looking for ways to invest their realized profits. During this period, the price of memecoins, altcoins, and even NFTs traditionally soars . ETH is expected to appreciate by approximately two and a half times during the upward trend. Add to this the likely increase in token value due to capital inflow, and it's safe to assume that purchasing them will triple your investment.
However, it's important to remember that, according to research by dappGambl, 95% of digital art collections depreciate over time. Therefore, to mitigate the risk, it makes sense to purchase tokens from popular series. The demand for NFT collections is reflected in their minimum price listed on the NFT Price Floor website. Specifically, the current leaders in this category are tokens from the CryptoPunks , Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Pudgy Penguins series, which will cost at least $8,302.
Statistics for the five most sought-after NFT collections
History has shown that non-fungible tokens are high-risk assets, whose price is subject to significant price fluctuations due to speculative trading. Therefore, NFTs make sense to purchase if you're comfortable with the prospect of losses in pursuit of profit or if you're interested in investing in digital art for personal reasons.
The information on this site is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or financial recommendations. Cryptocurrencies and digital assets carry a high level of risk, including possible loss of capital. The editors are not responsible for decisions made based on the published materials. It is recommended to conduct your own research (DYOR) before making investment decisions. Read the editorial policy at https://happycoin.news/about/
