From boom-time prices to utility and real-world use
In the year In 2021, digital artist Beeple's Invincible Token (NFT) sold for an impressive $69.3 million at a Christie's auction. Almost a year later, blockchain entrepreneur Deepak Thaplial bought a cryptopunk NFT, the most expensive piece of digital art, which sold for $23.7 million.
But those were the glory days of NFTs, when digital collectors routinely commanded eight-figure prices and major institutions rushed to legalize the market.
In the year By 2025, the market has changed, with NFT trading volumes down significantly from their 2021 peak and buyers focusing more on usability, community and long-term value than on core values.
The NFT market in 2025
The NFT market opened under pressure in 2025, with first-quarter sales falling 63% year-over-year to $1.5 billion, down from $4.1 billion in the same period in 2024. In March, monthly sales fell 76 percent to $373 million from $1.6 billion.
In November, NFT sales fell to the lowest monthly level of the year, the digital collection has fallen more than 66% from the highest market capitalization in January. Monthly sales fell to $320 million, roughly half of October's $629 million, according to CryptoSlam data.
Despite the widespread slowdown, a small number of collections continue to attract buyers. Pudgy Penguins reported $72 million in Q1 sales, a 13 percent year-over-year increase, driven by a market shift away from Web3 to a physical toy brand.
Long-term blue-chip stocks tend to lean toward traditional positioning rather than price momentum. In May, Yuga Labs sold intellectual property rights to CryptoPunks, the nonprofit Infinite Node Foundation, a move to put it under long-term cultural stewardship of one of the first NFT projects.
CryptoPunks floor price now stands at 26.99 ETH (ETH), down 78% from its August 2021 peak of 125 ETH, but still good enough to hold its status as a high-profile PFP NFT collection.
At the time of writing, CoinGecko data shows that the total NFT market cap has fallen to $2.56 billion. At the peak of the NFT craze in April 2022, the market cap was around $16.8 billion.
RELATED: Valve's Counter-Strike 2 Update Drops $5.8B Economy, Rekindles NFT Debate
NFTs move from speculation to real world use
While demand for profile picture (PFP) NFTs has been slowing in most of the crypto market, NFTs tied to real-world use cases continue to gain traction.
Marketplaces like OpenSea have focused on becoming a comprehensive onchain trading hub, and new activity in the space is focused on NFTs linked to tickets and physical goods.
International sports organizations continue to experiment with NFTs for access to the event, including FIFA, which uses blockchain-based “right to buy” tokens as part of its ticketing approach for the 2026 World Cup.
NFTs give holders priority to buy tickets at their own price rather than entering secondary markets as a way to limit price increases. NFTs held for teams such as Argentina, Spain, France, England and Brazil were sold for $999, according to FIFA Collect data.
In the year Another segment of NFT that will show resilience in 2025 is real-world collectible-backed NFTs, particularly trading cards. Platforms like Courtyard.io have emerged among players linking Pokemon cards to onchain tokens.
The campus stores verified cards in vaults, allows users to trade them as NFTs, and offers secret packages that can be redeemed or sold, combining blockchain authentication with traditional collection mechanics.
According to CryptoSlam data, over the past 30 days, the company has conducted more than 230,000 transactions, generating approximately $12.7 million in sales.
Campus CEO Nicolas Le Jeune told Cointelegraph that the company's approach reflects a broader shift in how NFTs are used and seeing blockchain infrastructure as a method rather than a product. And so he said.
“We use Web3 as a tool, not as a destination. The value we provide is not something on the blockchain – it's experience and its core asset.”
He emphasized that a token alone does not create value: “The cards you buy on the premises are not worth more because they are NFTs. The value is the main asset – NFT gives you a better way to experience it.”
Magazine: The Big Questions: Will Bitcoin Survive a 10-Year Blackout?
