The rise and fall of NFTs - From $25B to worthless

Digital pictures of monkeys sold for more than houses — then 95% of all NFTs became totally worthless.

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By The Numbers

$25B

traded in 2021

95%

of NFTs now worthless

-97%

trading volume crash

What They Nailed Early

Created digital scarcity that felt revolutionary. CryptoKitties sold for $117,000 in 2017. OpenSea became the dominant marketplace, capturing 90% of NFT trades by 2021 as celebrities and mainstream buyers piled in.

What Changed

COVID brought bored people and government stimulus checks looking for speculation. The market exploded to $25B in 2021, but 60% of trades were fake wash trading to inflate prices. Crypto winter hit, scams proliferated, and trust evaporated as people realized scarcity alone doesn't create value.

Where it Landed

Over 95% of NFT collections are worthless. 23 million people hold NFTs worth zero. OpenSea's valuation crashed 90%. The music stopped.

The Principles

Manias follow a pattern. Early adopters get rich, late adopters fund their exits, then the crash comes when you run out of buyers.

Scarcity without utility is speculation. No cash flow, no intrinsic value — just hoping someone pays more than you did.

Sell picks and shovels, not gold. Levi's got rich making pants for miners who went broke chasing the rush.

Builder's Takeaway

If you spot the next mania, remember:

•

Don't mine the gold — sell tools to the miners

•

When celebrities start shilling, you're already late to the party

•

If there's no cash flow, it's pure speculation — bet accordingly

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