The hands are holding NFT.
The stock photo is from the stock photo service.
The market size for digital collectibles is catching up to that of the traditional art market.
By the end of 2021, the marketplace for non-fungible token, which are digital pieces of art tied to blockchain technology, reached a $41 billion value, according to a previous report.
The new metric would be even higher if digital collectibles that were not tied to the ethereum coin were included.
The value of NFTs is closer to the traditional art market, where people buy and sell physical works. In 2020, the sales of conventional art and antiques are expected to reach $50 billion. The decline in that number was due to the COVID-19 epidemic, according to the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market report.
The market hit $22 billion in 2021, according to data from DappRadar. DappRadar puts digital collectible sales at just $100 million in 2020.
Art industry stalwarts have taken notice. The market for NFTs has grown so much that auction houses like Christie's and Sotheby's have sold millions of dollars worth of them.
The NFT market appears to be holding its own. The latest data from NonFungible.com shows that sales of NFTs have hit half a billion dollars in the past week. The Bored Ape Yacht Club and the NFT collections led the sales, according to Insider.
The merits of digital collectibles have been debated. The next phase of the internet is called the metaverse or Web3. Right-clickers say there's little to no value in the digital token.
The long-term picture for the market is very strong, and it's likely that naysayers will eventually become participants, according to one of the twins behind NFT exchange Nifty Gateway.
Business Insider has an original article.