NFTs were one of the major stories of the last crypto bull market of 2021 and 2022, with countless instances of celebrities endorsing them. Many of the biggest tokens were pumped just before the bear market, and then talk of them in the mainstream fell by the wayside.
The crypto bull market is once again in full swing and expected to continue into 2025, but there hasn’t been much discussion about NFTs this time around. Were NFTs merely a craze, or do they still have a part to play?
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NFT Hype Was High During the Last Bull Market
NFTs first made it into the public sphere in the previous crypto bull run, and there were numerous high-profile cases of stars picking up trending tokens.
The Bored Ape Yacht Club was one of the most famous lines, with celebrities like Paris Hilton and Steph Curry buying unique pieces in the collection.
Various celebrities decided to bring out their own NFTs to capitalize on the craze as well. Lionel Messi released the Messiverse with various pieces sold for millions of dollars, and Snoop Dogg released A Journey with the Dogg, which included memories and artwork related to the rapper.
NFTs became so mainstream in the last bull market that there were even iGaming titles based on them. NFT Megaways is up there with the top Ontario slots, featuring recognizable tokens on the thumbnail and on the reels. The title is still popular among online casino players, suggesting that interest in NFTs is still high in that market.
Memecoins Have Been Popular This Time
The current bull market is still in its early phase, but there hasn’t been as much hype surrounding NFTs this time. So far, the focus of this cycle has been on memecoins, which have exploded in recent months. Indeed, it’s estimated that there are now more than 300 memecoins in existence, and more are added to the market every day.
The memecoin market stems from Dogecoin, which was created in 2013 as a joke to poke fun at Bitcoin. However, it amassed a massive army of followers, and its price spiked in each of the last bull markets alongside Bitcoin. This has inspired many other people to release their own memecoins.
However, investors need to be aware that these are usually Ponzi schemes. They are designed in such a way that the creators initially drum up retail interest to inflate the price, and then dump on the investors. They are high volatility, and “pump and dumps” can occur within the space of a few hours.
It’s likely that retail will soon get wise to the memecoin trend, and it will pass by and disappear before the next bull market. However, NFTs could make a return later due to their potential usage.
Unlike memecoins, NFTs have applications and will likely be hugely popular within VR metaverses when these take off. NFTs may not trend in the current bull market, but they are likely to find their way back into the mainstream in the future.
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