From boom-era prices to utility and real-world use

In 2021, a non-fungible token (NFT) by digital artist Beeple was sold for a staggering $69.3 million at a Christie’s auction. Roughly a year later, blockchain entrepreneur Deepak Thapliyal bought a CryptoPunk NFT for $23.7 million in one of the most expensive digital art pieces ever sold.

But those were the glory days of NFTs, when digital collectibles routinely commanded eight-figure prices and mainstream institutions rushed to legitimize the market.

In 2025, the market has changed, with NFT trading volumes down sharply from their 2021 peaks and buyers placing greater emphasis on utility, community and long-term relevance rather than headline-grabbing prices.

The NFT market in 2025

The NFT market opened 2025 under pressure, with first-quarter sales falling 63% year over year to $1.5 billion, down from $4.1 billion during the same period in 2024. The downturn accelerated in March, when monthly sales plunged 76% to $373 million from $1.6 billion a year earlier.

In November, NFT sales fell to their lowest monthly level of the year, with digital collectibles down more than 66% in market capitalization from their January highs. CryptoSlam data shows monthly sales dropped to $320 million, roughly half of October’s $629 million.

Despite the broader slowdown, a small number of collections continued to attract buyers. Pudgy Penguins recorded $72 million in Q1 sales, up 13% year-over-year, potentially supported by a market transition beyond Web3 into a physical toy brand.

Long-running blue-chip collections have also leaned into cultural positioning rather than price momentum. In May, Yuga Labs sold the intellectual property rights to CryptoPunks to the nonprofit Infinite Node Foundation, a move aimed at placing one of the earliest NFT projects under long-term cultural stewardship.

CryptoPunks’ floor price now stands at 26.99 ETH (ETH), down roughly 78% from its August 2021 peak of 125 ETH, but still enough to keep it ranked as the top profile picture (PFP) NFT collection.

At the time of writing, CoinGecko data showed that the total NFT market cap has fallen to about $2.56 billion. At the peak of the NFT craze in April 2022, the market cap was about $16.8 billion.

Related: Valve’s Counter-Strike 2 update crashes $5.8B economy, revives NFT debate

NFTs shift from speculation to real-world use

While interest in profile picture (PFP) NFTs has cooled across much of the crypto market, NFTs tied to real-world use cases continue to find traction. 

Marketplaces such as OpenSea have broadened their focus to become universal onchain trading hubs, while newer activity in the space has centered on NFTs linked to tickets and physical goods.

International sports organizations keep experimenting with NFTs for event access, including FIFA, which is using blockchain-based “Right to Buy” tokens as part of its ticketing approach for the 2026 World Cup. 

The NFTs give holders priority access to buy tickets at face value, rather than guaranteeing entry, as a way to limit price gouging in secondary markets. According to FIFA Collect data, reservation NFTs for matches involving teams such as Argentina, Spain, France, England and Brazil were priced at $999 and have sold out.

Another NFT segment showing resilience in 2025 is real-world collectible–backed NFTs, particularly trading cards. Platforms such as Courtyard.io have emerged among players in this niche by linking Pokémon cards to onchain tokens. 

Courtyard stores authenticated cards in vaults, allows users to trade them as NFTs, and offers mystery packs that can be redeemed or resold, combining blockchain verification with traditional collecting mechanics.

Over the past 30 days, the company has processed more than 230,000 transactions and generated roughly $12.7 million in sales, according to CryptoSlam data.

Nicolas le Jeune, CEO of Courtyard, told Cointelegraph that the company’s approach reflects a broader shift in how NFTs are being used, treating blockchain infrastructure as a means rather than the product itself. He said:

He emphasized that tokenization alone does not create value, saying that “the cards you buy on Courtyard aren’t worth more because they’re NFTs. The value is the underlying asset — the NFT just gives you a better way to experience it.”

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