Top Projections on NFT Market Growth 2021-2025

The NFT market size is expected to reach $13.6 billion by 2027 from $3.0 billion in 2022, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 35.0% during the forecast period. The NFT industry is one of the most flourishing today, and the domain is expected to develop and grow in upcoming years. While tokens are now widely used for various purposes, there are many projections for this space, and those who want to enter the sphere can soon benefit from knowing them in advance.

Even though most believe that NFTs were introduced in 2021 as a new type of art and investment, they have been around since 2017. This year NFTs shifted to Ethereum, token standards were introduced, and appeared in the new mainstream – NFT gaming and Metaverse (Decentraland (MANA).

In 2021, the primary types of non-fungible tokens were art, gaming, collectibles, metaverses, sport, and others. Everything developed and placed on the NFT marketplaces is designed to allow people to enjoy art in the digital format and later use tokens in other ways. The buzz around NFTs comes from the validity and uniqueness that the blockchain ensures. There are also different types of markets that include primary and secondary markets. They are used in various cryptocurrencies, including ETH, DAI, MANA, SAND, REVV, MATIC, FOAM, etc.

In 2022 the market is moving further, bringing new opportunities for token holders. This also forces companies who want to develop any kind of NFT product to explore the industry’s new standards and trends. The rise of popularity of NFT and common usage of these tokens shape the market growth. More and more newcomers are trying to reach their goals in this domain, and, therefore, the industry develops every day. This is why it is essential to know what trends will appear in upcoming years to enter the market with the most popular idea and achieve well-deserved success. Let’s take a look at top NFT market growth projections.

NFT Market in 2021

The NFT market saw an increased boost during 2020 and at the beginning of 2021. This was mainly because COVID-19 created a potentially catastrophic situation for the psychical art market. Due to pandemic restrictions, well-known art institutions like the Tate were allowed to welcome less than 10% of their regular visitor traffic during these two years.

As a result, in 2020 and 2021, the most popular NFT was art pieces. Artists and institutions started to provide their visitors with digital art compositions, and they even crafted art auctions to stay in demand during this situation. In 2021, over 2.5 million crypto wallets belonged to people who either hold or trade tokens, based on Nonfungible.com’s research, compared to 89,000 a year earlier. The final number of token holders increased up to 2.3 million from 75,000.

Due to the higher popularity of the market and growing opportunities that the industry provided, people started to gain more knowledge about this domain and, thereby, got better at making money from these tokens. According to the report by Nonfungible.com, investors generated a total of $5.4 billion from selling NFTs in 2021. And over 470 wallets made profits of more than $1 million in the same year.

Alongside art, the most popular type of NFT in 2021 was collectibles, which managed to reach $8.4 billion worth of sales. Another popular category of tokens was gaming NFTs like Axie Infinity, which ranked over $5.2 billion in sales in 2021. In addition, the last year introduced metaverse, where sales of digital properties and other similar projects reached $514 million.

Key Takeaways

• Art, collectibles, and gaming items were the most popular NFTs in 2021;
• 2021 was the year of metaverse development ;
• The overall trading volume of NFTs hit $17.6 billion in 2021, with an increase of 21,000% from 2020;
• NFTs became mainstream and buzzword in 2021, with celebrities and market giants investing in the industry and using tokens in various spheres;
• People got better at trading NFTs and were able to earn a total of $5.4 billion in profits through sales of the NFTs in 2021.

What are the Types of NFTs?

1. Artworks 

Like in 2021, this is the most popular type of NFT in 2022 as well. This is probably because every artist that has a laptop can sell tokens. NFT art represents digital works that have a public certificate of authenticity and ownership provided by the digital ledger where they are stored. For instance, the most popular NFT was sold for $69.3 million in March 2021. 

2. Sports Memorabilia 

This is one of the hottest trends in the NFT space, and the most popular token in this category is the NBA Top Shot. In this domain, users prefer to sell unique video clips of some famous sports moments. 

3. Collectibles

Collectibles were the first NFTs that were launched to the market. They are the same thing as physical collectibles. These can be digital Pokemon cards or vintage clothes of spot players. There are different types of collectibles like art, games, sports, and others.

4. Virtual Land 

While most users buy virtual land in Metaverse, they can also find land in video games. Even though this is still not really popular, virtual lands are slowly gaining popularity and can bring great potential for its future holders. This virtual land can later be used to place ads in various places like video games, making virtual assets, and more. 

5. Music 

This is one of the newest gamers in the NFT industry. Even though the music industry wasn’t damaged by the coronavirus, artists are looking for new ways to get revenue in this modern world. This is where their music NFTs are an excellent option for fans who want to support their favorite artists. While this model is still in its development stage and requires time to grow and gain popularity, experts believe it will be a new era for many artists.

6. Ticketing 

The rise in popularity of NFTs opens up new opportunities for those who want to turn physical tickets into digital versions. Today many companies have already used NFT tickets for events that are minted now on blockchain platforms and then can be used as regular tickets for a concert. 

What is OpenSea?

OpenSea is the world’s largest NFT marketplace. The platform allows users to buy and sell tokens. In 2021, OpenSea managed over $3.5 billion in NFT trading volume. Since the trading volume during 2020 was just $21 million, it can be safely said that the 12,000% activity rise shows excellent success. 

There are many reasons why people prefer OpenSea over other platforms. The main ones are the reputation the marketplace has, the number of tokens and wallets it supports as well as free infrastructure for users. The platform covers upkeep with a 2.5% fee on each NFT sale, which is really great for customers.

Overall, OpenSea is the ultimate choice for most people who want to enter the NFT space with various tokens and strategies. However, it seems that OpenSea will soon face strong competitors that may provide more features and opportunities for users. Therefore, it is best to always browse the market before choosing the marketplace you want to use. Check our NFT marketplace development services.

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NFT Market Projections For 2021-2025

Gamers Will Change Their Attitude Towards Blockchain 

Even though most players today are negative about NFTs and blockchain, this is going to change soon with the rise of awareness about the benefits the combination may bring. This is probably because of the emergence of games in the NFT space that allows for deeper gameplay and better graphics.

In addition, it seems that more AAA companies will start to show initiative in this space. For instance, Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts, in a recent interview, admitted that NFTs would soon become a vital part of the future. These thoughts are also supported by large companies that actively talk about NFTs’ future in our everyday lives.

Today players have to pay thousands of dollars to start playing the NFT game. However, Newzoo believes that it is going to change soon, and these games will become more affordable for a wider audience.

More M&A Deals Related to the Metaverses Will Appear 

As can be expected, the metaverse is now actively attracting great attention from investors. Those companies that have already established themselves on the market are going to strengthen their positions by applying new strategic acquisitions.

Experts also believe that tendencies in the metaverse market will be the same that we have already seen in the gaming industry. Small players are going to unite to make sure they can stand up to the market giants in upcoming years.

NFT Companies Will Become Luxury Brands

NFTs have already become a buzzword among celebrities. Worldwide famous artists have already invested in the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection of digital monkeys. They include Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and many others who have already bought their digital monkey tokens.

Analytics believe that such demand among influencers may significantly boost consumer demand for NFTs among wealthy audiences. Therefore, they can even become a status symbol in society. Even social media started moving toward NFTs trends. Twitter, for example, has recently added the feature to display tokens on their profiles.

Fashion Brands Will be at the Forefront of this Race

Popular clothing companies have already started to create a so-called digital identity within the various metaverses. For instance, Balenciaga collaborates with Fortnite to release digital skins.

According to experts, these collaborations are going to play a vital role in how token holders in the future will express themselves within virtual reality. Analytics see that this year will show many opportunities for both small and large clothing brands, and the number of collaborations will only increase.

How Can Interexy Help?

With the development of the NFT market, we always stay at the forefront of any changes and trends. As an experienced NFT marketplace app development company, our team is made up of industry experts and top-notch blockchain engineers. We always stay informed about the latest technologies and trends that are used in this space. 

We provide various NFT development services that start from NFT drop collections and smart contract audits and end up with NFT marketplace development. By following only practice-proven solutions for a wide range of software products, we ensure your product will successfully enter the market and gain interest among future users. We can also ensure anonymity if required!

Final Thoughts

As you can see now, the NFT market size for 2022 is vast. However, the upcoming years will bring significant impact into the sphere and boost the domain with new trends and opportunities for everyone in the field. We curated this guide to help you learn the NFT market size forecast for years to come and know in advance what to expect if you want to enter now. Let’s have a free consultation to learn more about your project!

FAQs

Is the NFT market still growing in 2022?

The short answer is yes! Experts believe that there will be more trends in 2022 and in upcoming years.

How big was the NFT market in 2021?

According to a report, over 2.5 million crypto wallets belonged to people who either hold or trade tokens in 2021.

Is NFT a good investment?

Depending on the person we are talking about, if you are a company that wants to develop the marketplace or drop the NFT collection – yes!