The creators of popular NFT collections could not survive the market decline and are forced to look for alternative sources of monetization

The creators of popular collections of non-interchangeable tokens (NFT) are forced to look for alternative ways of monetization against the background of a falling market, mastering the real sector. This is reported by the Financial Times.

According to the publication, from January to March 2022, more than $19 billion was spent on NFT, which accounts for most of this year's sales of $36 billion. Since then, monthly spending has fallen by more than 87%, to $442 million in November. The number of active buyers and sellers of NFT has decreased to a third from its peak in January 2022. NFTs are also "minted" much less, and the number of new tokens in the Ethereum blockchain has decreased by almost 60%.

This dynamic has forced the creators of popular NFT collections to look for ways to expand their brands through the sale of non-blockchain products. For example, the company that developed one of the most popular collections of Doodles recently hired musician and producer Pharrell Williams as brand director, who used his music to create live animations of Doodles characters.

Pudgy Penguins is another project that has started the production of soft toys and children's books based on its NFTs, returning part of the profit to token holders. This is one of the few collections in which the average price of NFT has more than tripled and amounted to about $5,700 in December.

Yuga Labs gives away intellectual property rights with its tokens. This means that NFT owners can use the images associated with the tokens as they please, without the company's knowledge or permission. This has led to a flood of related products, from hamburger restaurant to Tiffany jewelry brand pendants.

However, some analysts are skeptical that the creators of NFT will be able to create a successful business in addition to selling digital art.

"The fundamental NFT model has not worked. It was a bubble that burst and won't happen again," said Claire Enders of Enders Analysis.

However, despite the disappointing statistics of the crypto market, in 2022, artists of NFT art earned about $ 1.1 billion on royalties from sales of collections. Moreover, 80% of the declared amount fell on small collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC).