Whenever Homer Simpson attempts to devise a method of becoming wealthy quickly, it typically results in unfavorable consequences.
In the most recent installment of The Simpsons, the unfortunate father converts his son Bart, as well as himself, into NFTs to accumulate great wealth.
When Homer is informed by a floating pizza cat that "the NFT craze has concluded", things take a turn for the worse.
The episode has been positively received by both enthusiasts and critics of NFTs, for its successful satire of an aspect of the Crypto world that gained immense popularity a couple of years ago, but has since died down.
Is the floating pizza cat correct in believing that NFTs are defunct?
An analysis has revealed that the previously feverish Non Fungible Token market has recently hit its lowest point, earning October the title of "Floptober".
It is believed by some that there is still hope.
Cryptocurrency can generally be used to purchase NFTs, which are digital tokens that signify ownership.
NFTs are usually linked to images or videos, however, the purchaser normally does not have the right to the image's copyright. The public is able to see and even download the picture, however, only the buyer is recognized as the rightful owner of its token. Evidence of this is securely posted to the indelible log of the blockchain - an expansive expanse of exchanges publicized on the internet.
Scientists from Dapp Radar assert that the value of NFT exchanges has declined to its worst level since the marketplace for NFTs made a high point.
The quantity of money sold throughout the industry - referred to as trading volume - has seen a decline of 89% since the start of 2022 to the present.
In the first quarter of 2022, the figure was $12.6bn (£10.4bn), however, in the third quarter of 2023 there has been a dramatic decrease to $1.39bn.
And the industry is shrinking. Last month, Yuga Labs - the makers of the popular Bored Ape NFTs - declared an undisclosed amount of lay-offs.
The fame of Bored Ape Yacht Club has become widespread with its NFTs selling for millions of dollars. Such a surge in value is attributed to celebrities like Jimmy Kimmel and Paris Hilton investing in it.
Paris Hilton has not shared anything on X, which used to be called Twitter, regarding NFTs since October 2022, despite having tweeted almost daily throughout January and February 2022 to advertise her collections.
The NFT Price Floor website reported that the floor price of Bored Ape NFTs (the value of the lowest priced in the collection) had a peak at the beginning of May 2022, when it was valued at around $268,000 (144 Ethereum coins). Now, however, it has dropped to $56,000.
Taylor Whitley, an American collector and artist, was compelled to part with 6 of his 7 highly prized Bored Ape NFTs, as the offers he received were deteriorating.
He tells the BBC that he hasn't been keen to part with his assets, but given the present economic conditions, it is the most logical action to take. He speculates that the NFT market might even get worse.
Taylor rejected multiple offers above the eventual sale price of $212,000 for his most prized Bored Ape, before eventually selling it last month.
He stands to have gained at least 10 times more money if he had sold his NFTs when the market was at its highest point. Despite this setback, as an early investor he has still made impressive gains. The latest sale he made was a 1,000-fold return on his initial outlay of $200.
For every Bored Ape NFT, there are vast amounts of other, lesser-known brands and artists contributing to the industry.
Angie Taylor, based in Scotland, has experienced a dramatic decrease in the worth of her NFT artworks, selling for up to $8,000 each before, but now fetching around $600.
She has returned to her previous job as a part-time tutor, prior to her involvement with NFTs.
She says that she is still selling some items, but is having to do a job during the day as well, since she is no longer able to make a living off of this alone.
She feared that her luck could not last forever.
She states that she had allocated funds for this situation, as she reasoned that it would be a period of great success followed by a period of decline.
It is an undeniable fact that it is a buyers market, and many purchasers are taking advantage of the economic slump to great effect.
Adam (known on the internet as Little Fish) recently acquired a crypto punk piece of artwork in the form of an NFT for an amount of $663,000.
The European investor who focuses on cryptocurrencies recognises the substantial sum involved, yet he considers his purchase of CryptoPunk #3609 to be a great deal.
A year ago, the seller turned down an offer that was valued at $1.18m.
He claims that the economic decline is precisely why he made the purchase, as people are in need of money. He further notes that during the winter, people can purchase summer garments at a discounted price.
Adam is anticipating that summer will make a return to the NFTs and he is looking forward to it.
He draws a comparison to the seasonal shifts to illustrate the present condition of the cryptocurrency market.
Crypto assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) have not bounced back from the various market downturns which happened in 2022, causing the coins to crash before stagnating, which a lot of people are labelling a 'crypto winter'.
There have recently been indications of a relaxing, with Bitcoin going up to $34,000 per coin, yet the expansion has stopped and is still far from the $70,000 in late 2021.
NFTs and cryptocurrencies have a close relationship due to their shared blockchain technology; indeed, the success of the former is often linked to the fortune of the latter, as the value of crypto will often determine the buying power of NFT buyers.
Vignesh Sundaresan, famously known as MetaKovan, is the most prominent investor in the NFT market.
The record-breaking purchase of an NFT by American artist Beeple for $69m was the major factor in causing the market to skyrocket in March 2021.
Mr Sundaresan asserted that there is still a distance to travel before being able to evaluate if the purchase he made was beneficial or not. He further stated that, although it was a considerable amount, it was not a major proportion of his riches. is being created
New business technology is being developed.
Although Mr Sundaresan is of the view that NFTs will remain successful as art collectibles, he is of the opinion that the surge in NFTs is no longer a new phenomenon.
He states that the crypto world usually moves quickly, and the coming phase of NFTs won't center around their value. Risk-takers are subject to a large risk because the supply of them is not fixed.
Vignesh has expressed his disapproval of the sector that took advantage of the speculation frenzy, resulting in numerous individuals losing money.
He comments that there have not been any sustainable businesses surrounding NFTs that he has seen.
Although other NFT businesses seem to be slowing down, Pudgy Penguins is defying expectations. The brand recently introduced soft toys based on its NFT characters to the market.
For each item purchased, money is given to the person possessing the related Pudgy Penguin NFT.
It seems that the ability for NFT owners to generate revenue through intellectual property is spurring renewed enthusiasm for the products. Data from the NFT Floor Price website reveals that Pudgy Penguins have sustained the same price level as it was at its highest point in January 2023.
Buyers are being incentivized by new offerings such as access to exclusive occasions, physical iterations of NFTs, and forfeiting of artist royalties.
Pranksy, a British NFT entrepreneur, believes that experimentation is essential for the market to bounce back.
He foresees that only a few pioneering individuals and businesses will be able to drive widespread acceptance.
He foresees the market climbing again, yet he concedes it is improbable that it will regain the "frenzy" experienced before.
Contributions from Liv McMahon have been included in this report.
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