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The global non-fungible token market has cooled considerably from its previous all-time highs, with trading sales volume, sales counts, and floor price values plummeting to their weakest levels since 2020. The NFT market gained significant momentum in 2021, with the total market turnover surging to approximately $13 billion, a dramatic increase from just $33 million in 2020.
This historic NFT boom was driven by cultural phenomena like Beeple’s $69 million art sale and the popularization of avatar collections such as CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club, which established NFTs as a significant digital asset class and sparked widespread interest. This market bull run was largely fueled by a huge increase in retail investor participation, mainstream celebrity and NFT brand adoption, and rapid innovations in blockchain technology. The mainstream NFT adoption led to the creation of many NFT projects.
Fast forward to 2025, many NFT projects are down, and the floor price is nearly zero due to a collapse of the speculative frenzy, an oversaturated market, a lack of real-world utility or value, scams and rug pulls, crypto economic uncertainty, and a complicated user experience. The number of failed projects, particularly those with no trading activity or community, highlights the short lifespan and high failure rate of new NFT drops in an unstable market.
Several NFT marketplaces, including X2Y2, Bybit NFT Market platform, and LG Art Lab, shut down in 2025 due to declining market volumes and shifted focus to other areas like artificial intelligence (AI). Other NFT platforms like the Kraken NFT marketplace also closed in late 2024 to reallocate resources, demonstrating a broader trend in the NFT sector. Many NFT projects have also failed to retain value.
Fortunately, not all non-fungible token projects are really feeling the harshness in the NFT bear market. Many NFT projects navigating the bear market are focused on long-term development, community building, and utility, often by shifting from “quick cash grab” tactics to providing tangible value. The Moonbirds, CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Pudgy Penguins are NFT collections standing strong and emerging as the leading NFT projects amid the NFT market meltdown.
In an exclusive interview, Luca Netz, the chief executive of Pudgy Penguins, has shared some of the tactics new non-fungible token projects can use to be successful and remain relevant all time in spite of ups and downs. Netz has derived his formula from Yuga Labs, the digital asset firm behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection. According to the Pudgy Penguins Boss, Yuga Labs set a standard for rewarding holders, making them successful. NFT projects can adopt this tactic and make strong and solid NFT projects.
Nonetheless, the Pudgy Penguins executive has flagged some of the key mistakes the Bored Ape Yacht Club creator made, which need to be rectified and avoided at all costs in the future. Netz noted that they gave a lot of airdrops but also took a lot of mints. It is worth noting that Yuga Labs is home to over five NFT collections, including the Bored Ape Yacht Club, Mutant Ape, Bored Ape Kennel Club, and more. Yuga Labs launched many NFTs, expanded too fast, but eventually lost simplicity.
Read more on InsideBitcoins.com
