It's already 2026. Who is still playing with NFTs during the "Good Start" market?

Author: Nancy, PANews

It’s 2026, and logically, the NFT story should have long been over.

Once sold for astronomical prices, most NFTs today have become unnoticed small images; numerous NFT projects are struggling through transformation, sales, and shutdown waves; the once-top-tier event NFT Paris recently announced its closure in a subdued manner, even embroiled in refund disputes.

During several consecutive years of decline, with hot money retreating and narratives failing, “NFTs are dead” seems to have become a market consensus.

However, in the week of 2026, the NFT market unexpectedly showed signs of revival, with prices rising and trading volume warming up. Has NFT truly returned? What are the remaining players still doing in the space?

New Year’s Kickoff, Price Rise “Like a Different World”

Entering 2026, the long-dormant NFT market finally stirred with a faint ripple.

According to CoinGecko data, since the beginning of 2026, the overall market cap of NFTs increased by over $220 million in the past week. NFT Price Floor data further shows that in the past week, hundreds of NFT projects experienced price rebounds, with some projects even recording triple- to quadruple-digit gains. For players who have endured years of decline, their illusions have long been shattered; this market rally feels like a different world.

Although this is only a drop in the bucket compared to historical highs, compared to the freezing point at the end of 2025, the long-lost green market is enough to bring some comfort to the steadfast players.

However, behind the price increase, the current market recovery appears more like a game among existing capital within a very small range, rather than a true revival driven by new capital influx. The extreme lack of liquidity is a critical issue the market cannot ignore.

Looking at weekly trading volume, among over 1,700 NFT projects, only 6 have trading volumes reaching the million-dollar level, 14 projects have trading volumes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and only 72 are in the tens of thousands range. Overall, these figures are very sparse. Even among top projects with higher trading volumes, the proportion of actively traded NFTs to total supply is only single digits, with most NFTs having only a few transactions or none at all.

In fact, The Block’s 2025 report also shows that the NFT market did not see strong reinvestment throughout the year, with speculative enthusiasm cooling significantly, and the multi-chain landscape returning to Ethereum dominance. The total trading volume for the year dropped to $5.5 billion, a decrease of about 37% compared to 2024; the total market cap shrank sharply from approximately $9 billion to about $2.4 billion.

These data indicate that the so-called recovery does not change the fact that NFTs have long been inactive. Today’s NFTs have long become “old assets,” with only veteran players still holding onto them, while new funds have long ceased to buy in.

The Great Escape and Survival Stories, Capital Flows to New Battlegrounds

In this long winter chill, from infrastructure to blue-chip projects, different survival stories are unfolding.

For example, leading marketplace OpenSea is no longer fixated on JPEG images but is transforming into token trading through airdrops and incentives; the once-mainstream NFT chain Flow is exploring DeFi growth points; Zora has abandoned traditional NFT models and shifted to a “content as token” new track; even the iconic NFT Paris event was canceled due to exhausted funds and was reported to be unable to refund sponsorship fees, illustrating industry difficulties.

Even the remaining top-tier NFTs, which still have some vitality, are caught in a “praise but no audience” dilemma, where brand influence does not translate into a price moat. For instance, Pudgy Penguins, despite successfully establishing IP recognition in mainstream circles and selling physical toys well, still cannot escape the downward pressure on floor and token prices.

Furthermore, the cessation of NFT services by Reddit, and giants like Nike selling their RTFKT brand, further shattered the last illusions about mainstream adoption.

But the decline of NFTs does not mean the disappearance of collecting and speculative demand; capital has just shifted to a new battlefield. Compared to virtual images on chains, off-chain physical markets like collectibles and trading cards are still hot, with Pokémon TCG trading volume exceeding $1 billion and revenue surpassing $100 million.

Not only ordinary collectors, but even crypto elites are starting to vote with their feet, returning to physical assets and top collectibles.

For example, crypto artist Beeple turned his attention to physical creations, with celebrity robot dogs like Elon Musk’s being snapped up; Wintermute co-founder Yoann Turpin invested $5 million in purchasing dinosaur fossils; Animoca Brands founder Yat Siu spent $9 million on Stradivarius violins; Tron founder Justin Sun paid $6.2 million for the high-priced banana artwork “Comedian,” among others.

In the current market environment, ordinary investors need to face the reality of NFT liquidity drying up.

Farewell to the Small Image Logic, These NFTs Are More Popular

After the bubble burst, the NFT market is not experiencing a complete capital drought but is flowing toward assets with high profit/loss ratios or clear value support.

· Speculation and Arbitrage Needs: Some players believe the market has bottomed out, engaging in short-term trading to capture price mismatches, which carries high risk and reward.

· “Pickaxe” Attribute: This is currently the most actively participated and most liquid NFT category. These NFTs are no longer just collectibles but financial instruments for future airdrops, often representing eligibility for airdrops or whitelists. However, expectations are often short-lived; once snapshots are taken or airdrops are distributed, if the project does not provide new utility, floor prices tend to plummet rapidly or even drop to zero. Therefore, these NFTs are more suitable for short-term investments or arbitrage rather than long-term value storage.

· Celebrity/Top Project Endorsements: The value of such NFTs relies on attention economy. Endorsements by celebrities or top projects can significantly boost popularity and liquidity, creating short-term premiums. For example, the Hypurr NFT series, airdropped to early users by top DEX HyperLiquid, has been rising steadily; Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin recently changed his profile picture to a Milady NFT, and its floor price increased noticeably.

· Top IPs: These NFTs have moved beyond simple hype, with investment logic leaning toward cultural recognition and collection value, making them more resistant to price drops and suitable for long-term value storage. For example, CryptoPunks, which was officially included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York last year.

· Acquisition Narratives: When projects are acquired by more powerful investors, the market re-prices them, expecting their IP monetization and brand moat to strengthen, thus pushing prices higher. For instance, Pudgy Penguins and Moonbirds saw significant price increases after acquisition.

· Real-World Asset Integration: By tokenizing real-world assets on-chain, NFTs can gain tangible physical value support, reduce downside risks, and enhance mainstream appeal. For example, recently popularized Pokémon card tokenization platforms like Collector Crypt and Courtyard allow users to trade ownership of cards/items on-chain, with physical items stored by the platform.

· Practical Utility: NFTs are returning to tool functions, serving specific application scenarios, such as ticketing, DAO voting rights, AI on-chain identities (e.g., Ethereum ERC-8004’s NFT-based AI proxy identities).

From this perspective, compared to chasing meaningless small images, NFTs with practical utility or clear upside potential are gradually becoming the focus of capital attention.