Speaking of NFTs, the past few years have really been quite a rollercoaster. The digital assets that once sold for sky-high prices are now mostly abandoned; many project teams have dropped out during this downturn—either pivoting or shutting down; even the once most important NFT Paris conference had to announce its suspension. The phrase "NFT is dead" has almost become a market consensus.

But in the past week, something interesting happened. The NFT market suddenly showed signs of recovery—prices started to rise, and trading activity became more lively. Is this a genuine recovery, or just another rebound scam? What are the veteran players who are still holding on now really looking at?

**Market Turnaround, Data Speaks**

Entering 2026, the NFT market indeed has a different atmosphere. According to CoinGecko data, in just one week, the total market capitalization of NFTs increased by over $220 million. More importantly, tracking the NFT Price Floor shows that hundreds of NFT projects experienced price increases, with some projects soaring by triple or even quadruple digits. Such a synchronized rise is really rare in the past few years.

After a long silence, the market finally sees a glimmer of hope. But can this last?

**Stories Are Changing, The Logic of Hype Is Dead**

The most interesting part of this recovery is that the flow of hot money has shifted completely. It’s no longer blindly chasing trends like before, but choosing more rationally.

Projects with high risk-reward ratios are starting to attract funds—meaning investors are selecting targets carefully, not casting wide nets. NFT projects with real value support, or assets with genuine applications, are now the main players. The era of relying on stories, hype, and holding purely for the sake of holding is truly over.

In other words, the market is forcing out unreasonable expectations. The era of "small picture" speculation has ended, and now the capital entering the space is more focused on fundamentals. That sounds like a good thing, but the problem is—it's still the same old faces playing the game.

**Lack of New Capital, How Far Can the Rebound Go?**

The core contradiction in the current NFT market is this: prices are rising, but new capital isn’t truly flowing in. The active players are still the old hands—they’re more cautious, which also limits the market’s upward potential.

Real market recovery requires new capital, new narratives, and new participants. Relying solely on the game among existing players and reallocating existing funds can only support a short-term rebound; it’s hard to achieve sustainable growth.

This week’s performance is encouraging, but it might still be too early to call it a recovery. The market is more likely in a transitional phase—from wild speculation back to rational valuation—but it hasn’t yet found the entry point for large-scale applications and sustained demand.

Whether it can truly break through in the future depends on whether new hotspots, mechanisms, and sources of capital are willing to enter. Until then, this round of market activity might just be a rebound signal, not a reversal.