Celebrities Return to NFT Market Amidst Skepticism of a Repeat Craze

The NFT market is all the rage again. Our old friends like Maji Big Brother and Annie Yi are coming back to the scene! This resurgence brings with it a lively debate. Is a return to market heydays past possible, or have deep undercurrents remade the terrain forever? Although some hope for another wave, a lot of folks doubt they can recreate the insane bubble that was 2021.

From High-Profile Investments to Memecoin Speculation

Since then, Maji Big Brother, who gained notoriety for large-scale NFT purchases, has allegedly pivoted into trading high-leverage Memecoins. This rapid transition marks the changing guard of strategies in the crypto world as investors react to increased market volatility and new unique opportunities emerge in the space. In October 2021, Maji made the news for buying a Cyborg Bored Ape for 425 ETH. This innovative transaction marked the height of the NFT craze.

The shift in strategy by key players like Maji reflects a broader trend of reassessment and adaptation within the NFT market. As the market matures, participants are getting more selective, looking for projects with real evergreen potential rather than fad yearly memes.

The Rise and Fall: A Market in Flux

NFTs saw a speculative bubble in 2021, driven by speculation, celebrity endorsements and hype. Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $69,000, and NFTs moved from the realm of crypto nerds and the dark web to mainstream culture. Jay Chou’s PhantaBear project was a perfect example of this boom, selling out in 40 minutes and boasting daily sales of over $10 million.

2021 also brought with it a severe market correction in 2022’s rising interest rates. The total crypto market cap has fallen to as low as $1 trillion. This sharp drop is due to the perfect storm of black swan events, high inflation, interest rate increases and persistent geopolitical frictions. Bitcoin dropped below $20k. Meanwhile, the majority of NFT projects—including those from personal connections or celebrities such as Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, and Annie Yi—lost high percentages of their initial value. Annie Yi’s Theirsverse, for example, dropped from 0.219 ETH to 0.02 ETH, reaching downwards for a monumental loss of over 96%.

The boom and bust cycle serves as a stark reminder of the volatility and potential risks that come with investing in NFTs. Although the upside opportunity is still huge, investors are catching on to the fact that they can lose just as much.

A New Era for NFTs?

Now it’s the other way around. As the market has matured, the barrier to entry has shot up. Investors today are focused less on the hype and more on what’s practical and valuable to the community.

"By 2025, not a single top NFT project may exist, but we will see several with floor prices exceeding 50 ETH. This year will be a year of repricing and real value." - @waleswoosh

"The 2021 NFT craze won't be repeated," - @RicecakeNFT

Influencers and figures of this stature, including Maji and Annie Yi, have pulled them back on. Yet many of us think the market dynamics have permanently changed. As to the future of the market, Vancelian estimates that market size will surpass tens of billions of dollars in 2025. The winning projects and smart investment strategies could look very different from the 2021 boom.