Animoca Brands chairman Yat Siu believes that non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will make a comeback and perform better than they did during their peak in 2021.

Siu told Cointelegraph in an interview at the Bitcoin MENA event in Abu Dhabi that NFTs will be “even bigger” than during 2021 and 2022.

Animoca Brands chairman Yat Siu is bullish on the future of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), despite the recent closure of several NFT projects and a decline in sales volumes.

In an interview with Cointelegraph at the Bitcoin (BTC) MENA event in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 2, Siu expressed optimism that NFTs will make a comeback and perform even better than they did during their peak in 2021.

“I think NFTs will come back even bigger than 2021, 2022. At that time, the NFT monthly volumes were ranging from, let’s say, $1 billion to $5 billion, peaking at $6 billion in January 2022, according to data tracker CryptoSlam.

NFT sales volumes have struggled to reach even $1 billion this year, and some projects that were expected to succeed have decided to close down. On Nov. 26, Kraken wound down its NFT business, while the Nike-owned NFT project RTFKT announced on Dec. 2 that it would shut down operations in January.

However, Siu remains bullish on NFTs, telling Cointelegraph that failures are a natural part of business and that some projects will succeed while others will fail.

“Like what happened with RTFKT, that’s pretty terrible. It’s really disappointing, but it’s just one project that didn’t make it. I think some will fail, some will work, but to me, that’s a normal cycle,” he said.

Siu added that he believes NFTs will continue to emerge as status goods, which people will spend money on as their reputation improves.

“People spend money on luxury goods. They buy a Rolex, right? Or a Picasso painting. These things convey cultural capital, symbolic capital. So when people make money, what do they do? They spend on reputation,” he explained.

“If I improve my reputation, I get more opportunities. It’s a different type, right? If I own a Picasso, I have a reputation that’s very special. So I think it’s the same with Bored Apes, Pudgy Penguins, CryptoPunks, and all that. I think NFTs will come back even bigger.”