NFT Predictions for 2025: RARI Foundation, OKX and Animoca Brands Execs Share Their Views

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) remained an integral component in the Web3 space throughout 2024 despite some big setbacks for the asset class.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) remained a key part of the Web3 landscape in 2024 despite some setbacks for the asset class. Industry commentators and professionals maintained that the utility of NFTs remained intact, fueling optimism for a revival.

While media outlets occasionally declared NFTs to be dead, holders continued to trade them, and data tracker CryptoSlam showed that NFTs recorded roughly $8.5 billion in sales this year.

The sales volume may have been lower than in previous years, but the number of buyers increased by 62% from 4.6 million in 2023 to 7.5 million in 2024. This was also 37% more than the 5.4 million unique buyers recorded in 2022, a year widely considered to be the peak of NFTs. So, while volumes may have been down, there was still a growing demand for the asset class.

Even though the space endured, there was no denying that NFT holders took a beating this year, from a seven-month downward streak and major projects dropping out of the space to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission sending Wells notices to NFT projects.

NFT projects faced numerous setbacks throughout 2024

In January, social media platform X removed support for NFTs after a year of allowing paid subscribers to link them to their profile pictures. One community member called it the “bottom” for NFTs, while another said it’s “another black eye” for the industry.

Some questioned the decision to remove the feature, arguing that it had provided real utility for users and bringing up the issue of bot accounts and scammers. One community member said NFT profile pictures allowed users to confirm that the people they were interacting with were real.

The same month, video game retailer GameStop announced it would shut down its NFT marketplace, blaming the lack of regulatory clarity in the US.

American gambling company DraftKings made a similar move in July, shutting down its NFT business, including its Reignmakers collections and marketplace. The business cited “legal developments” as the reason.

In addition, layer-2 blockchain Immutable and crypto exchange Kraken wound down their NFT marketplaces in August and November, respectively.

In December, the Nike-owned NFT project RTFKT announced it would sunset its operations in January 2025.

SEC hands out Wells notices to NFT entities

The SEC ramped up its focus on NFTs in 2024. On Aug. 28, OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer said in an X post that the securities regulator sent a Wells notice to the NFT trading platform.

A Wells notice is a formal notification from the SEC that it is considering bringing enforcement action against an entity. The notice indicates that the agency completed an investigation and discovered evidence of potential breaches of securities laws.

Finzer said the SEC alleged that NFTs on OpenSea may qualify as unregistered securities. The executive said the marketplace was ready to fight any enforcement actions from the agency, adding that the SEC targeting NFTs would “stifle innovation” on a broader scale, putting artists and creatives at risk.

On Dec. 16, NFT platform CyberKongz received its own Wells notice from the SEC. The CyberKongz team said the issue stemmed from its sale of Genesis Kongz NFTs in 2021.

The project said the SEC approached it with “concerning rhetoric” that a token cannot be used with a blockchain game without registering it as a security. CyberKongz said the SEC’s stance could have far-reaching implications for blockchain gaming and pledged to contest the allegations.

NFT faced a seven-month downturn in 2024

NFT sales volumes mirrored the broader challenges of 2024. March saw the highest monthly sales at $1.6 billion, buoyed by NFTs on Ethereum, Bitcoin and Solana — the three most popular blockchains for digital collectibles.

However, the market declined steadily, reaching a record low in September, when monthly sales fell below $300 million for the first time since 2021. Total NFT transactions also decreased, from 7.3 million in August to 4.9 million in September.

After the market reached its lowest point, NFTs reversed course in October, increasing by 18% to see sales of about $356 million. October also saw Solana-based NFTs reach a milestone of $6 billion in all-time sales.

An even stronger performance followed in November as NFTs recorded monthly sales volumes of $562 million, their highest in six months. The resurgence of NFT assets later in the year was again driven by collections on Ethereum, Bitcoin and Solana.

NFT predictions for 2025

While some may have given up on NFTs, professionals working in the space have various theories on their potential comeback.

Jana Bertram, head of strategy at RARI Foundation, said during an episode of Cointelegraph’s Hashing It Out podcast that NFTs will likely return