Paul Reinhart

How the NFT Market Can Survive

The NFT market isn’t dead it’s just being stripped of its illusions. The speculative mania of 2021 was never built to last. JPEGs selling for millions? Influencers minting overnight hype? That era has come and gone, and what’s left now is a crucial moment of reckoning. For NFTs to remain relevant, they must become more than digital collectibles. They need to serve a function not just exist as symbols of scarcity. NFTs must embed themselves into workflows, economies, and user experiences. Starbucks Odyssey and Nike’s .Swoosh didn’t bet on hype; they bet on infrastructure. They treat NFTs not as the product, but as the protocol behind new engagement models. Scarcity might spark interest, but only utility sustains it. NFTs that represent access, membership, rewards, or even digital identity offer a path forward. The rest the lazy, static projects will quietly rot in forgotten wallets.