If you've been betting big on non-fungible tokens, or NFTs as they're more commonly called, no one could blame you.
Ever since the debut of Terra Nullius on the ethereum blockchain in August 2015 as a way to stock your claim on the space, people have been curious about the concept.
The NFT craze has continued to escalate since, despite the vocal disapproval from innovators like Elon Musk — although a recent Twitter profile change has made some suspect he's changed his tune.
How-to guides for people to make their own NFTs started to surface. Brands and celebrities climbed onto the wagon, from Lamborghini to Bud Light.
Suddenly, a small, exclusive thing wasn't either anymore.
And while NFTs certainly have their own private haters club, they also seemed to be doing okay.
Until now, that is.
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Why Aren't People Interested in NFTs Anymore?
What was once touted as the next big thing in the finance universe is now showing signs of declining interest.
NFTs sales fell to 19,000 this week according to NonFungible, the world's largest NFT data resource.
In September, that number was 225,000.
NFT wallet activity is also sinking fast. In November, there were 119,000 active wallets, whereas there were about 14,000 last week, adding up to an 88% decline.
This is likely due in part to NFT owners, who are finding they aren't getting the return they hoped for on the investments.
The most famous of these is the NFT of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's first tweet, originally purchased by crypto entrepreneur Sina Estavi.
It sold for $2.9 million, but when Estavi attempted to resell it at auction with the promise he would use a portion of the profits towards Covid-relief efforts in Africa, no one offered more than $280 for it.
ApeCoin, the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT, also saw a rough debut in March when it took a nosedive, going from a high of $39.40 to a low of $7.75 on March 17.
The Wall Street Journal points out that search activity for NFTs has also taken a dramatic drop from its high point in late 2021, showing a drop of roughly 80% since that time.
Despite these drops, many are still determined to move forward with both manufacturing and selling NFTs.
Other major names in business are also still expressing interest in them as well.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is one of them. In a recent CNBC interview, Jassy expressed hope for the future of crypto and NFTs even though he admitted to not owning any himself.
"We're not probably close to adding crypto as a payment mechanism in our retail business, but I do believe over time that that you'll see crypto become bigger and it's awesome," he said.
