The NFT world is at an interesting crossroads. The market’s meteoric rise from a niche curiosity to a mainstream buzzword in cryptocurrency has been nothing short of extraordinary. But as more creators flood the market with new NFTs, we’re starting to see a curious trend: record-breaking listings but a noticeable slowdown in sales.
NFT Market Trends: What’s Happening?
Platforms like Rarible, OpenSea, and other NFT marketplaces have been packed with activity. Many are exploring options like lazy minting, especially in Rarible’s Ethereum ERC-721 and ERC-1155 formats, which allow creators to list NFTs with zero upfront gas fees. This makes it incredibly easy to list an NFT—so easy that the marketplaces are becoming saturated with content.
The idea was to democratize NFT creation, allowing anyone with a digital asset to participate. However, as more NFTs flood the space, buyers are overwhelmed with options while creators struggle to stand out. The result? An increase in unsold listings across all platforms, hinting at a supply-demand imbalance.
What’s Behind the Downturn?
There are a few key factors driving the downturn in NFT sales:
Market Saturation 🌊: With more people discovering NFTs, competition is fierce. Without something unique or exclusive, an NFT may simply get lost in a sea of similar listings.Economic Realities 💸: As the cryptocurrency market experiences its own fluctuations, potential buyers are cautious about investing in assets that may lose value. This is particularly true with Ethereum gas fees, which can be unpredictable and high, discouraging casual purchases.Changing Trends 📉: Digital collectibles are evolving. While some early NFTs were wildly successful, today’s market is more skeptical. Buyers are becoming more selective, favoring utility and long-term value over novelty.
The Future of NFTs: Evolving or Fading?
Despite these challenges, NFTs aren’t going away. In fact, the future of NFTs may hinge on the evolution of their utility. Here’s what we can expect:
Integration with Real-World Assets 🌐: NFTs tied to physical or real-world assets, like real estate deeds or event tickets, could drive future demand as people look for practical, verifiable digital solutions.Increased Focus on Utility 🛠️: Beyond art, NFTs with built-in perks (like memberships, discounts, or early access) will likely rise in popularity. Buyers are looking for more than just digital art—they want value they can actually use.New Standards and Marketplaces 🏢: Expect newer platforms to innovate in how they showcase and market NFTs, potentially offering more curated experiences that help high-quality work stand out. OpenSea and Rarible may even adapt to support these changes with more buyer-focused features.
Final Thoughts: A “Dot-Com Moment” for NFTs?
As NFTs evolve, this period could resemble the early days of the dot-com boom, where only the most innovative ideas survived the initial hype. NFTs aren’t disappearing anytime soon, but they’re definitely facing a reality check. While the future may look uncertain, the digital assets that bring real value, utility, or community will find their place. For those in the NFT market today, now’s the time to look forward, get creative, and offer something that stands out in a sea of digital collectibles.
🔹 Tell us what you think!
Do you believe NFTs are here to stay, or is it just a momentary trend? 💬 Drop your thoughts, predictions, or even your concerns in the comments below. Let's get the conversation going! 👇
#NFT​ #opensea #Rarible

You’ve probably heard that #NFTs can easily be copied. This is a criticism that has been levelled against them ever since they came on the scene. However, it can’t be further from the truth. An NFT, by nature, remains unique. Its rarity gives it value, making it a digital certificate of ownership to a specific file minted on the blockchain.

Yet, there are ways to make people think that the NFT they are purchasing is in fact the original one, while the file it represents can be an image that has simply been copied off the original.

These are copycat NFTs which create confusion over the authenticity of a specific piece of art, and consequently affects its value. They can be so easy to pass off as originals, and can be quite difficult to sniff out as well.

BAYC - A Case Study in Copycats

Take the popular Bored Apes Yacht Club NFT collection for example. Consisting of unique jpeg images of apes in a variety of cool gear, this collection has garnered high sales volumes and engagement since its inception.

Bored Apes NFTs have sold for nearly $2 billion as of May 2022 with a lot of scope for further volumes as new NFTs are minted.

Here’s a look at some crucial information regarding the collection’s sales since they were minted:

Bored Apes NFTs sell for very high amounts, making them a valuable commodity on the NFT market. Their rarity makes them very desirable, making it easy for blockchain users to fall prey to copycats. No good.

Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a buyer. You pay a huge amount of tokens or currency to add a Bored Ape to your collection. You showcase it on your social media channels, only to find that somebody else owns the very same NFT, and even claims that it’s the original.

How do you find out which NFT is the original? Is it even possible to get your money back at this point?

If only there was a way to identify copycat NFTs from the get-go? Hmm.

How Do You Identify Copycats?

There’s good news on that front!

From the stables of bitsCrunch, Forgery Detection is an AI powered tool that sniffs popular blockchains and marketplaces for potential copycat / forged NFTs.

You can do your due diligence on an NFT with ease, gaining a lot of insights about collections and individual NFTs, along with tracing their authenticity.

For instance, an analysis of nearly 850,000 #opensea storefront assets against the top 40 NFT collections on #Ethereum gave us very interesting results regarding the Bored Ape collection!

We found nearly 144 exact matches from the collection, meaning that there are as many duplicate NFTs in circulation at this very moment:

What’s more, there were 231 NFTs that were flagged as nearly exact matches, 814 NFTs that were extremely similar, and likewise we have categorised our findings into 6 buckets : Exact matches, Near exact matches, Extremely similar, Similar, Moderately similar, Mildly similar.

Overall the value impacted by these copycats with regards to just Top 40 collections in Ethereum alone sums up to 4.49M USD. Imagine what value will be impacted if we snipe through the entire blockchains available?

Exact Matches

Take a look at the example copycat mints of BAYC token id 840 in the Opensea marketplace.

Another example from Bored Ape Chemistry Club (BACC) token id 69!

Near Exact Matches

In the below examples, you could witness the near exact matches, with minor changes to the originally minted NFT from Azuki and mfer collection.

It can be very confusing for a potential NFT enthusiast / collector to find the right NFTs on the marketplace of their choice, and trace its history without the proper tools to help them.

When you think about the sheer number of popular NFTs, collections and marketplaces, coupled with an ever increasing volume of new art and concepts, it’s easy to grasp the scope of this problem!

Backtracking on the Blockchain:

bitsCrunch adds a layer of security to your searches by not only flagging copycats, but also providing you with the originating / minted wallet address linked to that NFT.

This lets you compare your specific purchase against the original minted data to verify authenticity, given that each NFT has a unique hash associated with it and the owner’s wallet at the time of minting.

If the flagged address is indeed the one that’s trying to sell you the NFT, you know that you are likely to end up with a fake.

‘With the power of our AI-enabled tools and the best of the blockchain to go with it, we aim to make copycat NFTs a thing of the past.’

As with all crypto assets, due diligence pays off, and bitsCrunch makes doing your homework all the more easy. Without further ado, check our UnleashNFTs.com and get in touch with us.

For more interesting updates on the latest NFT trends, follow bitsCrunch!

Jordan Castro, the founder of the famous NFT brand Doodles, has announced plans to transform his project into a leading media unit. In a statement on Discord on March 16, Castro, also known as Poopie, shared his vision for the future of the company, which he believes will “go beyond the label of an NFT project.”

Poopie has revealed his ambitions for the company, including plans to make the project a top-tier media brand. He is also discussing strategies to combat the current problem of “speculation” in the NFT market. Instead, the founder wants to create genuine “intrinsic motivators” to attract users.

There have been concerns that Doodles may be moving away from NFTs and blockchain technology, but Poopie has emphasized that the project will continue to be closely linked to this technology, and NFTs will remain central to the company’s plans.

However, the news of the shift towards a new model for Doodles has not been met with much positive response. The floor price for a Doodles NFT is currently 3.9 ETH, equivalent to about $7,200, a decrease of over 13% in the last 24 hours.

Doodles is a collection of 10,000 NFTs launched in October 2021, which attracted a lot of attention due to its eye-catching design and more polished look compared to other projects. In September last year, Doodles made headlines with its massive $54 million fundraising, with a company valuation of up to $704 million.

Over the past year, Doodles has focused on expanding its ecosystem, collaborating with big names like former Billboard Chairman Julian Holguin, musician and producer Pharrell Williams as the brand director. Doodles had previously announced plans to expand into NFT gaming, music, and intellectual property ownership. In January 2023, the company acquired the animation studio Golden Wolf as part of its roadmap to realizing this vision.

While Doodles’ shift towards a new media-focused model may be seen as a risky move, it also highlights the potential for NFT projects to evolve and diversify beyond their initial offerings. Only time will tell if Doodles’ ambitious plans will pay off, but the company’s strong track record and high-profile collaborations suggest that it could be a force to be reckoned with in the media industry.

#Dododles #crypto2023 #NFT #azcoinnews #opensea

This article was republished from azcoinnews.com