The NFT community feels stagnant. It’s time to grow.
Crypto Winter has taken a toll on the NFT world. Sales of digital art have slowed across the board and cryptocurrencies have faced dwindling valuations. These factors have caused a lot of people, who initially jumped into the space with an impassioned fervor, to slow down, pull back a little, and spend more time outside of the metaverse.
To be sure, the pace at which the NFT space initially moved was entirely unsustainable — a slowdown was inevitable. But I still find myself a bit shocked at the quietude. Many people who touted themselves as being in it for the “community” have since jumped ship.
The shift leaves me wondering: was it perhaps capitalism, and not community, that was the true motivator all along?
For many of us, this abandonment of the space comes at no surprise. A vast number of early adopters were lured in by the speculative market that formed around digital art seemingly overnight. Suddenly, everyone was an artist.
The speculative bubble has since popped and the NFT space has shifted toward a more sustainable long-term model that favors true innovation, expanded utility, and true artistry. The early adopters looking for a cash grab have filtered out.
Yes, the previously bustling online communities are now smaller and quieter, but hear me out — this is a good thing. Those who remain are artists and innovators whose convictions and dedication to their craft stand strong. We have a solid foundation, now we can focus on moving past the quick gains and seductive hype to expand the NFT space to a broader audience.
Many people were initially reluctant to embrace NFTs for four main reasons:
1) They were bad for the environment
2) Online communities were using niche terminology to gatekeep Web3
3) Crypto-bro culture was rampant
4) Discussions about blockchain, Web3, NFTs were tech-heavy
To expand our communities once again and encourage mass-adoption of blockchain technologies, we need to address these issues.
The good news is that we’ve already tackled the first of them. Thanks to The Merge, the Ethereum blockchain is now 99% more environmentally friendly. There is literally no good reason for blockchain tech to be so environmentally destructive when there’s an alternative.
Next up: tackling the remaining three issues. It seems weird to say, but thanks to Crypto Winter and the crash of the speculative market, we actually don’t have as much work to do on the next two fronts. People in it for the quick gains have already shown themselves to the door. Many of them were the exact people who contributed to the toxic, capitalistic, exclusionary, crypto-bro culture.
As for my final point, it is crucial that we move away from tech-forward discussions of NFTs and blockchain. Yes, blockchain tech is insanely cool and wonderful, but the average person does not care about the behind-the-scenes of how a technology works. We don’t run around talking about the tech behind streaming platforms, we just talk about the utility! There’s no doubt in my mind that tech-heavy speak is hindering mass adoption of NFTs and other blockchain applications. Tech speak is another way we’re unintentionally making the space feel inaccessible to the average person or company.
The NFT space feels a little stagnant right now and things are quiet but those who remain form a really strong base. Now it’s time to re-shape the NFT space and tackle the issues that have hindered mass-adoption.
