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The Rise and Fall of NFTs: > 2014 > concept of NFT is introduced > first collection created > named Quantum > made by 2 friends > to prove art can have digital ownership > 2021 > after 7 years of experimenting > the perfect environment is created > lockdowns, everyone bored and online > NFTs explode overnight > kids print money from bedrooms > $200 → $200,000 in weeks > a jpeg sells for $69M > nobody understands it > everyone wants in > discord becomes wall street > your twitter feed = your income > CryptoPunks become digital artifacts > their floor prices go to $400k > top grails sell for many millions > Bored Ape Yacht Club isn't just art > but access, status, community > Facebook launches a metaverse > people pay millions for digital land > "people will live in the metaverse" > celebrities pile in > Justin Bieber, Steph Curry, Snoop Dogg > not just buying but launching NFTs too > top IG pages were launching NFTs > even Lana Rhoades launched one > everyone was launching collections > people spent months grinding > just to be eligible to mint NFTs > mint days felt like war > thousands fighting for supply > bots everywhere, gas fees reach thousands > people pay $300… $500… $1000 > just to click “mint” > and it could fail, but the R/R was worth it > missing a mint = missing life-changing money > marketplaces printing billions in volume > random projects doing millions overnight > influencers shilling, timelines flooded > TikTok full of “next 100x NFTs” > everything goes up > even bad art sells out > even scams make money > ETH was reaching ATHs > NFT mcap goes from $30m to $8b > peak euphoria > 2022 > euphoria continues until April > the market peaks at ~$40B > generational wealth was built > reality hits in May > too many projects > not enough buyers > cash grabs everywhere > then Luna and FTX collapse > billions vanish, trust disappears > liquidity gone overnight > floors start nuking -50% → -80% → -95% > group chats go quiet > people stop flexing > but there still is a lot of speculation > few collections still bring good returns > narrative shifts from flipping to building > NFT mcap goes from $40B to $5B in June > "just a small drawback" right? > 2023 > wrong > volume down 90%+ > nobody left to sell to... then a spark > Bitcoin Ordinals: NFTs on Bitcoin > new narrative but same behavior > degens return, fees explode again > btc flips eth in NFT volume > but it doesn't last long > regulators step in > lawsuits begin > nfts return to being a ghost town > 2026 > after 3 years of unsuccessful stories > the aftermath is brutal > -95% from peak, users gone > eth below $2,000 > nft mcap below $1.5B > bags everywhere, exits nowhere > blue chips struggling > CryptoPunks fp under $30k > Bored Apes aren't even worth $10k > Meta closes their Metaverse > $150b+ in losses and that's just one project > the gold rush is over > the noise is gone > the idea remains > the hope for a comeback is stronger than ever And this represents just 0.1% of the history of NFTs. Writing this final segment I realize how easy we had it and how much fun we had during that bull run. If you enjoyed this post and want to make my day, consider leaving a like. And for similar content check my profile.