From Boom to Bust: Why Those Million-Dollar NFTs Are Now Barely Worth Anything

The NFT market has undergone a stunning reversal. What once seemed like the future of digital ownership has become a cautionary tale about speculation and hype. The evidence is staggering: the market reached its peak at $526 billion in May 2022, only to plummet to $18 billion today—a devastating 97% collapse. For early investors who bet big on digital art, the results have been nothing short of catastrophic.

How Did We Get Here?

The NFT craze of 2021-2022 was unlike anything the crypto space had witnessed before. Celebrity culture collided with blockchain technology in an unprecedented way. Justin Bieber, LeBron James, Tony Hawk, and Madonna all purchased NFTs, turning digital art into a status symbol. Snoop Dogg and Eminem even performed as Bored Ape avatars at the MTV Video Music Awards. When Paris Hilton discussed her love for NFTs on “The Tonight Show” in January 2022, it seemed like digital ownership had truly gone mainstream.

Collections like CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club sparked a cultural phenomenon that dominated headlines. For a brief moment, it felt inevitable that NFTs would reshape how we think about ownership and art.

The Price Collapse: A Case Study

CryptoPunks: From $23.7 Million to Murky Waters

CryptoPunk #5822 represents the ultimate NFT gamble. In February 2022, Deepak Thapliyal, CEO of blockchain banking company Chain, purchased this rare Alien CryptoPunk for 8,000 ETH ($23.7 million). The purchase made headlines—a single JPEG priced at nine figures seemed to validate the entire NFT narrative.

A month later, Thapliyal rejected an offer for 10,000 ETH, turning down what would have been a $2 million instant profit. That decision proved costly. Recent comparable sales tell the story: Alien CryptoPunk #635 fetched 4,000 ETH in April 2024, while Alien CryptoPunk #3100 sold for 4,500 ETH in March 2024. These prices suggest Thapliyal’s investment has essentially halved in value over two years.

Ironically, the Ethereum he held would have appreciated. Those same 8,000 ETH would now be worth approximately $26.6 million—actually outperforming the NFT itself.

EtherRocks: The $1.8 Million Grey Rock

Nothing exemplifies NFT absurdity quite like EtherRocks. This collection consists of just 100 digital rocks—literally variations of a clipart image with different colors. On November 2, 2021, someone paid 420 ETH ($1.8 million) for EtherRock #93, a plain grey one.

Today, EtherRocks trade at around 200 ETH, or roughly $750,000-800,000—a $1 million loss from the 2021 peak. An entire $1 million evaporated for what amounts to a recolored image.

Bored Ape #8817: From $3.4 Million to $665,000

Bored Ape Yacht Club dominated the NFT conversation more than any other collection. Celebrity collectors included Mark Cuban, Gwyneth Paltrow, and DJ Steve Aoki (who owned at least a dozen at one point). On October 26, 2021, Sotheby’s announced the sale of Bored Ape #8817 for $3.4 million, marketed as having golden hair—a trait found in less than 1% of all Apes.

The decline has been severe. In February 2024, a golden Bored Ape (#1726) sold for just 275 ETH, or $665,000. Consider another example: Thapliyal (the same CryptoPunk investor) purchased Bored Ape #232 for 1,080 ETH but later sold it for only 800 ETH—a $730,000 loss at current Ethereum prices.

If these golden apes are representative of the broader market, many early collectors are sitting on millions in unrealized losses.

The Broader Devastation

The situation worsens when examining lesser-known projects. A 2023 report from dappGambl analyzed 73,257 NFT collections and found that 69,795 had zero trading volume. The conclusion was sobering: 95% of NFT holders have zero market value in their holdings.

These aren’t just financial losses—they’re a reckoning with the volatility and speculation that defined the NFT boom.

The Counterargument

Some NFT enthusiasts argue that focusing solely on price misses the point. Ownership, they contend, matters beyond market value. A digital artwork stored on the blockchain represents immutable proof of ownership, regardless of what someone would pay for it today.

But for investors who gambled millions during the hype cycle, this philosophical consolation likely rings hollow. The blockchain may preserve their ownership certificate, but it cannot restore the billions in market value that have simply vanished.