If you’re at all familiar with the blockchain, you’ve probably heard a thing or two about NFTs. In 2020, the NFT trade volume maxed out at about $95 million, but by 2021, the NFT trade volume skyrocketed to over $24 billion.
How are NFTs faring in 2022? The truth is that after an explosion of sales and trades in the first two years, things are starting to slow down a bit. However, many NFT buyers and creators feel confident that NFTs are here to stay, even if the initial rush to get in on the action has slowed.
What types of NFTs carry weight in 2022? If you’re thinking about buying NFTs of your own, where should you start?
Read on to learn about the nine best NFTs circulating the blockchain network this year.
1. Avatars and Profile Pictures
Before NFTs went mainstream, social media users started noticing the sudden presence of bored ape avatars on websites like Instagram and Twitter. These avatars come from a collective called Bored Ape Yacht Club, a conglomerate of creators who became multi-millionaires overnight.
There are other NFTs that make for great avatars and profile pictures, but the bored ape is certainly still a leader of the pack. Plus, collecting a bored ape avatar of your own doesn’t just grant you bragging rights. It also grants you access to the virtual Bored Ape Yacht Club, a members-only online space that is chock-full of crypto advocates.
When selecting an NFT avatar of profile picture, take some time to learn about the complete collection. Each collection tends to consist of hundreds, if not thousands, of variations of a similar theme. For example, while the bored ape avatars all have a distinctive look and format, they wear different outfits, hold different items, and sit in front of different backgrounds.
2. Digital Artwork
Those apes may have caused the initial rumblings, but digital artwork NFTs tend to be a common entry point for new NFT owners. At the very least, they’re often the easiest to understand.
Think about fine art as an asset. You buy it not only because you appreciate the aesthetic but because you understand its value on the market–and that its value will likely appreciate over the coming decades. You can hang onto it for clout and admiration and, if you so desire, sell it in the future.
Digital artwork NFTs work the same way. You can purchase digital paintings, drawings, photos, and graphic design and become the sole owner of that artwork. Given that we’re living in a digital world, it makes sense to monetize and collect digital artwork.
3. Memes
If you’re an active social media user, you’ve come to understand and appreciate the humor and communication behind popular memes. Memes are considered part of an online language that requires digital literacy and active participation in internet culture to understand. Now, you can become the owner of certain popular memes.
Are all memes up for sale? Not exactly.
One thing that makes memes so uniquely “online” is that it’s not always easy to determine their origins, which means that it’s not always clear who has the right to make the sale. However, we’ve already seen the lawful purchase of some seriously popular (and old-school) memes, including the beloved Charlie Bit My Finger.
4. Videos and GIFs
Now that you know that memes have entered the NFT sphere, it should come as no surprise that video clips and GIFs are on the rise, too. Are there NFT movies in our future? It’s possible, but for now, these NFTs tend to range between 3 and 30 seconds each.
What kind of videos and GIFs are for sale? Once again, we’ve seen some popular options make their way to the blockchain network, including videos and gifs that overlap with meme territory. That said, you’re going to find NFT video clips and NFT gifs in every niche imaginable, from memorable sports moments to viral sensations to musical performances.
Want to see some up-and-comers in the video NFT world? Visit here for a taste of liberation, high art, and NFT video formatting.
5. Music Clips and Songs
Full-fledged directors haven’t entered the NFT arena to start selling movies, but musicians are certainly paving a path for themselves in distributed ledger technology. Now, you can buy auditory NFTs ranging from 8-bit soundbites from your favorite video games to full songs from your favorite artists.
What is prompting this transition to private ownership? For one thing, musicians got tired of losing money to pirating, something that fines and warnings and even threats of jail time can’t seem to curb. By selling songs as NFTs, musicians can protect the rights to their music and pad their earnings.
6. Video Game Tokens
If you’re a gamer, you know how much time is spent earning, finding, or creating in-game assets like armor, weapons, and spells. When you think about your gaming in terms of hours spent leveling up, you start to realize that as much fun as you have doing it, it’s sort of like a job. What if you could own those in-game assets the same way you own your real-life assets?
Blockchain video games are on the rise, and with them come video game tokens sold as NFTs. Perhaps the most popular blockchain game in the past few years has been Axie Infinity, a game where you can actually buy and own unique, Pokemon-esque creatures.
What if you get tired of the game you’re playing or the in-game assets you own? Just like any other NFT, you can sell them to an interested buyer. The only caveat here is that games can take years to rise back to popularity after an initial wave of new gameplay, so keep an eye on the market when deciding if it’s time to sell.
7. Trading Cards
Trading cards have been popular amongst hobbyists for over a century. In fact, trading card historians have located baseball cards from as far back as the 1840s. Since then, we’ve seen trading cards for other popular sports as well as movie franchises, TV shows, games, and more.
If you grew up an avid trading card collector, you’re in luck. There are tons of different NFT trading cards to collect and trade, and this time, the market isn’t inundated with hundreds of thousands of duplicates.
Truth be told, you won’t find all of your favorite tactile trading cards in digital form. Without the rights to those images, NFT creators can’t account for every trading card we grew up collecting. However, there are still tons of niches to choose from, and you’re bound to find a trading card NFT that you love.
8. Metaverse Real Estate
If you haven’t heard, the metaverse is coming. Depending on who you ask, it’s actually already here.
The metaverse refers to a virtual reality space where, as the years progress, you can do just about anything you could do in reality. That includes attending events, hanging out with other people, and yes, buying real estate in the form of an NFT.
What do you do with metaverse real estate? For most metaverse real estate owners, that space is used to sell products and services. You can also become a metaverse landlord, renting out your digital space to a business owner looking to set up digital shop.
9. Digital Fashion
Speaking of the metaverse, owning digital property isn’t the only thing you’ll need to cultivate your online lifestyle. Now, you can also buy digital fashion NFTs to make sure that your online look is cutting edge.
In true virtual reality fashion, the metaverse allows you to adopt a virtual avatar to move around, shop, and interact with other metaverse citizens. Unsurprisingly, many fashion designers, both established and up-and-coming, have taken to the online world to create unique looks for your virtual avatar to rock.
In fact, you can even purchase digital fashion items like shoes and jackets for those bored apes we were talking about earlier. That means that when you purchase an avatar NFT, you aren’t necessarily tied to a single look forever.
What Types of NFTs Do You Want to Buy and Trade?
NFTs have exploded on the blockchain network in the past two years. Many NFT creators and buyers have wondered what will happen to the NFT marketplace in the coming years, but most are sure that it’s here to stay. What types of NFTS will you buy and trade in 2022?
Looking for more ways that our relationship to technology is changing and creating more money-making opportunities? Want to unlock new methods to expand your financial portfolio? Take a look around as we cover the latest in all industries, from tech to travel.
