Here is Ripple’s take on what is key to understanding NFT collectors

The entry and ascent of NFTs have completely changed the shape of the crypto-industry. Now, NFT creators, collectors, and analysts desperately want to understand the day’s trends so that they can ensure the best possible returns on their investment.

To that end, Ripple’s 2022 report on crypto trends – “New Value: Crypto Trends in Business & Beyond” – certainly revealed a lot about the booming asset.

Take me home, please?

One fascinating takeaway from the report is that users across international regions often buy NFTs for vastly different reasons. For example, while most survey respondents answered that they would want to buy NFTs for a “functional reason,” three times the number of Asia Pacific-based customers said they would buy NFTs to celebrate a milestone in their life.

APAC customers also expressed more interest in buying NFTs to support a celeb or a brand. This is key marketing data for creators.

But, what kind of NFTs should creators focus on? Ripple’s report stated,

“Despite some minor differences, by and large the number of consumers interested in NFTs related to one area or another was fairly steady across regions, with music being the area of highest interest, collectibles second, and gaming third.”

Myth v. Fact: Green NFTs

NFT creators get a bad rep as most non-crypto users tend to assume that those who mint NFTs don’t care about the environment. However, this may not be (strictly) true as Ripple’s report showed that sustainability is close to many consumers and developers’ hearts. While nearly one fifth of surveyed customers said that they would only buy a sustainable NFT, two thirds of developers claimed that their clients want them to opt for a “more sustainable blockchain.”

Ripple’s report cited Solana, Flow, and the XRP Ledger as examples of blockchains with low energy usage.

Don’t say “but”

That being said, the widespread adoption of NFTs comes with a rise in complaints. Both traditional and digital artists have accused the NFT marketplace OpenSea of enabling art theft and not doing enough to tackle stolen work minted as NFTs. Meanwhile, organizations trying to adopt NFTs have also faced backlash.

As it stands now, NFTs have a serious image problem outside the crypto-industry.

Beware of doldrums

NFTs may be on the rise, but looking at the data for OpenSea [Ethereum], you would have a hard time believing this. Dune Analytics revealed that the number of NFTs sold has been falling steeply since January 2022.

At press time, 1,626,818 NFTs had been sold in March 2022.

What does this mean? In short, NFT creators need to innovate in order to stay afloat in a diversifying market.