As 2022 comes to an end, the world of NFTs and crypto has gone through considerable shifts and growth. Even though we end the year in a minor slump in popularity of all things NFT but let me assure you there is a light at the end of tunnel. Just like everything in the global economy, everything goes through highs and lows which is exactly what is happening in the world of digital economies. 

For this blog, I would like to share major facts about NFTs in the art world in the past 2 years to help put in perspective the current trends and state of affairs.  

• More than 50% of NFT sales do not reach $200 

• NFT’s weekly sales volume has gone from 100 sales in 2017 to 15,000 or even 50,000 in 2022. This is an awesome increase 
• In one month in 2021, over 1.5 million NFT art sales were recorded
• On the Nifty Gateway platform, sales exceeded $250 million for 2021. Monthly sales were estimated at around $500,000
• NFTs have generated an expenditure of approximately $41 billion in cryptocurrency for the year 2021 
• The Play-to-earn model which is a trend in the NFT market reaches a revenue of $776 million in the 3rd quarter of 2021
• The NBA Top Shot records a transaction volume of more than $700 million 
• A LeBron James NFT have been sold for more than $21.6 million 
• 5 of the 20 biggest NFTs were sold in Cryptopunks
• The fastest growing NFT market segment is collectibles, such as with Cryptopunks, Bored Ape Yatch Club, Mutant Ape Yatch Club, Clone-X, etc.. (These stats were taken from metav.rs) 

As seen from these statistics, NFTs in the art world and as a collectible commodity is continuing to follow a steady path of growth and expansion. Additionally, as NFT markets find more prominence in world of trade, finance and art, we are seeing more regulations coming in place to lay down a trusted foundation to help invite more investors.  

A perfect example of such welcomed regulations would be the announcement of Dubai’s new Virtual Asset’s Laws and the creation of the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). I am incredibly excited and look forward to all the changes that this announcement will bring to the local Crypto space. Dubai is already considered to be a hotspot within the global crypto sphere, due to its growing community of enthusiastic NFT buyers and Crypto investors, as well as the Dubai World Trade Centre being officially recognized as a “Crypto Zone”. This news of VARA and all the regulations that it will enforce will only solidify Dubai’s reputation of being a visionary, key player in the future of virtual assets.  

As an artist and entrepreneur who deals extensively in NFTs, I find this recent development to be crucial for the growth of my art business and the region’s NFT artwork industry. VARA will be essential in establishing a trusted framework of rules and regulations that will attract new investors and creators to the market, who are currently apprehensive about the validity and potential of virtual assets. These regulations will also provide an extra layer of protection for NFT creators like myself, who rely on the blockchain for keeping an immutable record of their transactions. With VARA also supervising the trade of virtual assets, I believe my assets and business interests will always be protected. 

Additionally, we have amazing NFT collectives forming globally and in the region as well that are focussed in spreading awareness and promoting NFTs and their potential in democratizing wealth. I have been fortunate enough to be one of the main contributors of a Dubai-based NFT collective called Arts DAO and have created a generative series called Ethereal Gates in collaboration with them. I have written an entire blog on Ethereal Gates, do scroll back and check it out. 

NFTs have been shaking the art world since their invention and they will continue to do so. We will continue to see NFT markets grow in 2023, as they become coveted assets in the virtual world and eventually the world at large. We need to keep our eyes peeled for the NFT markets and their presence in the art world because the year up ahead will surely be an exciting one… 

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