I just came across a set of data, and it's quite interesting.

As we enter the months of 2026, the long-dormant NFT market suddenly starts to make some noise, with prices rebounding and trading volumes picking up.
At first glance, it looks pretty decent, but a deeper look reveals that it's more like those old players who got trapped are playing with themselves within a very small circle.

Honestly, the NFT story should have been over long ago.
Those once-sky-high-priced items are now mostly just pictures no one wants.
Project teams are transforming, selling off, shutting down, even iconic NFTs like Paris have quietly ceased operations.
Data from The Block shows that last year's total NFT market trading volume was only $5.5 billion, a direct halving compared to 2024, with market cap shrinking from $9 billion to $2.4 billion.
How severe is the liquidity drought? Out of over 1,700 NFT projects, only 6 have weekly trading volumes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Most projects have transaction counts in single digits, or even zero.

But that doesn't mean the capital has truly disappeared; it's just shifted to a different battlefield.
Look at OpenSea—no longer obsessed with trading images, now focusing on token trading;
Flow has started exploring DeFi;
Zora has outright abandoned traditional NFTs, playing the "content as token" game.
Even crypto giants are voting with their feet—Beeple shifted to physical robot creations, Animoca Brands' founder spent $9 million on a violin, Wintermute's co-founders spent $5 million on dinosaur fossils.
Pokémon card trading volume exceeds $1 billion—that's where the real hot money is flowing.

So, what NFTs are still worth paying attention to now?
I've sorted out a few categories still attracting capital in the market.
First are those with airdrop expectations—fundamentally financial instruments rather than collectibles, suitable for short-term trading but with high risk.
Second are those backed by celebrities or top-tier projects—like Vitalik recently changing his avatar to Milady, which caused the floor price to rise significantly.
And then there are those with genuine IP value, like CryptoPunks, which have been incorporated into the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York—these are more resilient to downturns.

The most interesting are the new gameplay methods.
For example, NFTs that tokenize real-world assets, allowing users to trade card ownership on-chain, with physical items stored by the platform—this gives NFTs real tangible value.
There are also practical applications like NFT ticketing, DAO voting rights, and AI on-chain identities.
After Pudgy Penguins and Moonbirds were acquired, their prices actually increased, indicating that when NFTs are backed by real business, the market is still willing to buy in.

So, the logic is now very clear.
Those meaningless small images are no longer in demand, but NFTs with practical utility, clear upward potential, or backed by physical assets have become the focus of capital.
This rebound may look like a recovery, but in fact, the market is redefining what constitutes a valuable NFT.