I won't lie, I wasn't a fan of NFTs during its peak periods. It is for the same reason that I also didn't support memecoins - they offered no real value and were more tools for speculation than anything else. During their peak though, they created more millionaires than I'd have thought possible and certainly were the rave of the moment.

Things have calmed down a bit in the crypto space as a whole. No one hopefully is going to buy some NFT drawing for thousands of dollars that doesn't hold any real value. I understand the subjective nature of art though, and some can make arguments that value is subjective. Yet even in the traditional space, there is such a thing as an overpriced art piece. Matter of fact most art works are highly scrutinized based on the value they provide such as historical importance, author, message, or style. I can't just come and draw something out of nowhere and expect the millions to start rolling in.

I am not against the price rallies of cryptoa just to be clear. I also believe more in collaboration than competition within the crypto space so it isn't meant to disparage one coin in favour of another. What I simply am about is looking forward to the next stage of crypto's development which should primarily be more sustainability focused than anything else. The only way we ensure sustainability is by phasing out the ponzi like features of the space and leaving room for value addition to take place.

We are hopefully entering the phase where each project is scrutinized for the value it brings to the table before investors start pumping their money into it. This means a delay of instant gratification on the path of investors as projects of noticeable value tend to be somewhat slow to develop and focus more on delivering returns in the long term.

The need to look beyond easy money is more than an internal process even. As a result of the damaging effects of crashes on the space last year, external investors and regulators are keeping a cautious eye on the space, with the latter preparing to swoop in with several comprehensive laws for the space. Should the space continue down the easy path, it will ultimately produce more disasters and eventually damage credibility, perhaps irreversibly.

Personal Responsibility

As an investor, always be on the lookout for value above everything else. Crypto has so many use cases in the real World with several projects highlighting this that it makes no sense to simply throw our money round something we can barely explain what it does, or why it will be valuable in the next couple of years.

This isn't to say that more pump and dump millionaires won't be created anymore though, because people ultimately would remain attracted to what they see than anything else. Yet more frequently, people are going to ask questions concerning the sustainability of their investments and eventually we'll see a paradigm shift.

I personally do like being able to plan years into the future with a project like the Hive chain, something that not many crypto projects that offer value out of thin air can boast of.