The NFT craze sweeps the encryption world, and Blockchain technology has made breakthrough developments.

In recent years, there have always been some hot topics in the blockchain field leading industry development. 2017 was the inaugural year of ICOs, bringing an astonishing bull market; in 2019, IEOs became the new favorite of exchanges, driving up token prices; in 2020, DeFi and liquidity mining sparked a new wave of investment frenzy. And in 2021, it undoubtedly became the year of the explosion of NFTs.

The popularity of NFTs is astonishing. A pair of limited edition socks originally priced at $12 was speculated to $160,000 within two years; a ten-year-old rainbow cat meme was sold as an NFT for a high price of $580,000; an NFT of NBA star LeBron James's dunk video was sold for $208,000, setting a historical record. Even more noteworthy is that the auction price of the first tweet from Twitter's founder once soared to $2.5 million.

According to data platform statistics, the NFT market trading volume exceeded $340 million in February, setting a new monthly record. Among them, NBA Top Shot accounted for the largest share, with a trading volume exceeding $225 million. Google search trends show that the popularity of NFTs has surpassed that of DeFi and ETH, indicating its significant influence.

The reasons why NFTs have become so popular so quickly are primarily as follows:

1. NFT has uniqueness and non-fungibility, representing a one-of-a-kind digital asset.

2. Blockchain technology ensures the authenticity and ownership of NFTs, solving the problem of difficult rights confirmation for digital assets.

3. NFTs broaden the channels for wealth acquisition and stimulate the enthusiasm of creators.

4. The cryptocurrency bull market has provided funding support for NFTs.

5. During the epidemic, people's demand for digital collectibles increased.

6. The celebrity effect has driven the popularity of NFTs.

For ordinary investors, there are two main ways to participate in NFTs: one is to invest in cryptocurrencies related to the NFT concept, such as ENJ, FLOW, CHZ, etc.; the other is to directly purchase specific NFT items, such as NBA Top Shot cards, crypto artworks, etc. However, investors need to be aware that the liquidity of NFT items is relatively low and it takes time to realize value.

Whether we like it or not, NFTs have quietly arrived in our lives. They provide artists with new ways to monetize their work and give ordinary people the opportunity to invest in high-end artworks. The emergence of NFTs has made it possible to have divisible and verifiable transactions of real-world items, which was unimaginable in the past.

Although NFTs are still in their early stages of development, they have already shown great potential. Just like Bitcoin was heavily questioned at its inception, the true value of NFTs also needs time to be tested. Regardless, the rise of NFTs undoubtedly opens up new directions for the application of Blockchain technology, and is worth our continued attention.