NFT Market Downturn Is a Shift, Not a Collapse, Says Rarible Co-Founder Alexander Salnikov

The non-fungal token (NFT) sector skilled explosive progress in 2021. Artists, buyers and collectors had been all swept into razoria. Nonetheless, the meteoric rise was adopted by a recession, which had questions in regards to the sustainability of the sector.

Alexander Salnikov, co-founder of Rary, believes that the market shouldn’t be confronted with a collapse however fairly a shift. In an unique interview with Beincrypto, Salnikov supplied his perspective on the state of NFTs in 2025 and their function forward.

Are NFTs nonetheless related in 2025, or have they adopted their course?

The rise of NFTs, fed by pleasure and hypothesis, was inevitable for a market that skilled such fast innovation. Nonetheless, this early improve, like many rising applied sciences, was adopted by a correction. The hype made method for the truth of market maturation and sustainability.

In line with the newest report from Dappadar, the Artwork NFT market noticed a powerful improve in 2021, with commerce volumes that reached $ 2.9 billion. Nevertheless, by the primary quarter of 2025, the commerce quantity was registered at solely $ 23.8 million, which marked a lower of 93%.

NFT’s commerce quantity over time. Supply: D -appadar

Equally, the variety of energetic merchants peaked at a report excessive of 529,101 in 2022. But this determine fell sharply by 96%, with solely 19,575 energetic merchants who stay in opposition to Q1 2025.

An earlier report from the business of D-Appadar confirmed that the Underwhelming efficiency was not solely a development in 2025. The truth is, 2024 was one of many worst performing years for the NFT market since 2020. Furthermore, Beincrypto additionally reported on a research that was unveiled 98% of the NFT initiatives in 2024.

Regardless of the decline, Salnikov Van Rarable has retained a optimistic view of the sector. He emphasised the significance of a transparent purpose on the subject of NFTs.

“As soon as, after the .comburst, the headlines known as that the web was solely a whim. However as extra corporations built-in the know-how into on a regular basis use instances, it was ingrained as a part of life,” he mentioned Beincrypto.

Salnikov fed that belief rapidly when NFTs are solely seen as speculative belongings. Tasks, alternatively, are rooted in actual group involvement or the supply of tangible utilities a transparent worth, making their worth simply understood.

Within the meantime, as an alternative of contemplating the decline of the sector as a collapse, the chief energy sees it as a market restoration, whereby the main target shifts from speculative hype to initiatives with extra sustainable worth.

“The speculative part had its second, however now we have a look at NFTs that evolve on the precise infrastructure – use instruments -makers to construct communities, merchandise and new digital economies,” he mentioned.

NFT’s Past the Hype: Unlocking Actual-World Utility

Salnikov emphasised that use within the NFT room is not a distant idea – it’s now occurring. Makers use NFTs for membership, manufacturers for loyalty packages and video games for participant identification.

He pointed to a rising convergence between the digital and bodily worlds, the place NFTs had been sure to merchandise, occasions and even actual belongings. Binance Analysis’s report of April 2025 additional confirms this development.

The report has introduced numerous Actual-World partnerships to the eye, which factors to curiosity in NFTs. Examples are Azuki’s bodily NFT with Michael Lau, the Sandbox’s Jurassic World collaboration, Eggryptos Anime characters with Eparida and Sony’s Soneium platform along with Line to make web3 mini apps.

“The subsequent wave of progress shouldn’t be about chasing a development – it’s about unlocking new forms of property and entry that really feel native to the web era,” Salnikov famous.

Though this angle provides optimism, the truth may be very completely different for a lot of corporations. Because of low commerce volumes, massive platforms equivalent to Bybit, X2Y2 and Kraken have resorted to cease their NFT providers.

Those that haven’t explored various roads. Magic Eden, for instance, additional expanded NFTs with the acquisition of Slingshot. Nonetheless, Salnikov rejected this technique wherein he observed,

“We’re not attempting to shoot at non-NFT features to simply hold working NFT commerce that really matches the communities.”

He defined that this strategy makes use of modular, adjustable on-chain marketplaces. Makers can regulate them to their particular goal teams, whether or not it’s a gaming mission, an L3 or a Legacy model.

“NFTs are the perform they solely want the correct framing,” mentioned the Raarable Co-founder.

When Fame Fades: The reducing return of NFTs supported by celebrities

Returning was an attention-grabbing development in the course of the NFT -Hype period the involvement of celebrities. Excessive -profile figures equivalent to Justin Bieber, Madonna and Neymar jumped on the bandwagon and attracted appreciable consideration to the sector. Nonetheless, their funding methods didn’t do very properly.

In January 2022, Bieber spent 500 ETH (at the moment about $ 1.3 million) on bored monkey #3001. This NFT is from the bored Ape Yacht Membership (Bayc) assortment of Yuga Labs.

Nevertheless, in keeping with the newest knowledge, the NFT is simply value 13.51 WYH (round $ 24,174), a lower of 98.1%. Though the singer has not offered his NFT, it has obtained little consideration recently, with out promotional efforts or outstanding discussions round it.

Though celebrities can draw consideration to NFTs, this emphasizes the necessity for substance exterior the identify itself. As Salnikov famous, the involvement of celebrities within the sector is risky.

In line with him, a reputation of celebrities alone can not substitute an actual inventive route or a powerful group.

“Well-known drops will come and go – it’s the tradition behind those that decide whether or not they’re caught,” he observed.

He argued that celebrities who deal with NFTs as purely merchandise are tracing the general public. Nonetheless, when an NFT drop is intentional and is basically significant, equivalent to music, trend or fandom, that’s the place the lasting worth is discovered.

“We’re far more excited by working with makers who construct for the long run than simply chasing headlines,” Salnikov revealed to Beincrypto.

The director additionally outlined the necessity for a extra accessible and consumer -friendly strategy for attracting customers. He described that customers mustn’t really feel onboarding ‘as a technical demo’. Salnikov pointed to Rariba for instance.

In line with him, Rary focuses on guaranteeing that each market constructed on its platform is a product that folks actually wish to use. This consists of features equivalent to Fiat OnRamps, low cost cash, a clear consumer interface and, particularly, content material that resonates with customers.

“We do not promote NFTs – we’re experiences that occur to be Onchain,” concluded Salnikov.

Though the NFT market stands for steady challenges, it’s nonetheless to be seen whether or not the business goes into a brand new part of progress means or whether or not additional obstacles will lie in its evolution.