NFT is the most discussed crypto keyword worldwide: Report
NFTs were the most discussed topic in the crypto world in 2021. The keyword found increasing popularity in every corner of the world, especially because NFTs have great potential and can be integrated with almost every industry, from entertainment to sports and arts.
NFT most popular search terms worldwide in 2021
Over the past year, the term NFT was the most discussed topic on crypto, according to research from Huobi. The research showed that overall five crypto terms NFT, cryptocurrency, DeFi, GameFi and BTC were the most popular search terms in the crypto world.
The keyword “NFT” was “surprisingly popular,” according to Huobi, finding popularity worldwide. The report cited NFT’s enormous potential as the reason for this unprecedented popularity, which gives this innovation the ability to integrate and add value to various industries. The report said:
“NFT can be well integrated with various industries, such as sports, art, entertainment and cultural creations, and expand the application scenarios on a larger scale. In addition, with the unique societal culture and wealth effect of each NFT, NFT has become viral all over the world.”
Notably, unlike NFT, other popular crypto-related terms do not enjoy worldwide popularity. For example, keywords for cryptocurrency, DeFi and BTC are most frequently searched for in South America, South Africa and the Middle East. Huobi said:
“This is largely due to the underdeveloped financial infrastructure and payment systems in these regions, as well as the suffering from high inflation rate, which makes cryptocurrency a perfect alternative for payments and store of value.”
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NFT market at record lows amid crypto slump
The market for NFTs experienced explosive growth last year. In total, the NFT market saw an inflow of $44.2 billion in 2021. In comparison, the total trading volume for NFTs reached $250 million in 2020.
However, amid the broader crypto market downturn, NFTs have also seen a steep drop in demand. As reported, NFT sales were $3.4 billion in the third quarter of the year, down from $8.4 billion in the second quarter. Additionally, compared to Q3 2021, NFT sales in Q3 2022 were down 68.2%.
The steep drop comes as investors shun NFTs, cryptocurrencies and other riskier investments amid record inflation and aggressive rate hikes by global central banks. Furthermore, the price of NFTs has fallen significantly, causing huge losses to investors who jumped on the craze last year.
For example, one of Justin Bieber’s Bored Apes that he bought for $1.3 million in ETH in January is now worth around $70,000. Similarly, other celebrities including Snoop Dogg, Logan Paul, Gary Vee and Steve Aoki are dropping millions on their NFT investments.
It is worth noting that some innovative NFT projects have been able to buck the trend recently and make huge waves in the industry despite the bear market.
Last month, NFT project Art Gobblers generated $50 million worth of secondary sales after free coin. And before that, Reddit NFT collections surpassed $8.6 million in transactions, while Renga NFTs posted a higher trading volume than the combined volume of CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC).
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Do you think the market for NFTs will pick up again along with the broader crypto market? Let us know in the comments below.
About the author
Ruholamin Haqshanas is an accomplished crypto and financial journalist with over two years of experience writing in the field. He has a solid grasp of various segments of the FinTech space, including the decentralized iteration of financial systems (DeFi), and the emerging market for non-fungible tokens (NFT). He is an active user of digital assets for money transfers.
