NFT Bargain-Hunting Is in as Crypto Bust Craters Prices

A year ago, Daniel Maegaard, one of the higher-profile collectors of nonfungible tokens, was spending tens of thousands of dollars on CryptoPunks featuring funky-looking people or apes. In the last few months, he’s been buying NFTs that typically sell for less than $2,000.

The shift is indicative of the metamorphosis taking place in the market for the once-coveted digital images promoted by the likes of Justin Bieber and Madonna. NFT sales plunged 67% sequentially in the third quarter as speculators and celebrities made an exodus, leaving the sector mostly to the dedicated long-term believers in the various potential use cases, and collectors betting that the plunge in prices will rekindle speculative demand.