What are NFTs and do non-fungible tokens still matter in 2026?

Summary The global NFT market is projected to reach $60.82 billion in 2026, up from $43.08 billion in 2025, with gaming NFTs capturing 38% of total transaction volume. An NFT is a cryptographic token on a blockchain that proves ownership of a unique digital or physical asset, most commonly built on the ERC-721 or ERC-1155 standards on Ethereum. Real utility has overtaken speculation as the primary growth driver, with tokenized real world assets, event tickets, in-game items, and digital identity credentials all relying on NFT infrastructure. Environmental objections have largely been resolved since Ethereum moved to proof of stake in September 2022, cutting the network energy use by 99.99% according to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. Legal frameworks remain fragmented, though the Yuga Labs v. Ripps circuit ruling confirmed that an NFT qualifies as goods under the Lanham Act, setting an early precedent for trademark enforcement in digital assets. The narrative that NFTs died sometime in 2023 makes for a clean headline, but it confuses a price correction in speculative art collectibles with the technology itself. Monthly trading volumes bottomed out in mid-2023 and then...