I told you so. It's a phrase I usually avoid, but in the case of NFTs, it's hard to resist. The second I heard that digital monkeys were selling for the value of a mansion, my lizard brain fired up. It thrust forth the unmistakable alarm bell of a bubble! As with all bubbles created out of hype and lacking any actual, tangible purpose, this bubble was always going to pop. The bursting sound is now deafening.

Digital Tulips Bloom, Then Wither

Who could forget the Tulip Mania of 17th century Netherlands? Fortunes were made and lost on the promise of the rarest of tulip bulbs. Millions of Americans remortgaged their homes, fueled by a frenzied conviction that home prices could never go down. Sound familiar? The NFT craze was just the 21st-century manifestation of this familiar, timeworn madness. We never learn, do we? NFTs, or Non-Fungible Tokens—single-use digital code embedded in a blockchain—are marketed as the new way to own the digital world. By 2021, these very same NFTs were propelling the new digital economy forward, art meeting technology and creating ownership.

  • CryptoPunks: Once coveted, now… well, let's just say their market cap tells a story.
  • Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC): Apes behaving badly, or rather, apes losing value rapidly.
  • Pudgy Penguins: Even penguins can't escape the icy grip of market correction.
  • Taproot Wizard, Mad Lad, Milady, Doodle, Azuki: All participants in the great digital bonfire of value.

The numbers don't lie. Market caps have collapsed, and sales volume is dismal. The overall lack of unique owners is an important indicator that this was never the massive player base it may have seemed from the surface. Shiela at BitPinas can report on the current market cap data all she wants, but the reality is this: these are digital Beanie Babies, and the frenzy is over.

Chasing Get-Rich-Quick Schemes Rarely Works

This isn't just about NFTs. It's about a broader societal problem: the relentless pursuit of easy money. Our new culture worships at the altar of “passive income” and “side hustles.” Sadly, this emphasis tends to delegitimize the virtues of labor, thrift, and future-minded strategy. The NFT boom erupted out of a rabid hunger for easy money. The public was enamored with the idea of making millions overnight.

Let's be honest: building wealth takes time, effort, and a healthy dose of skepticism. It does require knowing the true value of an investment, rather than following the last fad. Who was ever asking for a JPEG of a disinterested orangutan? Or was it just a signaling mechanism, a way to show off expected riches in the Metaverse?

The ‘get rich quick’ mindset is a corrosive one. It promotes carelessness, dulls the perception of danger, and eventually results in heartbreak. This attitude reflects a culture that has completely lost the plot on rewarding hard work. It reflects a greater societal loss of appreciation for delayed gratification.

Personal Responsibility Isn't Optional

So who is ultimately at fault for the NFT crash? People should be held accountable for their missteps when it comes to money. No one held a gun to anybody’s head to make them purchase an NFT. No one guaranteed a return on investment. Millions of ordinary Americans invested their life savings in these risky, speculative investments. They were propelled by FOMO, or the fear of missing out, and the mirage of quick fortunes.

We should go back to a culture of personal responsibility—holding people accountable for the decisions they make. Whatever your focus, before you make an investment—large or small—do your homework. Whether it’s an NFT, a stock, or a piece of real estate—education is your greatest asset. Understand the risks. And, most importantly, ask yourself: is this really worth it?

As bad as it feels, the NFT crash has a lot to teach and that’s a lesson we really needed to learn. Don’t forget that anything worth having takes time. Prudence and caution are warranted, and sustainable value always eclipses ephemeral hype. The digital economy remains a nascent and evolving market. In all of this growth, we can’t lose common sense as we build it.

So, what's the takeaway? Stick to what you know, understand the risks, and remember the old adage: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And perhaps, for the love of slideshow presentations everywhere, keep the digital monkeys in the digital zoos.