Back in 2021, NFTs were everywhere — avatars in sunglasses were selling for millions, Beeple became a household name, at least in households with a MetaMask wallet, and the phrase “non-fungible token” was somehow dropped into late-night monologues with a straight face.
And then — nothing.
4 Modern NFT Use-Cases
- Loyalty programs.
- Real-world asset tokenizations
- Web3 gaming
- AI generated NFTs
The crash came. Celebrities disappeared. Prices plummeted. Media coverage dried up faster than an open Discord during bear season.
And just like that, NFTs became a punchline. Another speculative bubble. Another “remember when?”
Except, they didn’t go away.
What Happened to NFTs After the Crash?
After the 2022 washout, the NFT market didn’t die — it shed its costume.
OpenSea, once the unchallenged auction house of the metaverse, lost over 90 percent of its trading volume from its peak. The gold rush mentality that had pushed everyday people to buy cartoon owls for the price of a down payment evaporated. Headlines moved on. Regulators turned their attention to crypto fraud. And for a while, it really did feel like NFTs had gone extinct.
But in the silence, a different story was unfolding — one too boring, too technical and too grounded to trend on X.
Behind the scenes, startups, platforms and brands started quietly rebuilding the NFT stack, this time without the get-rich-quick flash. Starbucks launched Odyssey, an NFT-based loyalty program wrapped in seamless UX. Ticketing companies began experimenting with NFTs as fraud-resistant digital passes. Gaming studios used NFTs to track ownership of in-game items — not to get rich, but to solve problems.
And something else happened: developers stopped talking about NFTs and just started using them.
Because here’s the twist — the actual idea behind NFTs wasn’t bad. It just had terrible PR.
How NFTs Are Evolving
You won’t see it on the front page of Bloomberg, but NFTs are being folded into real systems — quietly, usefully and often invisibly.
1. Loyalty Programs: Nike’s DotSwoosh
One of the most innovative examples of NFT adoption in loyalty programs is Nike’s DotSwoosh platform. DotSwoosh NFTs allows users to purchase, collect and trade exclusive digital assets — providing holders with early access to Nike’s future product releases, special edition sneakers and exclusive virtual wearables.
What makes DotSwoosh especially compelling is how it combines real-world value with digital ownership. Instead of creating just a static loyalty program, Nike has used NFTs to offer customers an evolving, interactive experience that connects the digital and physical worlds. Collectors of DotSwoosh NFTs gain access to unique benefits that are tied directly to Nike’s future drops and promotions, bringing a new layer of engagement for their most loyal customers.
2. Real-World Asset Tokenization
NFTs are increasingly being used to represent fractions of real-world assets — from real estate to fine art.
Want 0.01 percent of a building in Miami? There’s an NFT for that.
It’s not about flipping monkey JPEGs anymore; it’s about making illiquid things liquid. This is where the infrastructure shift gets serious. Platforms like RealT and Mattereum are leading the way, making ownership portable, divisible and programmable.
Suddenly, NFTs don’t just represent something — they are something.
3. Web3 Gaming
In the world of blockchain gaming, NFTs are foundational — not for hype, but for mechanics.
Games like Illuvium, Guild of Guardians, and Parallel are building entire economies around in-game assets that players can own, trade or rent. This isn’t just about skins — it’s about shifting power from developers to users.
It’s not without challenges, but in this space, NFTs are actually doing what they were always meant to do: define and enforce digital ownership.
4. AI-Generated, Evolving NFTs
A new class of NFTs is emerging at the intersection of AI and art.
These aren’t static images. They evolve.
Think: generative portraits that respond to world events, or AI-trained characters that learn from your interactions. Projects like Art Blocks and BRAiN Drops are pushing this frontier, where NFTs are living systems — closer to code than canvas.
NFTs as Infrastructure, Not Hype Objects
For all the flash and absurdity of 2021, the core idea behind NFTs was never about art or hype. It was about proof of ownership in a digital world. A wrapper for metadata. A programmable certificate that says, “This is yours.”
What we’re seeing now isn’t a comeback — it’s a quiet graduation.
The best part? Most users won’t even know they’re using NFTs.
Much like the internet itself, NFTs are slipping into the background. They’re becoming protocol-level tools — the kind that make systems work, not headlines. You won’t hear people say, “I used an NFT today,” just like no one brags about visiting a website that uses HTTPS.
And that’s the point. The less we talk about NFTs, the more useful they become.
If Web3 is going to matter, it won’t be because of collectibles or clout.
It’ll be because NFTs turned into invisible infrastructure — making ownership, access and interaction seamless across digital and physical spaces.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are NFTs even a thing anymore?
Yes, there is still a market for NFTs, however, the use-cases have changed. Instead of NFTs as a status symbol and collector item, they are being created as tools for loyalty programs, real-world asset tokens and as a part of Web3 gaming.
What went wrong with NFTs?
NFTs started as a bubble focused on status symbol items without a real world use-case. Once the gold rush mentality that pushed people to purchase cartoon apes evaporated, demand dropped, regulations increased and people stopped purchasing them. This led to the NFT bubble bursting. However, the technology behind NFTs remained and has led to the creation of a new market centered around utilization.
