The NFT Art Market Is Back: What You Need to Know About Digital Ownership and Creator Royalties

From Boom to Bust to Boom Again: NFT Art’s Journey

You’ve probably heard about NFT art — especially that $69.3 million sale that made headlines in 2021. But what happened to that hype? The NFT market crashed hard in 2022 along with crypto, wiping out billions in value overnight. Many people wrote it off as a bubble. Yet here’s what’s interesting: NFT art is making a comeback.

With Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies hitting all-time highs again, digital art tokens are experiencing renewed interest. The landscape has matured too — instead of just hype, we’re seeing institutional players like Sotheby’s and Christie’s taking NFT art seriously. Sotheby’s first NFT auction in April 2021 raked in $16.8 million over three days, proving there’s real money behind digital art ownership.

But NFT art isn’t just about speculation anymore. AI-based art, virtual reality experiences, and new interactive formats are reshaping what’s possible in the space. For artists, investors, and collectors, understanding NFT art means grasping how digital ownership actually works — and why it matters.

What Exactly Is NFT Art and Why Is It Different?

Strip away the hype, and here’s what NFT art actually is: digital art that’s permanently recorded on a blockchain with a unique identifier. When you own an NFT, you’re not buying the image file itself — you’re buying a token that proves you own it.

Think of it this way. Bitcoin is fungible, meaning one Bitcoin equals another Bitcoin. They’re interchangeable. NFTs work the opposite way. Each one has its own digital signature, so no two are identical. This uniqueness is what gives them value.

The blockchain does something crucial here: it creates a permanent record of ownership and transaction history. That metadata includes the artist’s digital signature, proof of authenticity, and every resale the NFT goes through. This is why NFT art solves a problem that plagued digital creators forever — how do you prove you made it, and that someone owns it?

Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s founder, sold his first-ever tweet as an NFT for $2.9 million. That wasn’t just nostalgia; that tweet became a unique digital collectible with provable ownership. Before NFTs, that would’ve been impossible.

The Mechanics: How NFT Art Actually Gets Created and Sold

Creating an NFT involves a process called minting. Here’s what happens behind the scenes:

The Creation Process

When an artist mints an NFT, they’re executing code in a smart contract — essentially a self-executing digital agreement written in code. These contracts follow standards like ERC-721, which ensures compatibility across blockchains like Ethereum.

Once minted, the creator’s public key becomes a permanent part of the token’s history. This is the breakthrough for artists: they can program automatic royalties into the contract. Every time someone resells that NFT, the original creator gets paid a percentage. Foundation gives artists 10% on resales. Euler Beats Originals offers 8%. This passive income stream is revolutionary for digital creators.

How You Actually Buy and Sell

Want to buy an NFT? You need three things: a digital wallet, cryptocurrency (usually Ethereum or Solana), and access to an NFT marketplace. You connect your wallet to a platform like OpenSea, browse collections, and purchase. Once you pay, ownership transfers to your wallet on the blockchain.

Selling works the same way in reverse. You list your NFT, pay platform fees, and when someone buys it, you receive crypto minus the fees. The whole transaction is recorded on the blockchain — transparent and permanent.

Why Artists Are Ditching Galleries for NFT Platforms

Historically, artists needed intermediaries: galleries, record labels, publishers. These middlemen took cuts and controlled distribution. NFTs flip that script.

An artist can now mint their work on platforms like Foundation, SuperRare, VIV3, OpenSea, or NFT ShowRoom without asking permission from anyone. No gallery gatekeeper. No label boss. You own the relationship with collectors directly.

This is especially powerful for digital creators who were previously invisible in the traditional art market. A musician can sell beats as NFTs. A digital artist can build a collector base. A video creator can monetize clips. The barriers to entry vanished.

And here’s the kicker — royalties flow directly to the creator, forever. Beeple, the digital artist who sold that $69.3 million NFT, explained the value proposition simply in a School of Motion podcast: “The value is the scarcity, and other people want it. That’s it. If nobody wanted it, there would be no value.”

Scarcity + demand = value. And NFTs create artificial scarcity for digital content that can otherwise be infinitely copied.

The Investment Question: Is NFT Art Worth Your Money?

Here’s the honest take: NFT art is a speculative investment, just like crypto. Prices can skyrocket or crash to zero. There’s real potential for profit if you research the market, understand upcoming projects, and buy before prices spike. But there’s equally real potential to lose money.

Smart collectors study floor prices, trading volume, and project momentum before buying. They’re not chasing hype — they’re analyzing data. That approach works in crypto, but it requires discipline.

The controversial part? Some people see NFT art as lazy — slapping a token onto mediocre digital work just to capitalize on blockchain buzz. Others question why digital art selling for millions draws more attention than physical art that might take far more skill and time to create.

Both arguments have merit. But institutions betting millions suggest NFT art isn’t disappearing anytime soon.

Getting Started: Whether You’re Creating or Collecting

If You’re an Artist:

• Create your digital work (any format: visual art, music, video)
• Choose an NFT marketplace (OpenSea, Foundation, SuperRare)
• Set up a digital wallet connected to that platform
• Mint your NFT (you’ll pay a fee, usually in Ethereum)
• List it for sale, set your price or auction parameters
• Program your royalty percentage into the smart contract

If You’re a Collector or Investor:

• Get a digital wallet (MetaMask, Rainbow, etc.)
• Load it with Ethereum or Solana
• Browse NFT marketplaces and research projects
• Study floor prices and trading volume
• Buy the NFT when you think it’ll appreciate
• Hold or resell when prices spike

The barrier to entry is lower than ever. You don’t need a million dollars or industry connections. Just a wallet and some crypto.

What’s Next for NFT Art?

The market is evolving fast. AI-generated art is reshaping what’s possible — algorithms now create NFT collections that would’ve taken human artists months. Virtual reality and metaverse integration are expanding the experience beyond static images. Interactive NFTs that respond to their environment are emerging.

As technology changes, NFTs adapt. Whether the market stays hot or cools again, NFT art has already cemented itself as a permanent part of the digital creative landscape. It’s given artists direct access to global audiences and ongoing income streams that didn’t exist before.

For creators, that’s revolutionary. For collectors, it’s a frontier with real money-making potential — and real risks. Either way, NFT art isn’t going anywhere.