Survey: 75 Percent Crypto Holder Has NFT Assets

JAKARTA - In recent years, the crypto and blockchain industry has become increasingly popular and attracts the interest of the wider community. Apart from crypto investments, more and more people are getting to know NFT or Non-Fungible Tokens. NFT itself is a unique form of digital assets that cannot be exchanged with each other.

Interestingly, a survey from CoinGecko and Blockchain Research lab. The survey involved 438 respondents and conducted from December 2022 to January 2023. The survey found that more than 75 percent of crypto asset owners also have NFTs. This shows very high NFT adoption, and attracts industrial attention to the potential of the more mainstream NFT market.

Based on explanations from several crypto experts, NFT is easier to understand and accessible to the general public than other crypto assets. In addition, NFT can also be integrated into games so that it can offer a unique and more attractive experience for collectors.

This high adoption rate is likely due to the fact that the audience for NFT is much more common than traditional cryptocurrencies, according to Arcade co-founderXYZ, Gabe Frank. However, there are still about 20 percent of crypto industry participants who report never having NFT.

Launching BlockWorks, Anthony Georgiades, founder of Pastel Network, added that although the 75 percent figure can be exaggerated, NFT is being hunted by traditional crypto enthusiasts. And for regular consumers, NFT is easier to understand than other blockchain-based investment assets.

"NFT is certainly more accessible and understood than crypto in general. It's easier to enter crypto spaces and ecosystems and buy NFT," Georgiades said.

Frank says he feels that after someone buys NFT, they "make it up," and then it becomes a game.

Georgiades agreed, explaining that "it's not just about having bitcoin. Its value can go up, it can go down and that's it. They are very unique collectibles. So, it's been like a game."

The survey also showed that of the people who own NFT, slightly more than a quarter of them are "heavy collectors" - which according to the study, means they have more than 51 NFTs. FOMOs, or fear of being left behind, are the large components behind this rising number, according to Georgiades.

Frank also pointed out that the use of NFT continues to grow. Real estate is one example, where investors recently bought a single family home in Texas which is tokenized in Solana. Other uses include games, event exclusives, fashion clothing for digital avatars, and limited access to various immersive experiences - both online and offline.

However, even though the utility of these assets is getting clearer, there are still about 20 percent of crypto industry participants who report never having NFT. Georgiades attributed this to some investors who avoided NFT because initially, the value obtained from having an NFT is not clear.

"I think that percentage will change as NFT becomes more important in DeFi's overall value chain," he said. "Just because the shareholders haven't bought NFT, it doesn't mean they won't do it in the future."