The already booming NFT (non-fungible token) market will experience a massive increase in volume over the next 12 months as more major investors begin to pile in, predicts Nigel Green, chief executive and founder of deVere Group.
This follows the announcement by Visa that it bought a "CryptoPunk," one of thousands of NFT-based digital avatars, for nearly $150,000 in ethereum; and as Marvel Entertainment begins unveiling its first official NFTs in the form of Spider-Man ‘digital statues.'
An NFT is a unique digital asset designed to represent ownership of a virtual item, such as artwork, music, a video clip, or tokenised tweet, amongst other representations.
Green said: "The market for NFTs hit new highs in the second quarter, with $2.5 billion in sales so far this year. This is almost 20-times more than the $13.7 million in the first half of 2020.
"With soaring interest from major investors like payments giant Visa, who understand and value that the future of almost everything is geared towards digital, demand is set to explode.
"As the big hitters pile in, their capital, expertise and reputational pulling power will attract a growing number of other investors - both retail and institutional looking to get into the market.
He added: "Demand will also be fuelled by a growing number of NFT marketplaces where you can make purchases, as well as there being more and more artists, musicians, sports, fashion, entertainment, gaming and retail brands producing digital assets to engage with consumers, clients and fans."
Green continued: "This is a market which is just getting started. There's been a surge of interest this year but I believe 2022 will be the breakout for NFTs.
"We expect there to be a massive increase in volume in the market over the next 12 months."
