What caused the great boom in the popularity of NFTs?

It’s no secret that nearly everyone is talking about NFTs nowadays. Their popularity has skyrocketed to the point where there are websites where you can read more about the concept and Twitter users are constantly talking about one project or another. The idea of owning a digital token confirming you’re the owner of a piece of art (for now) is starting to become normal.

But how did it come to this? Why is it that barely anyone knew about NFTs and how they worked up until 2021? What, exactly, caused the great boom in the popularity of NFTs? Let’s try to find out!

The pandemic and Bitcoin

The pandemic struck in early 2020 and the whole world came to a stop, and it was obvious it would lead to consequences.

Some of them came in the form of people losing their jobs. Perhaps they were unable to work after illness, or business wasn’t as booming as it used to before lockdown. Either way, lots of people were left without money, and probably decided that investing was a good idea.

This caused Bitcoin, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies, to hit 3x all-time highs since 2017. The popularity and availability of Bitcoin, in turn, allowed for NFTs to make their grand re-entrance after a short period of action in 2018 with the CryptoKitties.

The collectability

It’s only human nature to want to collect things. There are people who collect stamps, Pokemon cards, and baseball cards, among other things.

Considering collecting cards became especially popular during the pandemic - most likely as a pastime - this was also a great opening for NFTs. This is especially true for those that are collectable NFTs such as Bored Ape or Loaded Lions.

Thanks to their availability online, NFTs are slowly starting to become the next Pokemon cards. And there are so many of them popping up that it’s almost exciting to collect them.

Celebrities and major companies

The fact that many celebrities such as The Weeknd, Madonna, and Paris Hilton are talking about NFTs most likely influenced the public. Paris Hilton has even released her own NFTs priced at $1.11 million!

Major companies like Coca-Cola and Adidas have also started to pay attention to the NFT craze. Nike including an NFT with their CryptoKicks ensures every buyer is also pulled into the NFT world.

All this talk about the topic among celebrities inevitably meant nearly everyone else would start talking about it too. And that’s what caused the great boom of popularity in the NFT world.