Charted: NFTs are past their prime

Sales of NFTs, one of 2021's biggest investment crazes, are but a fraction of what they were at last year's peak.

The big picture: Despite the present doldrums, the market for non-fungible tokens — digital objects built to be provably unique — is very likely here to stay. But it will probably go through several more rounds of hype and disillusionment.

• The basic idea of a completely unique crypto token continues to evolve — for instance, Uniswap, a decentralized crypto exchange, uses NFTs to track liquidity providers’ positions. In other words, it's not "just a JPEG."
• And the two leading NFT marketplaces, OpenSea and LooksRare, are still typically earning between $1.5 and $2 million a day each in fees, according to Token Terminal.

The bottom line: Business is down but definitely not out.

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