Over the last couple of years, the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) market was booming, and I couldn't scroll through the Twitterverse without seeing the many posts saying "GM", sharing their images and links to buy them as NFTs. After a huge crash in 2022, the NFT crew has finally started disappearing from my timelines, and good riddance to them.

To me, the whole cryptocurrency and NFT situation seemed like a massive con which I was keen to avoid. The whole crypto bubble was being thrown down our necks online at every opportunity, and you could not escape it. You would only ever hear about the major successes, and there seemed to be very little failures published. The most expensive NFT to one owner sold for $69 million! That's crazy right? 

The average photographer or digital artist is highly unlikely to make that kind of money from NFTs, prints, or other methods. Many NFTs are now worth a fraction of the ridiculous amounts paid for them, and because of that, the market is dying. The lack of regulation in the crypto world makes the digital space a highly manipulative and dangerous place to do business with many scams, and personally, I would not touch it with a 10-foot pole. 

Clearly, I have a hatred for this digital world, and my feelings don't just stop at crypto, but I also have a strong dislike for AI imagery too! I searched one marketplace and found these GIFs of Peanuts selling for over $1,800 each. For just one moment, sit back and ask yourself why you would buy this. What would you do with it? Aren't there better things to spend your money on?

Buy Prints

In my opinion, the best way to support your favorite photographers or artists, is to buy a physical print of their work. As a photographer, seeing someone buy a print of my work is a fantastic feeling and even more so that I know it will be hung up in the client's house for them to enjoy, where their visitors or family can enjoy it too. A physical print can add beauty to a household or office, it can create discussion, or even inspire. NFTs don't do this in a typical way. The only thing they seemed to inspire from the outside world was pure greed. 

Call me old-fashioned or a grumpy old fart, I don't care. I prefer a tangible asset that I can proudly show off in my house on the wall, it has a physical value and can be bought or sold in a simple way. Simple really is the best sometimes, because it works. Why do we need to overcomplicate things by having a ridiculous format of technical mumbo jumbo to buy a token?

Greed

Maybe I am wrong? Tell me in the comments, but I think the only reason NFTs are minted is to be sold, then sold again, and so on, with the hope that you make more money than you paid for it. I mean, that is business in a nutshell, but the NFT world grew so quickly out of hand that many fingers got burnt. Some folks did become very successful selling their own creations in the digital marketplace, and fair play to them for making it work. However, in my opinion again, I'd rather do things in a more natural, traditional way. 

NFTs and crypto are known to not be environmentally friendly, and this is in a time when we really should be doing more to help our world. I also mentioned how unregulated it is earlier, and because of this digital world being very speculative, it's just a risk that most people should stay clear of. Looking at the peanut example above, you could do so much more with the money. With $1,800, take a vacation, buy some camera gear, take a loved one out for an amazing night out or weekend away, create memories, help a struggling friend, the options are endless.

Blocked, not Blockchain

Every time I see the words "GM" on Twitter or other social media, it serves as a very quick reminder for me to mute and block them. Anyway, I digress. So, what are your thoughts on crypto and NFTs? Love them or hate them? Let me know in the comments below.