Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) continue to amass popularity within and outside the cryptocurrency space as investors continue to be interested in the creativity behind the digital pieces. The NFT market constitutes a relatively small portion of the cryptocurrency space, but it’s now looking like things are about to change. The digital artist and creatives in the market seem to be the biggest beneficiary of the attention, as they have racked in millions of dollars in revenue for their works. However, according to a Google Trends data analytics shared by crypto analytics firm- Unfolded, searches for NFTs are at a record high and can even be compared to Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) searches in 2017, a year which ICOs became so popular in the cryptocurrency market.

NFTs bringing back memories of ICOs in 2017

According to the Google Trend analysis provided to Unfolded, searches concerning NFTs had gone so high that they match up with the same rate for ICOs, when they were a trend in 2017. The crypto community started to gain massive recognition in 2017 when ICOs became a thing amongst many crypto investors and users. The same year also witnessed an upturn in the fortune of Bitcoin, the crypto space’s leading and biggest digital asset by market cap, as the digital asset reached $20K for the first time in its history.

Unfortunately, the downward turn of Bitcoin’s fortune in 2018 led to an overall collapse of many digital assets, which naturally affected ICOs too. However, according to Google Trends, the growing interest in NFTs is now bringing back those memories. The rise in fortunes of NFTs started early last year, as many crypto investors started to find the unique digital media representation works appealing. Another factor contributing to the NFT space’s growth is the popularity of the works of its creatives, including PAK, CryptoPunks, and Beeple. The latter just sold the most expensive NFT in history for $69 million.

NFTs have a long way to go, despite the rapid adoption

NFTs began to gain popularity last year, as the rise of many digital marketplaces like Nifty Gateway has started to help the creatives generate revenue with their works. The NFT space had reportedly made close to $250 million the whole of last year. Fortunately, after the sale of Beeple’s most expensive NFT in history, the NFT space had grossed $400 million in revenue, barely three months into the year. This has been one of the driving factors behind the market’s growth, backing-up the unique digital tokens.

However, while ICOs, which NFTs are being compared to, failed to live up to the hype they were subjected to by many within the crypto space, many believe that the NFT space will thrive beyond the failed $23 billion worth ICOs. However, the future of NFTs is a bright one, as many are expectant that the unique digital tokens whose adoption has spread into Sports, Entertainment, and the mainstream cryptocurrency market, will continue to thrive.