The role of NFTs in the digital economy

According to DappRadar, NFT trading volume is expected to reach $50 billion in 2025, up 30% from 2024. In recent months, key blockchains such as Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon have introduced new mechanisms to optimize the handling of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), reducing fees by an average of 60% and increasing transaction speeds up to 10,000 TPS (transactions per second) through Layer-2 solutions.

These technological innovations have enabled the mass integration of NFT into traditional financial and enterprise solutions. According to Messari's report, over 40% of all NFT transactions 2025 will come from corporate and institutional applications such as programmable digital assets, real asset tokenization, and intellectual property management.

Current state of the NFT market

The NFT market in 2025 has changed significantly from the peak years of 2021-2022. Earlier, the focus was on digital art, but now utilitarian NFTs used in financial products, gaming assets, and real estate tokenization are taking a significant share of the market.

According to NonFungible's report, the number of active users of NFT marketplaces in 2025 will increase by 40% over 2024, surpassing 25 million. Leading platforms such as OpenSea, Blur, and Magic Eden have adapted their marketplaces to new usage scenarios, including integrating enterprise solutions and loyalty programs.

The main areas of application for NFT

Gaming industry and meta-universes

NFTs are firmly entrenched in the video game industry. In 2025, over 75% of blockchain games will use NFTs to own game assets. According to a report by Blockchain Game Alliance, blockchain game revenues will reach $20 billion in 2025, up 35% from 2024.

Games such as Illuvium, Star Atlas, and Big Time offer players the ability to own unique in-game assets and earn passive income. Virtual worlds such as Decentraland and The Sandbox have attracted over 2.5 million active users, and their NFT assets (land, buildings, and in-game items) have become valuable digital assets.

Digital art and collecting

NFTs remain popular among digital artists and collectors. Platforms such as OpenSea, Blur, and Foundation continue to attract millions of users. According to CryptoSlam, digital art sales through NFTs have exceeded $12 billion.

A new trend for 2025 is integrating AI-generated art and NFT to automate the creation and sale of unique works of art. Artists use AI models such as DALL-E 3 and Stable Diffusion to tokenize collections, which are then sold on specialized marketplaces.

Decentralized finance (DeFi)

NFTs have become an essential tool in the DeFi sector. In 2025, they will actively be used as collateral for lending on platforms such as NFTfi and Arcade.xyz. NFT collateralized financing has reached $5 billion, up 50% from 2024.

Fractionated NFTs allow investors to acquire stakes in high-value assets. For example, the CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club collections are actively used to create mutual funds that enable stakeholders to receive a portion of the proceeds from the resale or rental of NFT assets.

Real estate tokenization

In 2025, NFTs will be actively used in real estate, enabling the digitalization of ownership and simplifying transactions. Platforms such as Propy and Roofstock onChain have successfully tokenized over 15,000 properties, reducing due diligence costs by 30% and increasing transaction transparency.

Identification and digital passports

NFTs are becoming an essential digital identity tool. The Worldcoin and Polygon ID programs use NFTs as verified digital passports. According to the ID2025 report, more than 10 million users will register their NFT IDs in 2025 for secure access to digital services.

Prospects for NFT

As technology advances and consumer preferences change, NFTs continue to evolve, finding new uses in the economy:

• Growth in corporate use. Large companies like Nike and Starbucks have already integrated NFTs into loyalty programs. For example, Nike.SWOOSH has released over 2 million NFT collections for shoe customization, and Starbucks Odyssey uses NFT in rewards programs.
• Regulatory changes.The US, EU, and Japan have passed laws to protect consumers and prevent money laundering through NFT platforms. According to a Chainalysis report, the introduction of KYC/AML on major marketplaces has reduced fraud by 35% from 2024.
• Integration with artificial intelligence (AI). NFTs actively integrate with AI, creating dynamic tokens based on external conditions such as weather changes or user activity. This market is expected to grow to $8 billion by 2026.

Conclusion

NFTs have become a critical part of the digital economy of 2025. Messari predicts that the NFT market will exceed $75 billion by 2026. In 2025, NFT transactions grew 45% compared to 2024, and the average NFT purchase check increased 20% to $1,200.

The emergence of new standards, artificial intelligence, and increased market transparency create new opportunities for users and companies, further strengthening NFT's position.