On the microblogging platform Twitter, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the popular author of the seminal book “Black Swan,” criticized the nascent non-fungible token (NFT) industry, pointing to the incredible decline in value of some tokens since their peak.
Through his tweet, Taleb launched a vigorous barrage of criticism against NFTs, claiming their suboptimal status as an investment choice. He attributed this to their inherent lack of intrinsic value coupled with the increased level of speculative behavior they promote.
Taleb’s tweet was in response to one posted by another user highlighting the initial tweet from Twitter’s co-founder and current CEO of Block Inc, Jack Dorsey, was sold as an NFT in March 2021 for a whopping $2.9 million, while the most recent bid was at a relatively measly $1.14.
A sign of mental deficiency is “investing” in NFT. The problem is that it was obvious 2 years ago.
H/[email protected] https://t.co/aB0ylIVDko
— Nassim Nicholas Taleb (@nntaleb) July 19, 2023
Taleb’s scathing criticism comes amid a significant downturn in the NFT market, with the average selling price of these tokens dropping by more than 90% from its peak in several instances. Taleb had said in April that the “NFT thingy” was “starting to crack.”
Dorsey’s first tweet, after being converted to an NFT, initially received an offer of $2.5 million, but after going back up for sale in 2022, the asking price was $47.7 million.
While the NFT market is shrinking, the cryptocurrency market is recovering. Ethereum, one of the most popular networks on which NFTs are issued, recently surged to test the $2,000 mark, and a popular analyst recently revealed that he sees nearly 60% upside potential.
As CryptoGlobe reported, institutional investors appear to be increasingly turning to cryptocurrencies as crypto investment products have recently seen a significant influx of funds, with products focused on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP leading the way.
Ethereum’s net flows to date remain negative, with investors making $63 million from these products so far this year. Similarly, products targeting multiple digital assets saw $200,000 in inflows last week, but $35 million in outflows this year.
Featured image via Pexels.