In the wake of NFT marketplaces like X2Y2 and Bybit shutting down, the headlines have been predictable: "NFTs are dead." But this view misses the forest for the trees.

What’s actually happening? The speculative phase is ending. The next phase—one grounded in utility, real-world applications, and economic design—is already underway. And Polkadot is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation.

The Marketplace Collapse ≠ Death of NFTs

X2Y2, once the 4th largest NFT marketplace, is shutting down. Its team is pivoting to AI. On the surface, that might seem like a blow to NFTs. But look deeper:

NFTs are shifting from speculative marketplaces to digital infrastructure. That’s not the end, it’s an evolution.

What Are NFTs Becoming?

The new NFT growth wave is about enabling:

  • Gaming economies (skins, items, character IP)
  • AI model authentication (training set provenance and certification)
  • Fan loyalty & engagement (proof of fandom, access, experiences, and engagement)
  • Digital identity (soulbound tokens, reputation systems)

The speculative phase focused on collectibles and trading is over, but NFTs are now entering their next growth era as core infrastructure, enabling massive opportunities in gaming, AI, fan engagement and content authentication.

As Charu Sethi told Cointelegraph

Find out more about why this has sparked many conversations in the Web3 space, and let us know your thoughts.

NFTs are not JPEGs that you collect, buy, sell, and make money. “They are a very deep level core technology — like HTTPS — where the technology itself will play a very small part in every new use case it covers, but it will enable new business models.

Alexander Mitrovich, CEO of Unique, also shared his insights ​in a recent episode of the Alpha Un# podcast, with host Srikumar Misra, emphasizing that NFTs extend far beyond simple and repetitive digital collectibles.

The conversation follows through into AI, where Alex Mitrovich talks about how NFTs play a vital role in the world of AI and how they can facilitate everything from digital certificates, content posts to medically approved textbooks:

“For AI, I refer to NFTs as certificates of everything.”

“You certify the output — whether it’s art, opinions, tweets, or a trade — directly as it's generated.”

“If you can prove to a medical board that an AI was trained exclusively on approved textbooks, you can have an AI doctor. But to do that, you need certified input data — and that’s where NFTs come in.”

We’re stepping into a new generation of dynamic and mutable digital assets, even more so in the music and video industry, where “NFTs can give artists something they’ve never had before: a personal relationship with each fan”.

This enhances the fan engagement experience between an artist and a fan, connecting them on different levels in this digital realm. This also enables artists to reward their fans in more ways than before.

Alex mentions:

“It’s like when Facebook groups first came out — people finally found their tribe. NFTs can give that same moment to music and creator communities.”

He’s been highlighting this vision and narrative since the early NFT days, including on stage at NFT NYC in 2021, where he spoke about NFTs as digital infrastructure that goes far beyond the common use cases we’re familiar with today.

The Polkadot Advantage

While other popular chains are still dealing with royalty drama, gas wars, or governance issues, Polkadot already has:

  • Unmatched scalability: While Solana captured Web3 by claims of being fast and cheap, Polkadot is 50x faster and cheaper, and it’s continuously improving while staying reliable since launch.
  • NFT XCM: True native cross-chain NFT movement - an initiative driven by Unique Network
  • Composable standards: NFTs as programmable building blocks
  • Advanced NFTs: We’re moving far beyond static NFTs with Dynamic, Nested, and Customizable NFTs
  • Projects like Mythical Games, Unique Network, KodaDOT, Evrloot, and many other NFT projects are spearheading the NFT charge on Polkadot.

Polkadot is not playing catch-up—it’s sitting on under-leveraged strengths.

From Mythical to Momentum

Major blockchain gaming company, Mythical Games, has:

This is a proof point, not the whole playbook. We now need:

  • Indie game studios and experienced launchpads for them
  • Digital designers
  • Loyalty programs and fan-driven economies
  • And more…

Strategic Next Steps for Polkadot

To lead this wave, we suggest the Polkadot ecosystem must:

  1. Unify Developer Tooling: Ensure we have at least one best-in-class full tech stack, and grow from there
  2. Showcase Flagship Use Cases: A curated index of top DOT-native NFT projects (art, gaming, loyalty, AI)
  3. Highlight the top curated NFT stories to the world: 12,833,910 (and counting) NFTs transferred to Polkadot via Mythos Chain
  4. Use XCM as Differentiator: Incentivize cross-chain NFT applications
  5. Build a Public Analytics Layer: Help devs, investors, and collectors see real activity
  6. Launch Ecosystem Funds: Support artists, game studios, and IP builders through milestone-based grants (milestones focused on user onboarding).

Reframing the Narrative

Polkadot must proudly say:

"NFTs aren’t dying. They’re evolving. And Polkadot is where they’re evolving fastest."

Let’s move beyond static and repetitive profile pics and show the world that Polkadot NFTs power:

  • Real users
  • Real gameplay
  • Real engagement
  • Real AI infrastructure

This is our opportunity to own the narrative—and shape the future.

Join the Polkadot Ecosystem!

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