NFTs may seem like they came out of nowhere, but they are an innovation that has been worked on for several years.

2017: NFT first gained widespread public attention through CryptoKitties, a project of sorts in which customers breed and sell digital cats.
2018: the emergence of a mini hype led to venture capital-led investments, and platforms were created to buy, promote and coin NFTs such as: SuperRare, OpenSea, Rarible and Nifty Gateway.
2019: Huge manufacturers such as Formula 1 and Nike entered the market.
2020: The NFT market tripled to $250 million.
During the first few months of 2021, we could see an explosion of NFT.

Much of this NFT market behavior can be attributed to the launch of at least one NFT platform: the NBA Prime Shot by Dapper Labs, launched in October 2020 with the support of the basketball league.
On Prime Shot, customers can buy digital packages that contain NFT called “moments” – short video clips of NBA highlights such as a memorable dunk. Kathy Tedman, head of partnerships, advertising and marketing at Dapper Labs, says the platform now has 511,000 registered customers and more than $301 million in gross sales in just five months of operation.

Consultants says the rapid growth of NFTs such as Prime Shot is due quite simply to related events in the world and cryptocurrency community.

COVID-19 has made us more digitally connected. People working from home are finding extra time to interact in digital areas, so they find themselves more open to digital goods and vendors.
The rise in popularity of cryptocurrency has sparked a curiosity for a different type of digital property.
Large companies (e.g. auction house Christie’s) have gained the trust and status of NFT by taking part in bidding.
Irreplaceable items tend to thrive in times of financial turmoil. When traditional currency is on the verge of collapse, attention always shifts to other exclusive values.

The principles that determine the value and trends of NFT in the future are very simple.
Authenticity. Collectibles have all sorts of authenticity mechanisms, and none of them can provide a one hundred percent guarantee (even famous art appraisers have been fooled by fakes). By contrast, NFT originality is anchored on the blockchain.
Limited quantity. Many NFTs are unique or limited. For example, only 10,000 crypto-punks have been launched. Of these, only 24 are “monkeys.” And physical objects of art in digital form are one of a kind.
Transferability. A token can be resold to almost anyone around the world, which means it has a wider range of potential consumers.