NFTs are ‘Stayin’ Alive’ as new minting trends, AI and music-based projects thrive

cointelegraph.com:

In 2020, newly launched NFTs projects experienced costly gas wars that are gas priority auctions where buyers battle to secure their spot on the next block, potentially losing ETH to failed transactions. In 2021 digital scarcity and utility drove the NFT hype in the constantly surging markets and toward the end of the year, how much attention any collection received seemed to be at the mercy of influencers’ opinion. 

I feel you. It’s frustrating especially when tons of good projects with actual value and hardworking teams that don’t just disappear on their community are still so undervalued. Influencer culture invading the NFT space has had a horrible impact for the community.

Transitions have slowly emerged and have driven new entrants in with new sets of values that not only impact how projects are minted, but what is minted. In 2022, it seems the NFT ecosystem will emphasize “strong communities,” and exclusive collector utility.

Strong communities are what makes an NFT project succeed!We admire projects like @SOLgods_ @peskypenguins @SolanaCatCartel & @SolPatrolNFT Whichever project gets the most votes will be swept post our mint and airdropped to random minters!Let the games begin

There is no doubt that some shifts in trends have benefited some investors and communities, but there are investors who are meeting these changes with resistance. 

Let’s take a look at some of the new trends that are driving the pulse of the market and how these transitions could impact NFT investors in 2022.

Whitelists emerged as a shift in minting strategy after persistent gas wars left many collectors disgruntled and in search of alternatives. Whitelists are structured and modeled to benefit members who are active in the project’s mission