NFTs market hits $22bn as craze turns digital images into assets

Critics of non-fungible tokens say they are symptomatic of unsustainable digital gold rush

The global market for non-fungible tokens hit $22bn (16.5bn) this year as the craze for collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and Matrix avatars turned digital images into major investment assets.

NFTs have drawn from veteran investors similar warnings to those issued about cryptocurrencies: that they are symptomatic of an unsustainable, digital gold rush. NFTs confer ownership of a unique digital item - whether a piece of virtual art by Damien Hirst or a jacket to be worn in the metaverse - upon someone, even if that item can be easily copied. Ownership is recorded on a digital, decentralised ledger known as a blockchain.