NFTs are not dead: They are becoming the core digital infrastructure for AI and Web3 gaming.

Some people believe that NFT is dead. Others are waiting for the art speculation wave to explode again in the next market cycle. But both viewpoints miss out on the reality: NFT is neither outdated nor preparing for a speculative frenzy comeback. Instead, they are entering the most crucial stage in their development process – becoming the core digital infrastructure for gaming, AI, and machine-driven applications.

The market has evolved

Clear signs indicate that actual functionality is replacing speculation in the NFT space – and this trend is becoming increasingly sustainable. According to DappRadar, in Q1 2025, NFT transaction volume decreased by 24%, but the number of transactions only fell by 10%, suggesting a lower average price rather than users withdrawing from the market.

AI and social network DApps – which can leverage NFTs for agent identity, assets, reputation, and access – have seen strong growth. NFT categories that lean towards functionality such as real assets (RWA), NFT domains, and metaverse assets also continue to attract interest.

In the gaming sector, platforms like Mythical and The Sandbox are still experiencing steady growth as in-game assets provide real utility value. Cross-chain NFT remains the vision being pursued, but there are now real examples demonstrating their value for both developers and end users.

NFT in the era of autonomous AI

NFTs are created to verify digital ownership, identity, and programmability – not for speculation. The initial goal is to give individuals ownership of their digital lives: identity, health records, social media content, or creative works – all of which can be verified by NFTs. This is the foundation of the Web3 movement.

However, the wave of memecoins and the short-term financial frenzy have overshadowed that vision, leading the public to misunderstand NFT and Web3. Now, as the era of autonomous AI (agentic AI) rises – where coding merges with thinking – the core functionality of NFT is gradually returning. Autonomous AI agents require independent identities, memory, and access control mechanisms to operate effectively on the blockchain.

As AI frameworks continue to improve, NFTs are being deeply integrated into the infrastructure. They serve as a point of identity anchoring, a container for verification data, and access authentication information for agents operating in a decentralized environment. An agent associated with an NFT can autonomously access services, sign transactions, and activate contract logic – all of which are verified through the NFT. NFTs have now become operational components that can exist across contexts.

For example, the ReinforcedAI network on Bittensor issues NFTs as proof of completed Solidity audits, thereby enabling decentralized crypto evaluation and a transparent reward system. Similarly, NFTs are used to verify input/output processes in AI pipelines. Projects like Peaq use "machine NFTs" to provide identities and transaction permissions for devices such as autonomous vehicles and drones. As AI agents integrate deeper into the Web3 system, NFTs will be the foundation for tasks such as personal AI wallets to non-fungible autonomous agents.

User-friendly Web3 Wallet Paving the Way for Mass Adoption

Another important driving force is the development of social wallets. Users do not need to manage complex keys – they log in via email or social media accounts, while profile pictures, membership status, and authentication information ( are essentially NFTs) that become a part of their Web3 identity.

More than 50% of users aged 18-34 have frequently used social wallets, especially in games and community applications. These wallets prioritize UX and integrate NFTs into familiar interfaces. For example, players in social games may not know that their avatars, expressions, or achievements are NFTs – but those assets can move, exchange, and interact across platforms. This demonstrates that true ownership and an excellent user experience are key factors for the success of SocialFi applications.

NFT is becoming an "invisible" infrastructure

NFT do not disappear – they are quietly becoming the core infrastructure for asset ownership, transaction logic, and autonomous agent behavior in decentralized systems. NFTs support the ownership economy in gaming, serve as containers for identity and authentication information for AI, and enable payments and access control in machine-to-machine networks.

This is a major architectural shift – from collectible assets at the interface layer to the underlying infrastructure components in wallets, SDKs, and protocols. NFTs are providing a foundation for access control, data provenance verification, and interoperability, shifting their role from display assets to the "core" of the Web3 system.

Waiting for the NFT speculation wave to return as a measure of success is a mistake – real progress is happening at the infrastructure level, where NFTs are quietly becoming indispensable.

Thạch Sanh