‘Black Swan’ Author Nassim Taleb Believes Hype Around Non-Fungible Tokens Is Dissipating Due to Rising Interest Rates
‘Black Swan’ author Nassim Taleb thinks the non-fungible token craze may be coming to an end, according to a recent tweet.
The Lebanese-American mathematical statistician is convinced that higher interest rates will burst the bubble. Ongoing monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve should put pressure on risky assets.
Taleb pointed to the fact that the NFT value of Jack Dorsey’s very first tweet has all but lost its value.
Crypto entrepreneur Sina Estavi caused a stir last March after shelling out $2.9 million for the 15-year-old’s “just setting up my twtt” tweet. It was sold through an auction on the “Valuables” platform, which is managed by Cent. Dorsey then announced that he would donate the proceeds from the sale to charity.
As reported by U.Today, Estavi recently decided to sell his rare NFT. Initially, the contractor demanded $48 million for the exclusive copy of Dorsey’s first tweet.
However, the attempt to sell the NFT turned into a disaster soon after the auction started. Estavi has been the subject of mockery on social media after attracting tiny offers in the range of a few hundred dollars. The businessman was then forced to withdraw the initial price. At press time, the highest bid is only $18,221, which means the NFT has lost over 99% of its value.
Estavi told Reuters he wouldn’t sell the NFT to anyone because he thinks it’s the “Mona Lisa of the digital world”. The auction could end up being cancelled.
NFTs exploded in popularity in 2021, but many naysayers warn that this hype may not be sustainable.