NFTs made a big boom in 2021, with sales of the “new tech” reaching an estimated 17 billion with a “b” that year. Certain individual NFTs sold for millions apiece. Many people in the general public gathered a vague understanding that NFTs meant owning something digital — and a lot of people thought it was pretty dumb. Was it because some high-value NFTs featured unremarkable renderings of grumpy gorillas, or because the concept of “owning” an image feels silly in an age when sharing and viewing digital files is easier than ever?

Whatever the reason, it was significantly harder to sell a JPG for a million dollars in 2024. The overall market is a fraction of what it was in…