NFT marketplaces are correcting a core mistake: volume never created value. The early model assumed more collections meant more demand. In practice, it led to thin liquidity, poor discovery, and one-time users.
What’s changed is builder behavior. Teams now design marketplaces around ongoing use cases, secondary market health, and creator payouts that actually work. Utility, not mint count, is what keeps buyers returning.
Marketplaces that still look like simple listing engines are fading. Those built around engagement and real workflows are surviving.