And worse: pretty much everyone was aware of it, but thought that because they were aware of it and everyone else is a schmuck, they could benefit from it. Some did, but only if they liquidated their holdings last year.
NFTs this year was a microcosm of exactly that. Loads of people jumped on the bandwagon, buying up NFTs as they were released, but the whole thing collapsed again when it turned out the resale market just wasn't there. Except for the first movers.
The art market itself is a bubble. Famous art is primarily used for investment, tax avoidance, and sometimes money laundering. Occasionally someone will hang it on a wall and look at it, but it's more likely to end up in storage.
NFTs were designed as a microcosm of the art investment market, sold on the promise of increasing resale value - like the real thing.
Of course that didn't happen. But some artists made a lot of money, some dealers made even more, and some people made significant savings on their tax bills.
No. Some NFTs are definitely art, like the ones by @beeple on Twitter. There are also NFTs that work as a membership card for a community, like BAYC. And of course there are scams too. You're oversimplifying.
NFTs this year was a microcosm of exactly that. Loads of people jumped on the bandwagon, buying up NFTs as they were released, but the whole thing collapsed again when it turned out the resale market just wasn't there. Except for the first movers.