During the height of the NFT boom in 2021, the internet was filled with stories of overnight millionaires, expensive JPEGs, and celebrity-backed collections. But according to Filipino Web3 personality JBond, that hype may have also hurt the industry.

In a  BitDigest exclusive interview, JBond explained that the problem with NFTs was never necessarily the projects or the artists, but how the space was portrayed to the public.

“It’s not necessarily the project’s fault, nor the artist’s fault,” JBond said. “But I think it’s the fault of how the media depicted it.”

According to him, many people entered NFTs chasing viral success stories and fast profits instead of understanding the deeper value behind the technology.

For JBond, NFTs were always more than speculation.

He compared high-value or legacy NFTs to iconic art pieces like the Mona Lisa, explaining that both hold value because of proof-of-ownership and cultural significance. While one exists physically in a museum and the other digitally on the blockchain, the principle remains similar.

This perspective challenges the common criticism that NFTs are “just screenshots.” For collectors and believers in the space, ownership itself is part of the value.

Interestingly, JBond also believes it may be healthier for the NFT market not to return to the extreme hype levels seen during the 2021 bull run.

For many long-term builders in Web3, excessive speculation attracted short-term participants focused only on profits. When the hype disappeared, many communities collapsed alongside the market.

But for JBond, the real value of NFTs was always rooted in people and culture.

In the interview, he clarified that being part of “alpha groups” was never his true purpose in the space. Instead, he emphasized belonging to communities built on shared values and genuine relationships.

“It’s more than just profits,” JBond explained. “We’re here together because we see eye to eye.”

As the NFT space continues evolving, JBond believes the future of Web3 may belong not to hype-driven traders, but to the communities and creators who stayed even after the noise faded.

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