People are excited about NFTs, but still don’t know what to do with them, UTA survey finds

NFTs have been barreling through culture and commerce toward an undecided future of either having a lasting impact on digital ownership or being a frothy fad. Giving a better glimpse of the road ahead is a new survey from United Talent Agency’s Web3 division and its data, analytics, and research arm, UTA IQ.

“It became a strong curiosity of ours to try to understand where this marketplace is really going,” says Joe Kessler, global head of UTA IQ. “What it’s really comprised of? Who’s really participating? And who do we think is going to be participating down the road?”

UTA’s survey, conducted among more than 1,500 U.S. teens and adults ages 16-54, found 6% of respondents currently own an NFT but 38% want to own one in the future, which equates to a potential market of 65 million people. The predominant demographic for NFT ownership heavily skews male (59%), millennial (62%), white (66%), and with an average household income of $92,000.

But the NFT marketplace may be headed toward more inclusivity across the board, albeit with marginal gains.

Out of the people who don’t currently own NFTs but intend to in the future, 46% are female compared to 53% males. Gen Z and Gen X will have more of a presence at 16% and 33%, respectively (millennials 51%). Black (10%), Asian (12%), and Hispanic (15%) populations are projected to own more NFTs, although they’ll still dwarfed by white owners at 64%. And the median household income is expected to drop to $81,000.

The most desired types of NFTs (e.g., digital art, trading cards/collectibles, etc.) will remain steady with music and video games tied for number one—but future NFT owners are far more interested in redeemable physical goods and TV show/film assets than owning memes or brand-related moments.

UTA’s survey also looked into the key market drivers for NFTs and found profit and pride tied at 63%, followed by owning product (50%), fandom (48%), and access (37%).

“There is this notion of the flex in the NFT space, and digital ownership inherently associates with the flex,” says Lesley Silverman, head of Web3 at UTA. “And so there’s a whole new generation of people who will feel really seamless about the idea of digital ownership and physical ownership.”

There’s also projected to be a surge in NFT creation by consumers: Currently 2% have created an NFT, but 3 in 4 are interested, which equates to 125 million consumers.

All that said, there’s still a major education gap in the NFT space. According to UTA’s survey, 69% of people don’t know how to purchase NFTs or what to do once they own one.

“There will be reduction of friction getting into the space because new application layers have been built and companies have been focused on building toward helping people onboard more quickly and seamlessly,” Silverman says.

What also needs to be addressed in order to have a sustainable market are the top concerns among current and future NFT owners: having an NFT stolen or being scammed (58%), market fluctuation (49%), and the environmental impact of minting NFTs (22%).