How to Make Money With NFTs in 2026: What Still Works

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Quick answer: Making money with NFTs is much harder than it was in 2021–2022. Trading volumes and prices have fallen sharply, and most collections are worth a fraction of their peak. The ways that still work are creating and selling your own art or digital products, earning royalties or utility from NFTs tied to real communities, games or tickets, and, for experienced traders, carefully flipping NFTs. Treat any NFT purchase as high-risk and only spend what you can afford to lose.

What are NFTs?

NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are unique tokens on a blockchain that prove ownership of a specific item, such as a piece of digital art, a collectible, an in-game item, a membership pass or a ticket. Unlike bitcoin or ETH, where each unit is interchangeable, every NFT is one of a kind. Learn more in what is blockchain.

The NFT market today

NFTs boomed in 2021 and early 2022. Since then, trading volumes and prices have dropped dramatically, several marketplaces have closed (including Foundation in 2025 and Nifty Gateway in 2026), and Coinbase shut its NFT marketplace in 2024. Blue-chip collections like CryptoPunks still trade, and a CryptoPunk sold for about $12 million in October 2025, but most projects from the boom are now illiquid. Go in with realistic expectations.

5 ways people make money with NFTs

1. Create and sell your own NFTs

Artists, photographers, musicians and designers sell NFTs directly to their audiences. Minting on low-fee networks like Base or Solana costs very little. Success depends far more on having an audience than on the technology. Start with our guide on how to create an NFT.

2. Earn creator royalties

Creators can set a royalty on secondary sales. Be aware that many marketplaces made royalties optional after 2023, so don’t count on them as reliable income.

3. Flip NFTs (buy low, sell high)

Traders buy NFTs they think are underpriced and resell them. It’s speculative and competitive. Check trading volume, the number of unique owners and how quickly items sell before you buy, because an NFT is only worth what someone will pay for it.

4. Use utility NFTs

Some NFTs give holders access to events, communities, in-game items or discounts. Their value comes from what you can do with them, not resale price. See the best blockchain games.

5. NFT gaming and play-to-earn

Blockchain games let you earn or trade in-game NFT items. Most play-to-earn economies have shrunk since 2022, so play for fun first and treat earnings as a bonus.

How to get started

1. Set up a self-custody wallet like MetaMask or Coinbase Wallet. See MetaMask vs Coinbase Wallet.
2. Buy a little ETH or SOL on an exchange and send it to your wallet.
3. Use an established marketplace such as OpenSea or Magic Eden. Our guide on how to buy NFTs walks through it step by step.
4. Start small and track every purchase and sale for taxes.

Red flags and scams to avoid

• Projects promising guaranteed returns, lottery-style payouts or passive income. These are often unsustainable or outright scams.
• “Free mint” links sent by direct message or posted in replies.
• Fake copies of popular collections. Always check the verified contract address.
• Paid whitelist spots from strangers.

Read our full guide to crypto scams.

Taxes on NFT profits

In the US, selling or trading an NFT at a profit is generally taxable, and income from creating NFTs is taxed as ordinary income. See our crypto tax guide.

Frequently asked questions