In the hours leading up to the tragic gas wars of the Otherside metaverse land sale, the fever pitch euphoria of nonfungible tokens (NFT) reached metaphorical all-time highs.

The market, though, was long overdue for a break – a break from minting drama — after nearly a year of frantic exponential growth, widespread speculation, and cultural prominence. It has now leveled off and has entered its first bearish cycle.

OpenSea’s statistical data provides a sombre picture of the market’s financial woes, with the floor prices of certain popular collections more than dropping from their peak highs.

The illustrious Bored Ape Yacht Club has dropped from its peak floor price of 156 Ether (ETH) in early May to 98.8 ETH as of this writing. CryptoPunks, meanwhile, has decreased from 125 ETH on October 2 to 50 ETH today.

Similar catastrophes have befallen other profile image projects (PFPs) such as RTFKT Studios’ CloneX, Azuki, Doodles, and even metaverse realms The Sandbox and Decentraland.

Cool Cats and World of Women, which were just six months ago considered blue-chips for their unique approach to intellectual property and community spirit, have seen the most severe drops in the value of their top collections.

The NFT market, on the other hand, is far from alone in this trend. The severe collateral damage of the Terra stablecoin problem has compounded macroeconomic factors of inflation, stock drops, and a lack of consumer affordability within the crypto business this week.

Despite the relaxed social atmosphere and cultural acknowledgement of WAGMI’s fallacies, seasoned artists, founders, and promoters of the space believe that the bear market will provide an opportunity for contemplation and restoration.

Founders and key shareholders are also relishing the opportunity to shift the discourse away from greed-driven floor prices and toward more mindful topics like utility, societal impact, and IRL connections.

Humility, resilience, and determination are the essential pillars required to create a resurgence, just as they were during the 2017-18 crypto winter.

Cointelegraph’s tech writer Tom Farren met with a variety of prominent thought leaders in the industry to get a complete overview of how NFT projects may preserve and continue to fulfil their founding philosophy, community values, and roadmap objectives.