Should You Actually Buy NFTs as an Investment? The Honest Pros and Cons
A balanced look at what makes NFTs a genuinely different asset to hold, and the specific risks that got glossed over during the 2021 boom.
By Firoz Khan|16 September 2026|Updated 20 September 2026|7 min read
NFTs as an investment attract two equally unhelpful reactions: total dismissal as a fad, or uncritical enthusiasm carried over from 2021. Neither holds up well against the actual risk and return profile of the asset, which is genuinely worth weighing on its own terms.
The genuine case for
Ownership of a specific, provably unique digital asset is a real property NFTs deliver that didn't exist in the same verifiable form before. Some collections have built lasting communities and utility, event access, ongoing membership benefits, that extend well beyond pure image speculation, and a small number of blue-chip collections have retained meaningful value across multiple market cycles.
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The genuine case against
Liquidity is a serious, persistent problem, unlike a share or a widely traded cryptocurrency, a specific NFT can only sell to a buyer who wants that exact piece, which can mean weeks or months with no buyer at any price, not just a lower one. Valuation is largely narrative-driven with no earnings or cash flow underneath it, and the market overall has seen trading volume and prices fall sharply and durably from their 2021 peak.
The risk that's easy to miss entirely
Most NFT artwork is stored off-chain, with only a reference or link recorded on the blockchain itself. If that external hosting disappears, through a company shutting down or simply neglecting the infrastructure, the token can persist on-chain while the actual artwork it's supposed to represent becomes inaccessible.
A fair way to approach it, if you're going to at all
Treat any NFT purchase as illiquid, high-risk speculation on a specific community and narrative continuing to hold value, size it accordingly, and never as money you might need back on a specific timeline. Checking where the underlying file is actually hosted, and how permanent that arrangement is, matters more than most buyers realise at the point of purchase.
A reminder
The FCA risk warning still applies to higher-risk crypto content. Always assess how much risk you are willing to take before buying.
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