The utility vs culture debate is broken because we call everything "NFTs" while mostly thinking about PFPs.
People mainly expect financial appreciation from pfp mints. Any "utility" demand is usually a proxy for that.
Some PFP projects find long-term PMF, but that's one in a thousand. It happens by pivoting beyond their core community into things like IP (Pudgies' Instagram dominance, Claynos, Azuki...) or gaming (BAYC's Otherside, Sappy's Omnia).
Buying 10 projects on a new chain expecting founders to "make holders rich" is naive. You're likely paying for someone's first startup tryout where Discord games and Twitter memes will be the only deliverable.
AND I ACTUALLY THINK THAT'S OK.
Adjust expectations to price. $50 for art, games, and community vibes? Great deal. Small, short-lived communities with shared interests are a feature, not a bug. I like hopping in and out.
1 ETH with promises of becoming a "lifestyle brand"? Now we need real execution.
A pfp JUST being a pfp is only a problem when expectations are mismanaged.
a lot of NFT projects do overpromise and underdeliver. But I think it’s important to remember that not all NFTs are meant to be utility driven or treated like equity.
To me, NFTs are more like luxury items or collectibles in Web2 like high end designer bags.
People buy them for different reasons: because they like how it looks, because it has cultural value, or because it’s rare and might appreciate over time. Some just enjoy collecting them just like art collectors do with physical art.
It’s not always about floor price or yield.
Same with art irl people don’t buy a painting expecting it to "deliver value" beyond the emotional or cultural meaning it holds for them.
That said, I totally agree that project teams still have a responsibility.
Even if the NFT is positioned as art or culture first, there should still be a long term vision and value creation not fake promises, not pump and dumps.
You can sell art without utility, but you still need intent and effort behind the scenes to make it meaningful.
So for me, it’s not about the utility, it’s about building with the right mindset.
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