Instead of chasing the fading Non-Fungible Token craze, Kevin O'Leary is Capital in rare physical collectibles and believes the future lies in Tokenize real assets.
“Shark” Kevin O'Leary says goodbye to Non-Fungible Token, bets millions on unique collectibles. Photo: CNBC
Kevin O'Leary , President of O'Leary Ventures and a familiar star of Shark Tank, just made a statement that attracted attention. He said that Non-Fungible Token are just a "fad".
💡 LATEST: "NFTs turned out to be a fad." @kevinolearytv draws a line in the sand, explaining he is only buying physical assets with future tokenized ownership claims—like his record-breaking $13M sports card—and not "pixels drawn digitally."
— CoinDesk (@CoinDesk) September 3, 2025
Thank you to @MidnightNtwrk 👋 for… pic.twitter.com/TcyQc3QnBf
Instead of chasing the now-faded craze, he opted to bet millions on unique physical collectibles , while also outlining a larger vision of bringing the Wall Street financial model to the blockchain.
Why is this news important?
- Moving away from Non-Fungible Token, O'Leary is Capital in unique physical (collectible) items. He and two other investors spent $13 million to co-own a "dual Logoman" card featuring Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, the only version in the world.
- O'Leary explains that over the past 20 years, most of the profits have gone to those who have bought unique items like this, the way he once invested in Andy Warhol paintings and luxury watches. He doesn't compete to win the bid, but rather co-owns: "I'd rather own a third than nothing."
- The card the shark bought was sold for just $75,000 years ago, but has now skyrocketed to $13 million. O'Leary joked: "Many grown men would cry when they saw it."
- Beyond sports cards, O'Leary has his eye on other items, from luxury watches to collectible toys like Pop Mart's Labubu, a market that is seeing exceptional growth in profit margins.
- While dismissing Non-Fungible Token, O'Leary doesn't deny blockchain technology. He believes Tokenize will become the optimal way to manage and trade physical assets.
Non-Fungible Token: purely digital assets, lacking physical existence > easily lose value when the craze fades.
Tokenize: tied to real assets (sports cards, paintings, watches, real estate...) > preserves tangibility, while increasing transparency and liquidation.
Bigger vision
- O'Leary positions this strategy as part of “Wall Street on chain,” which means bringing Wall Street's traditional financial model to the blockchain.
- He believes that blockchain infrastructure can:
Make asset management transparent;
Increase liquidation in less accessible markets;
Creating trust in a system that relies heavily on intermediaries.
- In addition to collectibles, O'Leary remains bullish on Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as key infrastructure areas like Mining and exchanges. However, he has made it clear that he will never buy a Bitcoin ETF , as he already owns the king coin.
The Current Non-Fungible Token Landscape
- In 2021, Non-Fungible Token was the symbol of the Web3 era :
Sales exploded from $22 million in 2020 to $15.7 billion in just one year and peaked at $23.7 billion in 2022.
A series of celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton, Steph Curry and big brands such as Nike, Adidas, Coca-Cola,... jumped into the game.
- But where is that glory now…?
By 2022, the Non-Fungible Token “bubble” began to deflate , volume dropped by more than 80%, and many popular collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club or CryptoPunks lost value dozens of times.
Entering the 2023-2024 period, the market continued to decline . In Q1/2025, Non-Fungible Token art sales were only 23.8 million USD, down 93% compared to the same period in 2021.
Non-Fungible Token volume in 2025 is expected to reach around $3.8 billion, down 4.6% from the second half of 2024.
The market is no longer as "hot" as before , but is shifting to a more stable state, with long-term potential in areas such as gaming Non-Fungible Token, collectibles and utility Non-Fungible Token .
Non-Fungible Token sales statistics by year. Source: CryptoSlam
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