NFT Paris & RWA Paris 2026 Scrapped in Wake of Late-2025 Crypto Market Collapse
Two of Paris's flagship crypto events vanish from the 2026 calendar. Organizers pull the plug on NFT Paris and RWA Paris, citing fallout from the late-2025 market crash that wiped billions from the sector.
The Domino Effect
When digital asset valuations crumble, real-world plans often follow. The decision to cancel both events reveals how quickly institutional interest can evaporate—sponsorships dry up, speaker lists shrink, and the business case for a glitzy conference simply disappears. It's a stark reminder that crypto's event circuit is funded by bull market exuberance.
Beyond the Hype Cycle
NFT Paris had positioned itself as a cornerstone of digital culture, while RWA Paris aimed to bridge blockchain with traditional finance. Their simultaneous cancellation signals a broader contraction. Projects are bunkering down, conserving capital, and focusing on survival over spectacle. The 'build in public' mantra gets quieter when the funding faucet tightens.
A Temporary Setback or a New Normal?
History suggests crypto conferences are resilient—they tend to roar back with the next bull run. But each crash reshapes the landscape. The focus may shift from lavish parties to utility, from speculation to infrastructure. For now, the silence from Paris is deafening. After all, nothing tests conviction like a bear market—except maybe trying to expense a Paris trip to your CFO during one.
Are NFT coming back?
In 2025, NFT creation continued, boosting the total number of collections. However, trading activity slowed down significantly.
NFT volumes already varied widely by chain, with ethereum remaining the most active network for legacy collections. Ethereum still carries $2.74M in NFT activity. Other chains include Solana, Polygon, Cardano, and Immutable.
Cardano and Bitcoin collectibles have gone through more active periods, depending on the popularity of specific projects. In the past 30 days, Bitcoin briefly held the leading position as the most active chain for collectibles.
NFTs on most L2 or new L1 chains are even less active, with practically negligible volumes. OpenSea continues to carry traffic for NFTs on Base, which relies on low transaction fees and low-cost activity.
NFTs as an idea still exist and are issued side by side with tokens, as an addition to games, or as community swag. At the same time, NFTs no longer store value and are rarely resold in high-profile auctions.
Top collections trade with lower price floor
Crypto Punks, Bored Apes, and Pudgy Penguins are still the top 3 NFT collections. For CryptoPunks, the price floor has fallen close to its all-time lows in 2024, at around 29 ETH.
Ape NFT are down to an all-time low floor of 5.52 ETH, while Penguins had a recovery to 5.15 ETH.
In the short term, NFTs still have price floor rallies or achieve high-value sales. Some of the NFTs are also part of treasuries and are changing hands at relatively high valuations. NFT building continues, but the market is extremely illiquid.
The cancellation of conferences is seen as a lagging indicator, as the NFT market bottom was already established. At the same time, building on-chain transactions and activity are expanding for new collections. Despite some collections crashing to zero, NFTs may make a comeback in another form.
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