A cool strategy to avoid this is to simply not buy any.

It could hardly get more poetic. In the same week thatgaming companies have been jumping on the bandwagon, NFTs are now getting regulated.

President Joe Biden's infrastructure bill has finally passed, and among the many areas it covers, it appears that cryptocurrency is going to be regulated. Any crypto purchase of over $10,000 must now be declared to the IRS - and seemingly to avoid loopholes, NFTs and other digital assets will be considered cash.

Public accountant James Yochum breaks down the bill over onTwitter. If this analysis is correct, then crypto bros won't be able to enjoy the free-range they have up until now.

"In the business of creating/reselling #NFTs? Get used to filing Form 8300, and obtaining social security numbers and identification of your buyers", says Yochum. "You’ve got 15 days to report this information on Form 8300 and violation of 6050i is a felony. A Felony for selling NFTs, because digital asset is now concerned as 'cash'"

Well, they say that the flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long. NFTs had humble beginnings as ugly little polluters, before quickly evolving into even uglier ways toscrew over artistsandNeopets fans alike. Then of course, the triple A gaming scene caught a whiff of it, and jumped headfirst into the practice that is often associated with scamming and harming the environment.

But now that NFTs may be mercifully coming to an end - or at least had their growth halted - let's take a moment to appreciate their greatest hits. There's that time an NFT projectran off with $2.7 million, leaving consumers with nothing except ugly ape avatars. Then, we had Valvebanning them from Steam, upsetting nerds online. Then there wasanotherproject running with the money, just five hours after its launch. And last, but by no means least, someone actually spent$125,000 on an NSFW NFT of Twitch streamer Amouranth.

It remains to be seen if the infrastructure bill is actually enough for the so-called "right clickers" to declare victory. But in any case, the JPEG lovers are mad online, so we have that.