As the NFT industry expands, choosing which NFT to buy is challenging.

Even people who follow NFTs for a living can’t keep up with this ultra-fast-paced industry.

However, there are always a few NFT collections with features that set them apart from the competition.

Below, we’ll reveal some of the most hyped NFT drops of 2023.

As the founders of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)—and the owners of the CryptoPunks—Yuga Labs remains the dominant NFT studio. Even in 2023, NFT collectors are paying fortunes for elite Bored Ape and Mutant Ape NFTs.

Although buying a Bored Ape is a dream for many NFT fans, there are less expensive ways people can join the Yuga Labs community. For instance, in 2022, Yuga Labs opened sales for “Otherside” metaverse land with “Otherdeeds” NFTs. According to recent reports, the Otherside should open sometime in 2023, which makes this an opportune time to claim some virtual territory.

While it’s still unclear how the Otherside will progress, it’s clear demand for Yuga Labs’ projects is strong in 2023.

Suggested image: https://elements.envato.com/female-runner-checking-smart-watch-M79DK22 Suggested description: Move-to-earn titles like Fight Out promise to reward users for meeting fitness goals.

“Move-to-earn” (M2E) is a category of crypto projects that reward people for staying active. In 2022, the M2E movement centered around Solana’s Stepn, but there are competitors in 2023. For instance, Fight Out offers users a whole-body fitness training and motivation platform. To keep people engaged, Fight Out offers its native FGHT cryptocurrency as well as 3D NFT avatars.

Anyone interested in breaking a sweat in the M2E sector may want to dig deeper into Fight Out’s NFTs.

Any NFT collection associated with the BAYC is bound to draw attention. Case and point: Wen Sandwich is a hot topic in the 2023 NFT scene.

In 2023, the famed BAYC NFT artist migwashere announced Wen Sandwich on his Twitter feed, and there’s now a domain for the project at wensandwich.xyz.

According to the latest details, anyone minting a Wen Sandwich NFT can mix and match over 100 pixelated ingredients (including bananas, Oreos, and peanut butter!). If the BAYC is any indication, Wen Sandwich NFTs will likely come with special perks, including a retro video game.

Whatever happens to the Wen Sandwich NFT community, plenty of NFT collectors are “hungry” for more details.

“Play-to-earn” (P2E) gaming is another hot segment of the NFT market. While there are dozens of P2E titles entering the crypto scene, Meta Masters Guild is gaining attention thanks to its multi-million-dollar presale rounds.

The Meta Masters Guild promises to offer a 3D P2E mobile gaming experience complete with NFT avatars. Currently, Meta Masters Guild says it will produce a Mario Kart-style racing game and an open-world metaverse called Meta Masters World.

People passionate about P2E should stay posted on Meta Masters Guild’s latest updates.

Tamadoge is another P2E metaverse project gaining popularity in the NFT ecosystem. Inspired by the iconic Doge meme, Tamadoge offers Shiba Inu digital trading cards. The team behind Tamadoge is currently building a “Tamaverse” metaverse in which NFT holders can play games, earn crypto rewards, and breed new NFTs. There are also reports Tamadoge will drop “baby dog” NFTs in the near future.

Crypto fans who love puppies and P2E are the best fit for the Tamadoge community.

NFTs are invading the Bitcoin blockchain. Thanks to the Ordinals Protocol, creators and collectors can write NFT “inscriptions” on the Bitcoin blockchain using a few Satoshis. Similar to NFTs on Ethereum or Solana, Bitcoin Ordinals can contain any form of digital media, including JPEGs, video files, or GIFs.

Although the Ordinals Protocol is highly experimental, many in the NFT community are excited about this new technology. Plus, since there are only 21 million BTC, claiming Ordinal space is exclusive. Anyone who loves cutting-edge crypto innovations should take a peek at the Ordinal Protocol’s website and whitepaper.

Markus Magnusson’s Invisible Friends collection was one of the most hyped NFT drops last year. In 2023, however, the “Garbage Friends” are ready to throw a “stink bomb” into the NFT marketplace.

According to Invisible Friends’ official website, this garbage-themed GIF collection will appear sometime in 2023. As the name suggests, “Garbage Friends” will feature an assortment of walking trash cans similar to the OG Invisible Friends collection.

Anyone fascinated with Magnusson’s art or the growing Invisible Friends community may want to add Garbage Friends to their “bucket list.”

Cool Cats are far from a new NFT project, but the team behind these cute Ethereum collectibles continues to innovate. Thanks to partnerships with The Sandbox and Hologram Labs, it’s easier for Cool Cats owners to bring their avatars into games and social media platforms. Plus, the Cool Cats team teased new character collections and journeys in the Cooltopia metaverse.

Like the BAYC, the Cool Cats is a classic NFT collection with many exciting plans for 2023.

“Open Edition” (OE) NFT collections are blowing up in 2023. Unlike traditional NFTs, OEs don’t have a capped supply, so buyers can mint as many as they want. However, most OEs are only available for a limited time, and NFT creators add “burning” features to their OEs for utility and scarcity.

“Proceed with Caution” is one example of a hot OE in 2023. The artist Lucréce’s colorful monster animations quickly rose in markets like OpenSea. As more artists experiment with using OEs and token burns to generate value, these NFTs may continue to be a dominant theme in the current market.

Since 2008, 9GAG has been the go-to site for fans of Internet culture and viral memes. The 9GAG team is also enthusiastic about jumping into Web3, and they released a new set of pirate-themed NFTs avatars at the start of 2023.

Called “The Captainz,” these 9,999 PFP NFTs will serve as a way into the “Memeland” metaverse. Captainz holders will get first access to the games and tokens 9GAG is building in its “Treasure Islandz” community.

Considering the success of 9GAG’s previous Memeland NFT collections, Captainz has all the traits of a top-performing collection.

Following Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, artist Jack Butcher put out an OE NFT collection using the famous Twitter check mark. After selling over 16,000 NFTs on mint day, people can’t stop using their Checks VV NFTs to create unique designs, memes, and riffs on famous works of art. Butcher also introduced burning mechanics to add exclusivity to the Checks VV project.

Depending on how Checks VV evolves, it might be the top generative art project of 2023.

Fashion brands like Nike and Lacoste are some of the biggest companies in the NFT market. Considering how receptive clothes brands are to crypto, it’s no surprise pro designers such as Sean Wotherspoon are using NFTs to build a community.

In 2023, Wotherspoon released an NFT collection of “Trunks” with virtual wearables and “Ink Bottles.” All of these NFTs pay homage to Wotherspoon’s streetwear sensibility and serve as a gateway into the MNTGE Web3 portal.

MNTGE plans to create a VIP online store offering physical clothes to NFT holders. So, fans of fashion trends may want to pay attention to MNTGE.

Hong Kong’s Animoca Brands is a massive force in the crypto community. From “Axie Infinity” and Magic Eden to The Sandbox and Flow, there are few NFT projects Animoca Brands isn’t involved with. Considering the company’s long history in the space, it’s not surprising Animoca is jumping into the NFT space.

Starting in 2023, Web3 collectors can join the Animoca community with a “Mocaverse” NFT. The 8,888 colorful animated “Moca” NFTs, each is in a different “tribe” of the Web3 ecosystem (i.e., Dreamers, Builders, Angels, Connectors, Neo-Capitalists). Considering Animoca’s size and reach in the crypto industry, it’s fair to say Mocaverse NFTs will carry a ton of utility well past 2023.

Artist Burnt Toast’s Doodles are some of the most recognizable PFP NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. Not only are dozens of celebrities holding Doodles NFTs, the singer Pharrell is the official Doodles brand ambassador.

To make these hot animated avatars more accessible, the Doodles team decided to release a “Doodles 2” collection on the gas-free Flow blockchain. Not only are Doodles 2 more affordable than the original 10,000 Doodles, they link with hundreds of wearable NFTs. People interested in creating their “Doodle ID” will have fun exploring the possibilities of Doodles 2.

The anime-inspired NFT collection DigiDaigaku is going primetime. Although this collection of 2,022 NFTs has grown since its 2022 launch, its company Limit Break announced a hot dragon collection. What makes these dragons so special is they’ll be in a Super Bowl LVII ad!

Recent reports show Limit Break spent $6.5 million to claim an ad spot during the 2023 Super Bowl. Once the QR code hits countless TV screens, fans can scan this code to mint a dragon DigiDaigaku NFT. Regardless of how these dragons perform in the secondary market, Limit Break’s TV ad marks a first for the NFT community.

Nike-owned RTFKT Studios is most famous for its 3D Clone-X avatars and sneaker NFTs. However, in 2023, RTFKT is focusing on space travel. Members of the RTFKT community can burn a Space Pod or Loot Pod NFT to create new spaceship NFTs known as Exo Pods or Lux Pods.

People who want to experience the ride to new dimensions with RTFKT can participate in the “Exodus Chapter One” with these NFT pods. There’s no telling where the Clone-X are headed, but it’s sure to be a memorable experience.

Ghost Boy Lives is one of the more mysterious NFT collections in 2023. According to the Ghost Boy Lives Twitter feed, the artist Evan Luza is the main man behind these spooky animated PFPs. A major reason people are gravitating towards Ghost Boy Lives is because of Luza’s experience in the NFT space. Most notably, Luza is one of the head designers of the popular Cool Cats NFT collection.

Considering how mainstream Cool Cats are, it’s understandable why collectors are going crazy for Ghost Boy Lives.

“6529” is a reference to the prominent NFT influencer who owns CryptoPunk #6529. In addition to collecting NFTs, Punk 6529 is a major NFT creator with many popular art pieces on markets like OpenSea. Although not every 6529 NFT has utility, many people immersed in NFT culture crave these memes and digital artworks.

People interested in tracking the trendiest NFTs offered by 6529 can visit 6529.io or follow @punk6529 on Twitter.

In 2022, The Sandbox metaverse hit a milestone after reporting 2 million users. Although there are countless metaverse projects in Web3, The Sandbox always tends to attract the most attention. Not only are crypto native collectors eyeing land in these metaverses, dozens of brands and celebrities are getting interested in exploring The Sandbox’s possibilities.

From Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton to The Walking Dead and The Smurfs, many big names are joining The Sandbox’s ecosystem. Even in 2023, buying virtual land in The Sandbox is a popular trade in the NFT market.

Suggested image: https://elements.envato.com/real-estate-form-GVE5X6P Suggested description: NFTs have the power to change property ownership rights in the real estate market.

It’s no longer far-fetched to use NFTs to buy physical property. Realtors are already talking about using NFTs for land deeds. To help navigate the changing environment, a new generative project called the “Real Estate Investment Club” (REIC) seeks to bring real estate ownership and trading into Web3.

REIC’s 3D avatars promise to bring together people interested in real estate investing with professional development perks, including education and in-person events. Although it’s still early in REIC’s project development, its potential applications make it worthy of a 2023 NFT watchlist.

No matter which NFT projects excite you the most, NFT.com helps you navigate this exciting industry. With an NFT.com Profile, you can access dozens of the hottest NFT markets from one site. NFT.com also makes it easy to sync multiple wallets, display NFT collectibles, and sell your digital artwork. Sign up for NFT.com today to get started on your NFT journey.