NFT sales surge as speculators pile in, sceptics see bubble

FILE PHOTO: A television crew is seen next to the non-fungible token (NFT) "CryptoPunk #7523", a series of 10,000 unique pixel-art characters made by Larva Labs in 2017, during a media preview for the "Natively Digital: A Curated NFT Sale" auction at Sotheby's in New York City, U.S., June 4, 2021. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - Non-fungible token (NFT) sales surged in August, according to the largest platform for the burgeoning digital asset class, as speculators bet growing interest across the art, sport and media worlds will keep prices rising.

The niche crypto asset, which is a blockchain-based record of ownership of a digital item such as an image or a video, exploded in popularity in early 2021, leaving many confused as to why so much money was being spent on items which do not physically exist.