A Profile Picture (PFP) is a type of NFT collection that is intended to be used as the owner’s profile picture on a social media network.
A PFP, typically referred to as either a ‘PFP NFT’ or Profile Picture NFT is, as it sounds, a type of non-fungible token (NFT) that is part of an NFT collection that is intended to be used as the owner’s profile picture. They are mostly used for clout on social media networks such as Discord, Twitter, Reddit and GitHub, among others.
The first known PFPs were the Bored Apes Yacht Club (BAYC.) These are a collection of 10,000 unique limited-edition of Ethereum-based ERC-721 NFTs that were automatically generated from a combination of over 170 traits and were first released n late April 2021. The significant factor about the bored ape project is that each token was originally priced at 0.08 ETH and gave the owner access to not only proprietorship of the NFT, but also access to the Bored Ape Yacht Club which afforded the owner special perks. The Bored Apes are now valued at over $100,000 USD, with the highest resale being for $1.22 million USD. Total trading volume is estimated to be over $3.75 billion USD.
However, since then, the market has been inundated with NFTs and PFP NFTs, so it isn’t always so clear which ones will become more or less valuable over time. Regardless, they are currently an investment craze that is most likely a bubble, as can be seen from the seeming NFT crash of 2022. So as with any other digital asset or cryptocurrency, it is best to be wary and do your due diligence before investing in any.