I mean, of course procedurally-generated jpg files are worthless bullshit. I’m a serious crypto aficionado and I never once bought a single NFT because I knew they were just images that anyone could view.
NFT’s, as you’re describing them here, were just a money-laundering scheme. But that’s not what NFT’s actually are. They’re a representation in a system that something is 100% unique (or part of a limited quantity). Since software engineering’s entire purpose is to model real-life in software, this concept was an absolute inevitability.
The story: someone generated a bored ape then sold it to themself for a 1,000,000% profit in an attempt to launder the ETH that person gained through illicit means in the shitcoin trades. It’s a tale as old as currency itsself: Beanie babies, trading cards, collectible art, collectibles in general. People are degenerate gamblers but NFT’s are actually an innocent technology co-opted by moonbois. Same deal with crypto in general. Greedy people ruin the reputation of anything they touch (or trade rabidly in this case).