The retail interest in NFTs presented a constant decrease, observing an annual historical minimum value.
The recent market turmoil has not only affected the major cryptocurrencies, but also the larger ecosystem, also impacting the growth and adoption of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Data from Dune Analytics highlighted that NFT trading has experienced a major downturn. From the peak of $17 billion in January, NFT trading volume has fallen to almost $470 million in September, a drop of 97% in nine months.
Is the NFT hype finally fading?
At the beginning of the year, NFTs were the big hype in the ecosystem, as celebrities, artists, and athletes joined the craze.
Big names like GameStop and Samsung announced plans to delve into the NFT space in January, reflecting increased institutional interest in the sector. With NFT sales reaching an all-time high of $17 billion along with growing institutional interest in the space, NFTs dominated “Crypto Twitter.”
Additionally, decreased retail and institutional interest in the space could be seen, as Google search trends for the word “NFT” saw a notable drop.
Retail interest in NFTs was highest in January and has shown a steady decline, currently sitting at all-time low annual levels.
This drop in interest and NFT trading volumes was catalyzed in part by the $2 trillion shed witnessed from the crypto market capitalization, due to tightening monetary policy.
How are the best projects going?
In general, the minimum prices of major NFTs have fallen significantly from their all-time highs. Nonetheless, CryptoPunks have managed to stay afloat and even gain some ground in the short term.
The current CryptoPunks price floor is 67.45 ETH and the 24-hour trading volume is 4.3123 ETH with 15 sales, while in the last 24 hours the CryptoPunks price floor is up 2.37%, according to data from NFT Price Floor.
Last 30 Days NFT Collection Rankings by Sales Volume explained that while top NFT collections such as BAYC, Sorare, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Otherdeed, and CryptoPunks all saw a loss in floor price as well as buyers and vendors, Ethereum Name Service (ENS), however, was in the green.
ENS sales, unlike most projects, saw a 126.18% increase in the last 30 days, while buyers and sellers also saw a healthy increase. However, during the last 24 hours, CryptoPunks had the highest sales, followed by Sorare.
Recent reports disclosed that over $100 million worth of NFTs were stolen between July 2021 and July 2022. With trading volumes declining and scams still prevalent, it remains to be seen what the fate of NFTs will be this year.
By Audy Castaneda
