While the broader crypto market showed modest recovery this week, the NFT sector faced a setback, with overall sales volume falling by 4.7% to $95.9 million, according to the latest data from CryptoSlam. The surprising dip in sales came even as participation in the NFT market grew significantly—indicating rising interest but decreasing average transaction value.
Crypto Market Rebounds, NFT Sales Falter
Bitcoin climbed back to the $85,000 mark, and Ethereum rose 2.4% over the past week to hover near $1,600, pushing the global crypto market cap to $2.69 trillion, up from $2.63 trillion the week prior. Despite these gains, NFT sales failed to follow suit.
NFT Buyer & Seller Activity Soars
Although dollar volume is down, NFT engagement is booming:
- Buyers increased by 96.6% to 252,354
- Sellers surged 79.2% to 153,892
- Total NFT transactions rose 10.4% to 1,569,670
These stats suggest a growing user base and transaction volume, despite smaller average purchases.
Blockchain Rankings: Ethereum Still Leads, Bitcoin Gains Ground
Ethereum retained its dominance in NFT sales but saw a sharp 38.7% drop to $21.6 million, with wash trading declining 23% to $2.1 million.
Other top blockchains by NFT sales volume:
- Polygon (POL): $21.1M (+21.5%)
- Bitcoin: $17.2M (+42.2%)
- Mythos Chain: $14.9M (+5.4%)
- Solana: $6.8M (+7%)
In terms of user growth, Solana led with 133.7% more buyers, followed by Bitcoin at 128.9% and Polygon at 125%.
CryptoPunks Sales Collapse 80%—But Still Dominate Top NFT Sales
One of the week’s most dramatic shifts came from CryptoPunks, a historic Ethereum NFT collection. Sales plummeted 80.5% to just $1.7 million, falling from $9.1 million the previous week. The collection also saw major declines in:
- Transactions: down 51.2%
- Buyers: down 56.6%
- Sellers: down 59.4%
Despite the plunge, CryptoPunks still dominated high-value NFT sales, taking four of the top five spots. The highest sale of the week, however, came from SuperRare #10093, which sold for 255 ETH ($419,772).
Other notable sales:
- CryptoPunks #3873: 165 ETH ($259,514)
- CryptoPunks #1820: 72.69 ETH ($118,299)
- CryptoPunks #1999: 65 ETH ($103,110)
- CryptoPunks #7163: 62.5 ETH ($99,167)
Top NFT Collections This Week
- Courtyard (Polygon) – $19.5M (+24.6%)
- DMarket – $9.7M (+8.8%)
- Guild of Guardians Heroes – $3.8M (+3.6%)
- Bitcoin BRC-20 NFTs – $3.6M (+42.1%)
- CryptoPunks – $1.7M (−80.5%)
Final Thoughts
The NFT market appears to be in a state of transition, where broader participation doesn’t necessarily equate to higher sales volumes. While collections like CryptoPunks saw steep drops in performance, the overall activity suggests that users are increasingly exploring lower-cost NFTs or diversifying their interests across blockchains.
The coming weeks will determine whether increased activity translates into renewed sales momentum or if the NFT space continues to shift toward higher engagement but lower per-sale value.
