While the broader cryptocurrency market continues its bullish momentum, the NFT sector is showing signs of strain. Despite a rise in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) prices, NFT sales volume dropped 6.15% over the past week, falling to $89.4 million, according to data from CryptoSlam.
Crypto Market Up, NFT Transactions Down
At press time, Bitcoin is trading above $94,000, while Ethereum is up 0.4% and hovering just below the $1,800 mark. Meanwhile, the global crypto market cap has expanded to $2.97 trillion, up from $2.69 trillion the previous week.
Despite the broader optimism in the crypto market, NFT activity presents a more complex picture. Buyer activity surged by 54.33% to 391,498 participants, and sellers increased by 45.06% to 223,311. However, total NFT transactions dipped by 10.25% to 1,404,451, suggesting that while more users are entering the market, overall trading frequency has declined.
Ethereum Holds the Lead
Ethereum remains the dominant blockchain for NFT sales, generating $25.1 million in sales volume a 22.07% increase from last week. However, Ethereum also saw a 57.01% surge in wash trading, reaching $3.4 million.
Behind Ethereum, the Mythos Chain climbed to second place with $15.1 million in sales, marking a modest 1.21% gain. Meanwhile, Bitcoin slipped to third with $14.7 million in NFT sales a 14.18% decline.
Polygon (POL) fell to fourth place after a sharp 53.63% drop to $9.9 million, while Solana (SOL) rebounded strongly with a 40.70% increase, rounding out the top five with $9.2 million in sales.
Notably, Solana led the surge in buyer growth with an 83.66% increase, followed by Polygon at 57.77% and Bitcoin at 52.82%.
CryptoPunks Resurgence
The week’s biggest surprise came from CryptoPunks, one of the oldest and most prestigious NFT collections. CryptoPunks jumped to third place in collection rankings, recording $3.6 million in sales a remarkable 106.19% increase. Transaction volume soared by 90%, while buyer and seller counts more than doubled, signaling renewed interest in the iconic project.
DMarket reclaimed the top spot among collections with $9.9 million in sales. Meanwhile, Courtyard on Polygon dropped to second after a steep 55.39% decrease to $8.8 million. Guild of Guardians Heroes secured fourth place despite a 7.05% decline, and Bitcoin’s BRC-20 NFTs rounded out the top five with $2.9 million, down 21.87%.
New entries in the top collections include Guild of Guardians Avatars and Pudgy Penguins, each generating around $1.5 million in weekly sales.
High-Value NFT Sales
Several notable high-value sales were recorded this week:
- Uncategorized Ordinals NFT: Sold for 6 BTC ($558,754)
- CryptoPunks #741: Sold for 317 ETH ($500,944)
- CryptoPunks #2301: Sold for 134 ETH ($233,817)
- SuperRare #10093: Sold for 173,700 USDC ($173,700)
- BoredApeYachtClub #6669: Sold for 99 ETH ($162,584)
Outlook: NFT Market at a Crossroads
While surging buyer and seller participation indicates growing interest, the decline in overall sales volume and transaction count points to challenges ahead for the NFT space. With traditional cryptocurrencies gaining strength, it remains to be seen whether NFTs can ride the next wave of investor enthusiasm or whether a market shakeout is still on the horizon.
