The NFT market continues to face headwinds amid a broader crypto downturn. According to CryptoSlam data, NFT sales volume dropped 4.7% in the second week of April, totaling $94.7 million. This marks a continued slide from the previous week\u2019s $102.8 million and reflects weakening sentiment across the digital collectibles space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decline in sales volume isn\u2019t isolated. The number of NFT buyers<\/strong> plunged by 77.9% to 128,244<\/strong>, while sellers<\/strong> fell by 75.2% to 85,792<\/strong>. Total NFT transactions<\/strong> also dropped by 6.3%<\/strong>, reaching 1,441,009. The downturn aligns closely with a dip in broader crypto assets \u2014 Bitcoin<\/strong> is hovering around $83,000<\/strong>, while Ethereum<\/strong> has fallen 13.5%<\/strong> over the past week to trade near $1,500<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The total crypto market cap now stands at $2.63 trillion<\/strong>, as risk appetite fades and capital flows out of digital assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite ETH\u2019s price drop, the Ethereum blockchain<\/strong> posted a 41.3% increase in NFT sales volume<\/strong>, leading all networks with $36.1 million<\/strong> in transactions. However, this strength wasn\u2019t enough to reverse losses from other chains:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Polygon has also emerged as the new leader in wash trading volume<\/strong>, registering $2.6 million<\/strong> \u2014 a 232.6%<\/strong> jump \u2014 while Ethereum\u2019s wash trading volume fell by 9.2% to $2.5 million<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a notable shift, Courtyard<\/strong> on Polygon<\/strong> retained the #1 spot<\/strong> among NFT collections, notching $15.6 million<\/strong> in sales with a 6.1%<\/strong> increase. Meanwhile, CryptoPunks<\/strong> rebounded strongly, jumping 168.3%<\/strong> in sales to take second place<\/strong> at $9.1 million<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other top-performing collections include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the market’s dip, collectors are still shelling out big for premium NFTs. The week\u2019s standout was CryptoPunks #3100<\/strong>, which sold for 4,000 ETH ($6.04 million)<\/strong>. Other notable sales included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As regulatory pressure continues, OpenSea<\/strong> has formally requested that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)<\/strong> clarify that NFTs are not securities and that NFT platforms like OpenSea are not “exchanges” or “brokers.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a letter addressed to Commissioner Hester Peirce<\/strong>, OpenSea emphasized that NFT transactions are peer-to-peer and conducted on-chain<\/strong>, with the platform merely acting as a discovery engine<\/strong>\u2014not a financial intermediary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n OpenSea urged the SEC to issue an interpretive release or bulletin<\/strong> clarifying that NFT marketplaces should not be treated under the same rules that govern securities exchanges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The request comes after OpenSea received a Wells notice<\/strong> in 2024, though the SEC dropped the investigation<\/strong> earlier in 2025 following President Donald Trump\u2019s directive to pause crypto enforcement actions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The NFT market continues to face headwinds amid a broader crypto downturn. According to CryptoSlam data, NFT sales volume dropped 4.7% in the second week of April, totaling $94.7 million. This marks a continued slide from the previous week\u2019s $102.8 million and reflects weakening sentiment across the digital collectibles space. NFT Market Downtrend Deepens The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73,63],"tags":[94,720,291],"class_list":["post-7795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blockchain","category-crypto-news","tag-blockchain","tag-crypto-punks","tag-nft"],"yoast_head":"\nEthereum Retains Blockchain Dominance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Courtyard Dethrones CryptoPunks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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High-Value NFT Sales of the Week<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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OpenSea Pushes Back Against SEC Oversight<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The NFT market is clearly in a cooling phase, with sales, user engagement, and transaction volumes all trending down. However, highlights like Courtyard\u2019s rise, high-value CryptoPunks sales, and Ethereum\u2019s resilience suggest that top-tier assets and innovation are still drawing attention. Meanwhile, OpenSea\u2019s regulatory stance signals a growing urgency to define NFT marketplaces\u2019 legal status before another wave of enforcement begins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"