According to a Reuters report, NFT sales have hit new highs as interest in them has skyrocketed. The sales volumes of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) surged up to $10.7 billion. This represents an eightfold increase over the previous quarter.
NFTs utilize the blockchain to record the ownership of digital items such as videos, images, collectibles, or even land that individuals can purchase in virtual worlds.
A Surge In Sales
While the concept and popularity of NFTs have left many an individual baffled, their growth shows no sign of slowing down. The figures in the third quarter were up from $1.2 billion in Q1 and $1.3 billion in Q2, according to DappRadar. OpenSea, the biggest NFT marketplace, saw sales volumes in August reach $3.4 billion. The sales volumes remained strong in September, too, despite global markets tumbling.
What Is Driving The Ongoing Surge?
Experts believe that the gains made by cryptocurrencies during the Covid-19 pandemic are the chief driving force behind the growth of the NFT market. This is because NFTs are bought using cryptocurrencies. However, crypto enthusiasts have a different take, claiming that crypto assets have value irrespective of market conditions as they are independent.
However, estimates of the size of the NFT market vary, depending on what is included in the data. Transactions that occur off-chain, such as NFT sales at auction houses, are generally not captured by the data. Dapp Radar includes off-chain transactions and hence puts the total sales volume at $13.2 billion. CryptoSlam, which is another market tracker that does not include off-chain transactions, has put the figure at $9.6 billion. On the other hand, NonFungible.com tracks NFTs on Ethereum only and puts the total volume at $7 billion.
NFT Buyers Still A Small Minority
Despite the burgeoning interest and celebrities and other high-profile investors jumping on the NFT bandwagon, the number of individuals buying NFTs remains quite small. In Q3, only 265,927 active wallets were trading NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain.
Over half the NFTs sold in Q3 were priced between $101 and $1000. NFTs priced in the $1001 and $10,000 bracket accounted for 20% of sales, while 17% of sales accounted for NFTs priced at less than $100.
Most Popular NFTs
The most expensive NFT sale was a digital collage that was sold at Christie’s for $69.3 million. Auction houses still host sales that see NFTs sold for millions, but no other NFT or NFT collection has come close to this price since.
One of the most popular NFT brands that saw significant growth in Q3 was Art blocks. Art blocks is a US-based project selling NFTs of algorithmically generated digital artworks. As recently as Saturday, an Artblock’s NFT sold for around 2100 ETH, which was roughly $6.9 million at the time. Prices of Art Blocks have increased to an average of $15,100 per NFT, up from $3300 in July.
Gaming-related NFTs also saw a significant uptick, with the blockchain-based game Axie Infinity leading the charge with $776 million in revenue during Q3.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
