The year got off to a shaky start for NFTs, with large collections struggling to maintain their value amid continued bearish sentiment. Rock bottom prices fell across the board as trading volumes declined, leading many to wonder if the NFT market could recover.
But as the year progressed into the final quarter, new bullishness emerged in the broader cryptocurrency market setting the stage for a revival late in the year. Keep your expectations in check. It wasn’t a 2021/2022-esque gold rush, but the change in atmosphere was welcomed by the NFT faithful.
Leading the charge was Pudgy Penguins, a collection that once fell into disrepair and which has flourished under a new owner from 2022. new all-time highs above $100,000 awaiting its symbolic airdrop.
This revitalization came as competition in the NFT market intensified in 2024. Platforms like Magic Eden, Blur, and OpenSea competed for dominance and spurred innovation through the inclusion of new blockchains and trading types.
From a slow start to an exciting finish, 2024 reminded the world that the NFT space is as dynamic and unpredictable as ever, fueled by the community’s passion and constant drive for innovation.
Here are some of the biggest themes of the year in NFTs in 2024.
Bitcoin Ordinals find their footing
Although introduced in early 2023, Bitcoin ordinal numbers– or Bitcoin NFTs, more or less – have really come into their own this year thanks to significant infrastructure upgrades and increasing adoption. Early challenges, such as the lack of easy-to-use wallets and marketplaces, faded as wallets like XVerse and Unisat made storing Ordinals safer and easier.
Meanwhile, trading became more seamless as marketplaces like Magic Eden and OXK added critical support, dramatically improving from the chaotic early days of trading Bitcoin Ordinals via spreadsheets on Discord servers.
This infrastructure evolution paved the way for high profile projects to come into the spotlight and helped in that regard “bringing about a renaissance in activity on Bitcoin,” according to Franklin Templeton.
Bitcoin Puppets and NodeMonkes led the charge, jumping from modest coin prices to highs of 0.469 Bitcoin ($33,000) and 0.897 Bitcoin ($56,000), respectively, according to Magic Eden. Although prices have since fallen back to 0.138 ($14,000) and 0.125 Bitcoin ($12,650) respectively, with the price of BTC itself being much higher, their impact on the Ordinals ecosystem remains significant. And other high-profile projects like Quantum Cats and Ordinals Maxi Business have also found avid collector bases.
NFT marketplaces are evolving and expanding
This year was pivotal for NFT marketplaces, with OpenSea, Magic Eden and Blur shaping the story in different ways. Blur maintained the dominant position in Ethereum NFT trading, but its influence waned over the summer as the NFT bear market continued. Moreover, the founding team had turned its attention elsewhere, launch of Blastan ether layer-2 network.
Magic Eden, on the other hand, stole the spotlight with bold innovations in 2024. It led the charge on Bitcoin NFTs and added a decentralized exchange for Runes—Bitcoin’s version of meme coins—after the halve. The excitement around the brand culminated in the launch of the ME token by the ME Foundation, which sent out more than $700 million to users of the protocol.
Meanwhile, OpenSea – the leading marketplace from the boom of 2021 – once again became a figurehead in the NFT world towards the end of the year. First, CEO Deven Finzer was candid about the company’s willingness to do this “Stand up and fight” amid SEC investigation into the platform in September.
Shortly afterwards, excitement arose in the market as the overhaul of the OpenSea 2.0 marketplace began testing, ultimately raising questions about a possible future token launch. That speculation only grew as users reported loyalty programs during the closed betaand an OpenSea Foundation was registered in the Cayman Islands.
Brands come and go
The NFT craze of 2021 saw big brands like Nike and Adidas rush into the space. But a bear market and declining sentiment about NFTs prompted some giants to pull out in 2024.
One of the most important exits came with Nike’s decision to close RTFKT, the fashion and technology studio it acquired for an undisclosed amount in 2021. Prior to Nike’s move Starbucks ended its Web3 loyalty programStarbucks Odyssey, which the coffee giant operated on the Polygon blockchain.
DraftKings, a major player in the fantasy sports and sportsbook industries, abruptly ended its involvement in NFTs, closing his fantasy game DraftKings Reignmakers after several years of operation. The move came amid a class action lawsuit from users and ongoing regulatory questions in the industry.
But while some big brands took a step back, at least one made a big splash in Web3. McDonald’s jumped into a remarkable partnership, collaborate with NFT collection Doodles for a holiday-themed campaign. The collaboration brought the NFT branding to the physical world with custom holiday coffee cups available at McDonald’s locations. It indicated that even in a quieter NFT market, some brands still see potential in creative integrations.
I’m going token crazy
Perhaps no story has gained as much momentum and attention in recent months as NFT projects and their connections to them replaceable tokens, also called utility tokens for their ecosystems.
While launching NFT collections or having a token linked to them is not a new phenomenon, the rise of tokenization in 2024 – and growing optimism about the US regulatory landscape under newly-elected President Donald Trump – has put token launches squarely back in the spotlight .
Most noticeably, Pudgy Penguins launched its ecosystem token PENGU on Solana this month. The token, which could be claimed by more than 7 million unique wallets, provided NFT holders and many other eligible parties with a collective stimulus injection of more than $1.5 billion.
But it’s not just the Pudgy Penguins who have gone the token route in 2024. This year alone the NFT collections Memeland, Miladyand Mocaverse all dropped tokens to their NFT holders and ecosystem participants.
All three of these respective tokens have exceeded and maintained market capitalizations of over $100 million at the time of writing – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
It’s likely that this story will continue to hold some excitement until 2025, when Azuki is about to abandon his anticipated expectations. ANIME token for its ecosystem and other Web3 users on AnimeChain. Furthermore, Yuga Labs, the parent company of Bored Ape Yacht Club, is expected to continue the strong promotion around ApeCoin (APE). amid the recent launch of ApeChain.
Edited by Andrew Hayward