Sales of NFTs fell 49% from January to July 2023
Yuga Labs only had three collections in the top 10 NFT collections by trading volume
July may have been the hottest month on record, but the NFT market froze under the ongoing crypto winter and saw some of the lowest sales of the year, according to a new report from DappRadar.
The top-line stats are dismal: NFT trading volume was down 29% and sales were down 23% from the previous month, while bottom prices of top collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club and Azuki fell to two-year lows . Only Gods Unchained and CryptoPunks saw small increases in rock bottom prices, but each by less than 1%.
Comparing these numbers to those at the start of 2023 puts things in an even worse perspective: January 2023 saw 7.36 million sales of NFTs, while July saw 3.7 million sales – a 49% drop . Similarly, January saw $1.1 billion in trading volume, while July had only $600 million, keeping trading volume below the billion dollar mark for the third consecutive month.
Still, there were some positive comments amid the dismal data. The Polygon network experienced a surge in activity with 772,424 merchants dominating sales with 27% of all transactions in July. Polygon gas costs are much lower than on the Ethereum blockchain and the network has been chosen by brands like Starbucks, Reddit, Nike and others to support their Web3 digital collectible efforts. Reddit dropped their popular Gen 4 avatars at the end of July, which may have contributed to the recent surge in sales.
Polygon, along with Solana and Cardano, has previously shown gains against Ethereum, but Ethereum still remains the top blockchain by trading volume, according to data from CryptoSlam. Meanwhile, the shine may fade from Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs, which saw just $33 million in trading volume in July, down 65% from the previous month.
The DappRadar report also noted that the shifts in trading volume and network activity can be attributed in part to “the emerging popularity of low barrier entry NFTs. These assets, with smaller individual value, target a broader audience” and “a broader shift in the NFT market to platforms that offer more affordable and accessible NFT options.”
Major shift in top 10 collections by trade volume
One “intriguing turn of events” found in the report was that while Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT Collection retained its crown as the most traded collection in July, only Mutant Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks topped the top ten. reached July collections based on trading volume, a “stark contrast to a few months ago when Yuga Labs [NFTs] claimed more than 50% of each ranking.”
Azuki also had three collections in the top 10, but has yet to recover from the fallout of their Elementals coin in June, which saw prices drop 44% after the Elementals art was criticized for being “essentially identical” to the original Azuki NFTs. The Elementals collection itself actually saw a 55% increase in sales, but the report highlights “an essential caveat is that a significant portion of these sales came from merchants.”
Also see: Azuki ‘Elementals’ Mint Mishap points to the fragile state of the NFT market
Other top 10 collections tell a brighter story, with Pudgy Penguins bringing in $19.5 million in trading volume following the successful launch of real-life toys, and DeGods reaching $29.1 million in trading volume, possibly motivated in anticipation of the release of their Gen 3 collection on August 9.
Read more: NFT trading volume is down, but it’s not stopping developers from entering Web3