Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) continued their year-end decline in December, with overall market valuations falling to their lowest levels in 2025.
According to data from CoinGecko, the total valuation of the NFT sector fell to $2.5 billion in December. This represented a 72% decline from a peak of $9.2 billion in January.
The decline came as NFT sales activity remained subdued following weak performance in November. In December, weekly NFT sales failed to exceed $70 million during the first three weeks of the month, remaining below November levels.
December is on track to strengthen the downtrend from late 2025 as year-end liquidity declines. The NFT market has failed to return to its former glory despite renewed interest in use cases driven by a surge in physical collectibles including Labubu and Pokémon cards earlier this year.
NFT heatmap for the last 30 days. Source: CoinGecko
Fewer market participants are causing a decline in NFT sales
The slowdown in NFT sales coincided with a sharp decline in market participation, with both buyers and sellers pulling back in December.
Data from CryptoSlam showed that the number of unique buyers dropped from 204,032 in the last week of November to 184,302 in the first week of December. Buyer participation continued to decline throughout the month, reaching 135,120 in the third week.
Sellers followed the decline. Data showed that the number of unique sellers fell 35.6% over the same period, falling below the 100,000 mark for the first time since April 2021.
Transactions also suffered. According to CryptoSlam, the total number of NFT transactions fell to 800,000 in the third week of December, after the opening week of the month recorded less than 1 million transactions.
Related: NFTs shifted to utility and culture as prices faded in 2025
Blue-chip NFT prices are falling despite resilience
The rock-bottom price performance of leading NFT collections reflected the broader market slowdown, with most of the top 10 projects by market cap posting double-digit declines over the past thirty days.
Data from CoinGecko showed that flagship collections like CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Pudgy Penguins experienced 30-day price drops ranging from 12% to 28%, indicating downward pressure even among established NFT brands.
Still, art-focused collections like Autoglyphs, Tyler Hobbs’ Fidenza and Snowfro’s Chromie Squiggle held up better, with modest gains in the same time frame.
Most notably, a collection called Sports Rollbots entered the top 10 NFT collections by market cap, with a floor price of $5,800 and a valuation of more than $58 million. Due to the arrival of the new candidate, the Mutant Ape Yacht Club fell outside the top 10.
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