After a broader crypto market revival in November, the NFT market is heating up again.
Facts CoinGecko for December shows that the sector’s market capitalization has reached $8.8 billion, up 17.3% in a week. The same data set also points to an increase in volume: daily trading across all chains has increased by almost 48% in the past 24 hours.
This is in line with November, when $562 million in sales were achieved, according to the American newspaper facts from CryptoSlam. Looking at the charts, this figure is the highest sales volume NFTs have seen since May this year, with sales approaching $600 million.
Notably, the number of unique buyers for November has fallen to just 662,000, compared to May, when there were more than a million.
Blue chip NFTs: in numbers
The blue-chip NFT collection has maintained its industry dominance across all chains (including those outside of EVMs). The NFT heat map from CoinGecko shows that it now has a floor price of 42.99 ETH, worth approximately $159,000. This figure is up almost 5% in the last 24 hours and over 14% this week.
CryptoPunks also led the recovery in November with trading volume of $49 million, up 392% from October on just 388 trades.
While newer collections have emerged, CryptoPunks’ 40% market share and average trading value of $114,131 show that the groundbreaking collection has retained its appeal among serious collectors and investors.
Not to be left behind, Bored Ape Yacht Club remains steady at 21.27 ETH ($79,727), posting an impressive weekly gain of 75.79% that is turning heads on trading platforms. In the past day alone, the collection has moved a volume of 1,486 ETH, indicating that whales and collectors are betting big.
The increase is not limited to the usual suspects. Pudgy penguinswhich has emerged as a serious competitor in the blue-chip space, maintaining a healthy bottom of 14,869 ETH ($55,758) with a weekly appreciation of almost 30%. Even Azukisitting at a more accessible 5,799 ETH, saw the bottom rise 8.61% in one day.
Three collections – CryptoPunks, BAYC and Pudgy Penguins – now control 73% of all market activity. Meanwhile, Ethereum remains king with $216 million in revenue in November, although Bitcoin is making waves with a 99.44% monthly jump to $186 million.
Dune Analytics data collected by Dragonfly Capital analyst Hilldobby shows that Blur has led the way for marketplaces within EVM chains, with approximately $271 million in transactions, with OpenSea not far behind with $161 million.
When it comes to who uses what, OpenSea is still the go-to marketplace for most people, with approximately 188,000 active merchants conducting more than 2 million transactions. Interestingly, Blur manages to generate a smaller but more active user base of around 38,000 merchants.
Far away from the heyday
While these recent NFT trading volumes are showing signs of life, the CryptoSlam 500 NFT Index tells a sobering story about the overall trajectory of the market. The index currently stands at 1,135.04 and has seen a dramatic decline of 53.77% from its peak, suggesting we are still a long way from the heady days when NFTs dominated crypto headlines And attracted mainstream attention.
The index, which tracks 500 smart contracts across 11 major blockchains including Ethereum, Solana and Polygon, has fallen from its high of 2,494.74, painting a picture of a market seeking a renewed sense of balance.
While recent platform innovations and institutional interest offer glimmers of hope, the data suggests the NFT market is still trying to recapture the explosive growth that once defined the space.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair