The NFT market had a dismal 2024, with trading volumes dropping 19% and sales counts falling 18% compared to 2023, according to DappRadar. Early optimism faded after Q1’s $5.3 billion in trading volumes, as Q3 plummeted to just $1.5 billion before a modest rebound in Q4 to $2.6 billion. While rising crypto token prices made individual NFTs more expensive, overall market engagement dwindled.
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Blue-Chip NFTs Face Decline
Even established collections like Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) weren’t spared, with floor prices hitting historic lows of 15 ETH and 2.4 ETH, respectively. Otherdeeds for Yuga’s metaverse project dropped to 0.23 ETH, exposing cracks in the exclusivity-driven model. However, CryptoPunks defied trends, nearly doubling in USD value and sustaining occasional recovery periods.
Marketplaces Blur and OpenSea Battle for Dominance
NFT marketplace Blur leveraged zero-fee trading and aggressive airdrops to dominate trading volumes, outpacing rival OpenSea, which faced regulatory issues and layoffs. Despite a late 2024 uptick in sales—November hit $562 million—the broader NFT market shows there’s a pressing need to focus on affordability, real utility, and making things more accessible if it’s going to bounce back in 2025.