NFT Trading Volume Rises in a Backdrop of Market Slump

As 2023 begins, NFT trading volumes seem to be on the rise despite the continued market downturn. According to data from NFTGO, January 5 saw a record-breaking 32,000 ETH traded in a single day on the NFT market. This marks the first time in three months that this has occurred. Similarly, OpenSea’s ETH trade volume reached a two-month high on the same day.

Data from DappRadar shows that 2022 saw an increase in total NFT sales volume nearly on par with 2021’s high. In 2022, the NFT market organic trade volume across blockchain platforms and marketplaces was around $24.7 billion. That is slightly lower than the $25.1 billion recorded in 2021.

DappRadar revealed that the number of NFTs traded last year increased dramatically, even though total trading volume remained relatively stable. The analytics firm logged roughly 101 million NFT transactions during 2022, up from about 58.6 million in 2021. With crypto and NFT prices falling, more NFTs were exchanged at lower USD values.

With Terra’s LUNA and UST failing in May, the crypto market lost a lot of value throughout the year. The collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and the subsequent industry contagion severely impacted cryptocurrency values, worsening the ongoing bear market. The NFT market trended in the same general direction all year.

Sales increased in January 2022 as 2021’s enthusiasm spilled into the new year. Leading marketplace OpenSea alone reported a record month with $5 billion in trade volume. After that, trade volume dropped for a while, but in late April, the launch of NFT land plots for Yuga Labs’ Otherside boosted the market and pushed OpenSea to post a new record for a single-day trading volume.

NFT sales began to rise in December 2022, with DappRadar reporting approximately $684 million in organic transactions, up from over $662 million in November. NFT sales reached over 6.7 million in December, up from 4.8 million in November and 6.1 million in October. OpenSea maintained its position as the premier venue for organic NFT trading, with more than $297 million in activity during the month of December alone.

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