NFT Market Sees Sharp Decline as Sales Drop 18%, Despite Mixed Participation Metrics
The NFT market has taken a significant hit this week, with overall sales volume plunging by 18.43% to $116.9 million, according to the latest data from CryptoSlam. This downturn marks a sharp contrast from the previous week’s strong performance, suggesting growing market volatility.
Crypto Market Trends: BTC and ETH Take a Hit
The broader cryptocurrency market has also felt the pressure. Bitcoin (BTC) has slipped by 1.79%, trading at approximately $103,000. Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) has dropped nearly 4% over the past seven days, contributing to a global crypto market cap dip from $3.29 trillion to $3.21 trillion.
NFT Market Participation: Sellers Up, Buyers Hold Steady
Despite the sales slump, participation in the NFT space remains mixed:
- NFT Buyers: 1,061,348 (holding steady with a 50.56% YoY increase)
- NFT Sellers: 38,494 (up 8.09% week-over-week)
- Transactions: 1,709,086 (down slightly by 0.63%)
This data suggests that while dollar volumes are down, engagement and activity across NFT platforms remain relatively healthy.
Top Blockchains by NFT Sales
🥇 Immutable (IMX) – $28.3 million
Still in the lead, though suffering a 32.23% drop in weekly sales. Notably, wash trading has plummeted by 81.19%, falling to just $3 — indicating cleaner trading practices.
🥈 Polygon (POL) – $23.3 million
A standout performer this week, Polygon has surged 24.98%, overtaking Ethereum for the second spot. Buyer activity on Polygon grew 35.63%.
🥉 Ethereum (ETH) – $20.4 million
Down 32.06%, Ethereum slipped to third place. Its wash trading declined 18.29% to $1.8 million.
4️⃣ Mythos Chain – $14.1 million
Essentially flat with a negligible 0.03% decrease. Still a steady performer with buyer growth of 19.32%.
5️⃣ Solana (SOL) – $8.7 million
Rising fast, Solana posted a 42.74% sales increase and 27.41% buyer growth, rounding out the top five.
Top NFT Collections This Week
- Courtyard (Polygon): Returned to the top spot with $17.4 million in sales (+0.56%). Notably, seller activity exploded by 1,264.81%.
- Guild of Guardians Heroes: Dropped to second with $16.5 million (−33.60%). Transactions, buyers, and sellers all declined significantly.
- DMarket: Holding third with $9 million, up 0.99%.
- Guild of Guardians Avatars: Fourth place at $7 million, but down 31.19%.
- Gods Unchained Cards: A new entry into the top five with $4.7 million in sales (−28.60%).
The previously high-ranking Uncategorized Ordinals on Bitcoin has disappeared from the leaderboard this week.
Highlight Sales of the Week
Despite the general downturn, several high-profile NFTs fetched impressive prices:
- CryptoPunks #1831 – 150 ETH ($389,846)
- CryptoPunks #9778 – 150 ETH ($377,958)
- CryptoPunks #4868 – 76.5 ETH ($201,933)
- CryptoPunks #5586 – 70.07 ETH ($185,292)
- CryptoPunks #7516 – 60 ETH ($158,378)
Final Thoughts
While the NFT market is showing signs of cooling in terms of sales volume, the continued rise in seller participation and blockchain innovation—particularly from platforms like Polygon and Solana—suggests the space is far from stagnant. Whether this is a temporary dip or the beginning of a larger trend remains to be seen, but savvy investors and creators will be watching closely.
