In summary
- The NFT market is recovering, reaching a capitalization of $8.8 billion, with a weekly increase of 17.3% and a 48% increase in daily volume.
- CryptoPunks led in November with $49 million in volume, while Bored Ape Yacht Club rose 75.79% in weekly value.
- Pudgy Penguins grew by 30%, establishing itself as a blue-chip competitor with a minimum price of 14,869 ETH.
- Blur dominated in trading volume ($271 million), surpassing OpenSea, which led in active users (188,000).
After a broader Cryptocurrency market rally in November, the NFT market is heating up again.
CoinGecko data for December shows that the sector’s market capitalization has reached $8.8 billion, increasing 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 last 24 hours.
This comes after November, which saw $562 million in sales, according to data from CryptoSlam. Looking at the charts, this figure is the highest sales volume NFTs have seen since May of this year, which saw nearly $600 million in sales.
Notably, the number of unique buyers for November has dropped to just 662,000 compared to May, which had more than one million.
High-quality NFTs: by the numbers
The blue-chip NFT collection has maintained its dominance in the sector across all chains (including those outside of EVM). CoinGecko’s NFT Heatmap shows that it now has a minimum price of 42.99 ETH, worth approximately $159,000. This figure has risen almost 5% in the last 24 hours and more than 14% in the week.
CryptoPunks also led the November rally with $49 million in trading volume, following a 392% increase since October in just 388 transactions.
While newer collections have emerged, CryptoPunks’ 40% market share and average trading value of $114,131 demonstrate that the pioneering collection has maintained its appeal among serious collectors and investors.
For its part, Bored Ape Yacht Club remains firm at 21.27 ETH ($79,727), recording an impressive weekly gain of 75.79% that is attracting attention on trading platforms. The collection moved 1,486 ETH in volume in the last day alone, suggesting that whales and collectors are betting big.
The increase is not limited to the usual suspects. Pudgy Penguins, which has emerged as a serious contender in the blue-chip space, maintains a healthy price floor of 14,869 ETH ($55,758) with a weekly appreciation of almost 30%. Even Azuki, situated at a more accessible 5,799 ETH, saw its minimum price rise by 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 November sales, although Bitcoin is making waves with a 99.44% monthly jump to $186 million.
Dune Analytics data compiled by Dragonfly Capital analyst Hilldobby shows that for markets via EVM chains, Blur has taken the lead, moving around $271 million in trades, with OpenSea not far behind at $161 million.
When it comes to who uses what, OpenSea remains the preferred marketplace for most people, with approximately 188,000 active traders placing over 2 million trades. Interestingly, Blur manages to generate from a smaller, but more active user base of around 38,000 merchants.
Far from the glory days
While these recent NFT trading volumes show signs of life, the CryptoSlam NFT 500 Index tells a sober story about the overall trajectory of the market. Currently at 1,135.04, the index has seen a dramatic 53.77% drop from its peak, suggesting we are still far from the heady days when NFTs dominated cryptocurrency 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, data suggests the NFT market is still working to recapture the explosive growth that once defined the space.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
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