Translation: Plain Language Blockchain
After a general recovery in the cryptocurrency market in November, the NFT market is heating up again.
According to December data from CoinGecko, the market cap in this sector has reached $8.8 billion, up 17.3% from the previous week. The same data also shows a significant increase in trading volume: the daily trading volume across all chains surged nearly 48% in the past 24 hours.
This trend continues the momentum from November. According to CryptoSlam data, NFT sales in November reached $562 million. This figure is the highest level since sales nearly hit $600 million in May this year.
Notably, the number of independent buyers in November fell to just 662,000, down from over 1 million in May.
1. Overview of Blue-chip NFT Data
Blue-chip NFT collections continue to dominate the market across all blockchains (including non-EVM chains). CoinGecko's NFT heatmap shows its current lowest price at 42.99 ETH, roughly $159,000. This price has increased by nearly 5% in the past 24 hours, and over 14% in a week.
CryptoPunks also led the resurgence in November, with a trading volume of $49 million, a 392% increase from October, achieved through just 388 transactions.
Despite the emergence of new NFT collections, CryptoPunks still holds a 40% market share, with a median transaction value of $114,131, indicating that this pioneering collection still retains its appeal among serious collectors and investors.
Not to be outdone, the price of the Bored Ape Yacht Club remains strong at 21.27 ETH ($79,727), achieving an impressive 75.79% increase in just one week, attracting the attention of major trading platforms. In the past day, the total trading volume for this series reached 1,486 ETH, showing that whales and collectors are making significant bets.
Market growth is not limited to traditional hot projects. As a dark horse in the blue-chip NFT space, Pudgy Penguins currently maintains a healthy floor price of 14.869 ETH (approximately $55,758) and has seen nearly a 30% increase in just one week. Even the more accessible Azuki, with a floor price of 5.799 ETH, has risen 8.61% in a single day.
Currently, the three major series of CryptoPunks, BAYC, and Pudgy Penguins account for 73% of market activity. Meanwhile, Ethereum remains the leader, with November sales reaching $216 million, while Bitcoin is also noteworthy, growing 99.44% that month to reach $186 million.
According to data compiled by Dragonfly Capital analyst Hilldobby through Dune Analytics, Blur leads the NFT market on EVM chains with a trading volume of $271 million, followed closely by OpenSea with a trading volume of $161 million.
As for user habits, OpenSea remains the preferred market for most, with approximately 188,000 active traders completing over 2 million transactions. Notably, although Blur has a smaller user base of about 38,000 active traders, its user trading activity is significantly higher.
2. No longer at its peak
Although recent NFT trading volumes show some signs of recovery, the CryptoSlam 500 NFT index tells a more realistic story, revealing the overall market trend. Currently, the index stands at 1,135.04, down 53.77% from its peak, indicating that we are still far from the heyday when NFTs dominated cryptocurrency headlines and attracted mainstream attention.
This index tracks 500 smart contracts across 11 major blockchains including Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon, having significantly pulled back from its peak of 2,494.74, depicting a market landscape still in search of a new balance.
Although recent platform innovations and institutional interest have brought a glimmer of hope to the market, data indicates that the NFT market is still struggling to regain the explosive growth that once defined the space.
