Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) end the year on a high, with digital collectibles surpassing their sales record in 2023 by over $100 million.
On Dec. 31, NFT data tracker CryptoSlam showed that blockchain-based digital collectibles had a sales volume of $8.83 billion in 2024. The record surpasses 2023 NFT sales by over $100 million, with NFTs recording around $8.7 billion in sales last year. This marks a 1.1% year-on-year increase for NFTs.
Ethereum remains the top blockchain for NFTs in all-time sales, with $44.9 billion. Solana follows with $6.1 billion, while Bitcoin-based NFTs recorded $4.9 billion overall.
All-time NFT sales by blockchains. Source: CryptoSlam
While there was an increase in NFT sales, this year’s figure is still far off its 2021–2022 sales volumes. In 2021, NFTs ended the year with $15.7 billion in sales, 43.9% more than 2024’s record. In 2022, NFTs had a sales volume of $23.7 billion, 62.8% more than this year’s record.
Despite the lower volumes compared to previous years, Animoca Brands chairman Yat Siu believes NFTs could someday perform better than those peak years. Siu said that as crypto markets grow, every Web3 component will follow. The executive predicted that NFT trading volumes could exceed billions monthly as the broader crypto market soars.
NFT sales uptick in the fourth quarter of 2024
NFTs making a comeback toward the end of 2024 might have been an unexpected twist. This is because digital collectibles suffered a seven-month downturn during the year, with September reaching the lowest sales volumes the space has seen since 2021.
Despite this, digital collectibles showed signs of life in October, when the space saw $353 million in sales, an 18% increase from September. The momentum continued through November as NFTs had a monthly sales volume of $562 million, marking a six-month high for NFTs.
In December, NFTs had a sales volume of $877 million, its fifth-highest performing month in 2024. The uptick in December is driven by increased sales in Ethereum-based collections, with the blockchain having a monthly NFT sales volume of $482 million.
Top NFT collections in December. Source: CryptoSlam
Pudgy Penguins remained on top of the NFT charts, with a sales volume of $115 million. Other NFT collections like Azuki, LilPudgys, CryptoPunks, Doodles and Bored Ape Yacht Club collectively recorded a sales volume of $141 million for the month.
Bitcoin-based NFTs recorded a sales volume of $172 million, while Solana-based collections had a $100 million sales volume in December.
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