NFT sales surge to $10.7 bln in Q3 as crypto asset frenzy hits new highs

Guests are pictured in entrance of an immersive artwork set up titled “Machine Hallucinations — Area: Metaverse” by media artist Refik Anadol, which might be transformed into NFT and auctioned on-line at Sotheby’s, on the Digital Artwork Honest, in Hong Kong, China September 30, 2021. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Picture
LONDON, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Gross sales volumes of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) surged to $10.7 billion within the third quarter of 2021, up greater than eightfold from the earlier quarter, based on knowledge from market tracker DappRadar, because the frenzy for crypto belongings reached new highs.
NFTs use blockchain to file the possession of digital objects equivalent to photos, movies, collectibles and even land in digital worlds.
Surging gross sales and hefty costs on NFTs – objects which don’t bodily exist – have baffled many however the explosive development exhibits no signal of abating.
The third-quarter determine was up from $1.3 billion in Q2 and $1.2 billion in Q1, DappRadar mentioned.
On the largest NFT market, OpenSea, gross sales volumes hit $3.4 billion in August. Exercise remained sturdy even in September when international inventory markets faltered.
Cryptocurrency value beneficial properties through the COVID-19 pandemic are sometimes cited as a driver behind the NFT market’s development — as a result of individuals use cryptocurrencies to purchase NFTs — however fans say that the crypto belongings have worth independently of market circumstances.
To make certain, estimates for the scale of the NFT market fluctuate relying on what’s included. Transactions which occur “off-chain”, equivalent to NFT artwork gross sales at public sale homes, are sometimes not captured by the information.
DappRadar’s numbers, which embody a number of blockchains and “off-chain” transactions, put complete 2021 gross sales quantity at $13.2 billion. One other market tracker, CryptoSlam, which excludes “off-chain” gross sales, says the determine is $9.6 billion.
In the meantime, NonFungible.com, which tracks NFTs on the ethereum blockchain solely, places the 2021 complete quantity at $7 billion.
The most costly identified NFT sale was a digital collage bought at Christie’s for $69.3 million in March. Since then, no identified NFT has come near this value, however public sale homes nonetheless maintain NFT gross sales, typically fetching thousands and thousands.
Nonetheless, regardless of rising gross sales and celebrities and different traders leaping on the development, the variety of NFT patrons stays comparatively small: there have been simply 265,927 lively wallets buying and selling NFTs on the ethereum blockchain in Q3, NonFungible.com mentioned.
Greater than half of NFTs bought in Q3 had been $101-$1,000, whereas these within the $1,001-$10,000 bracket accounted for 20% of gross sales, and 17% fetched lower than $100, NonFungible.com mentioned.
One NFT model to see notably excessive development in Q3 was Artwork Blocks, a U.S.-based challenge which sells NFTs of algorithmically-generated digital artworks.
On Saturday, an Artwork Blocks NFT bought for two,100 ether (round $6.9 million on the time). Common Artwork Blocks costs have risen to roughly $15,100 per NFT in September, up from $3,300 in July, based on CryptoSlam.
Gaming-related NFTs additionally surged, with the blockchain-based recreation Axie Infinity main the “play-to-earn” sector with $776 million in Q3 revenues, DappRadar mentioned.
Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft
Enhancing by Sonya Hepinstall
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