NFT Market Shows Signs of Maturing as Sales Expand Beyond Ethereum

Last updated: | 2 min read
Source: AdobeStock / freshidea

 

Between January and March 2022, non-fungible token (NFT) trading volumes cooled down from a hot January start, but the number of trades increased significantly in networks outside Ethereum (ETH) — indicating an expanding NFT market with broadening adoption across the ecosystem, according to a recent report released by and dapp information provider DappRadar.

The company says the NFT market is currently undergoing a consolidation period after a historical start of 2022. In the first quarter of this year, NFTs generated some USD 12bn in trades while the number of sales and unique traders was on the rise. 

Last month, the NFT space generated USD 31.4bn in trades, of which 62% came from the LooksRare marketplace.

“To make a more accurate comparison, the NFT market excluding activity on LooksRare generated [USD] 12 billion in Q1, decreasing slightly by 2% from the volumes recorded in Q4 2021,” according to DappRadar.

The NFT activity in blockchains outside Ethereum — like Avalanche (AVAX), Flow (FLOW), Polygon (MATIC), and Solana (SOL) — is ramping up, as suggested by the report.

This increase in the number of sales taking place in blockchains other than Ethereum is another positive sign for the NFT market. The number of trades made on Avalanche rose by 582% compared with the previous quarter, while the sales generated on Solana and Polygon were up 34% quarter-to-quarter.

This led DappRadar to the conclusion that the NFT space shows signs of maturing.

“The top Ethereum NFT projects have an established market that might be out of reach for the majority of people. Thus, it is positive to see that NFTs on other networks are picking up the pace too, showing that NFT adoption is only beginning,” according to the firm.

Between January and March 2022, Yuga Labs, the powerhouse behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), raised a USD 450m investment led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), which also involved Animoca Brands, DappRadar said.

“The BAYC creators drew headlines earlier in March after acquiring the IP of CryptoPunks and Meebits, two of the most popular NFT collections previously owned by Larva Labs. The move established Yuga Labs as one of the most relevant brands in Web3,” according to the report. 

Yuga Labs NFTs currently “represent 44% of Ethereum’s Top 100 NFT collections market cap,” it said, adding that: “No other group in the NFT space is even close in terms of dominance.”

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