Ethereum, being at the center of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), is experiencing a 90% drop in trade volume from the peak. What does this trend mean for the future of Ethereum and the NFT market?
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and “play-to-earn” (P2E) segments suffered the most during the recent recessionary mood in the cryptocurrency market. Analysts have traced key indicators of the Ethereum NFT sphere to understand the scale of this drop. In July 2023, the worst month for Ethereum NFTs was recorded since November of the previous year – cumulative turnover volume on the main exchanges fell to 568.5 million dollars per month. This means almost a 90% drop in turnover volume compared to the impressive results from early 2022 [https://duneanalytics.com/hagaetc/ethereum-nft-daily-traders].
These calculations were published by the NFT data research team, Sealaunch, through their own custom panel on the Dune Analytics platform. Meanwhile, the number of unique NFT users dropped to 107,000 holders, which is the lowest result in many years. Only in the last 12 months has this number fallen by over 66%.
Furthermore, the number of independent addresses for monthly OpenSea transactions fell to 64,600, which is also below a two-year low. Finally, the total number of NFT sales fell by 82% from the peak registered in February 2022.
At the same time, for some new players, this recessionary period has resulted in market domination. The new project Blur (BLUR), which attracted attention with its airdrop, replaced the previous leader, OpenSea, in terms of several indicators. For instance, in July 2023, its turnover volume exceeded that of OpenSea by 300%. In the first quarter of 2023, Blur (BLUR) even managed to outperform OpenSea in terms of the number of NFT sales [https://www.blur.market/].
All these achievements, Blur (BLUR) accomplished while serving a user base three times smaller than OpenSea, researchers note.
Does the drop in NFT turnover volume on Ethereum mean the end of the bubble, or could it be the beginning of a new, more balanced phase in this market? Only time will show what implications this change will bring.
