The NFT memorabilia and artwork market shows no signs of slowing down in 2022 after a year of extraordinary growth. Following the platform’s second-largest month to date in December, Ethereum NFT trade volume on top marketplace OpenSea is booming in the early days of the year.
According to public blockchain statistics gathered by Dune Analytics, on January 2, OpenSea reported more than $243 million in Ethereum trade activity. This represents a significant increase from nearly $170 million on January 1 to $124 million on December 31, 2021.
Sunday’s total is the third-best day of trade on OpenSea in terms of money, trailing only the all-time high of over $323 million established on August 29, 2021, and $267.5 million the day after that. In other words, yesterday was OpenSea’s most significant day in over four months, following an August surge followed by a slow decline in NFT trade volume throughout the fall.
However, it continues a recent trend, with OpenSea reporting more than $3 billion in Ethereum trading volume in December. The roughly $3.25 billion volume for the month is second only to the $3.4 billion set in August. It’s also an almost 37% rise over the $2.37 billion in Ethereum trading volume on the platform in November.
Surprisingly, the volume of OpenSea’s NFT trading on Polygon is increasing. Polygon is an Ethereum sidechain scaling solution that allows for reduced fees and faster transactions, and in December, OpenSea saw a record $76.1 million in Polygon NFT trading. According to statistics from Dune Analytics, OpenSea has been growing for three months in a row on that metric.
An NFT is a blockchain-backed token that acts as a digital item’s deed of ownership. Profile photographs, digital artwork, video snippets, and interactive video game elements are all examples of representation. According to research from venture capital firm 1confirmation, Ethereum is presently the most popular platform for NFT artwork and collectibles, accounting for more than 90% of the industry (including sidechains and layer-2s).
As of mid-December, blockchain analytics tool DappRadar projected that total NFT trading volume in 2021 was $22 billion, up from around $100 million the previous year. However, the final figures for 2021 have not yet been announced.
Apes on top
One of the most recent benefactors of the NFT boom has been the Bored Ape Yacht Club profile photo initiative. According to CryptoSlam data, the Mutant Ape Yacht Club collection has generated $89 million in trade volume in the last seven days. The original Bored Ape collection added more than $83 million.
Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Curry are among the celebrities who have purchased Yuga Labs’ initial collection of 10,000 NFT avatars and the Mutant Ape Yacht Club collection. In addition, Rappers Eminem and Snoop Dogg have recently joined the club, even though Snoop was previously an enthusiastic NFT collector.
The original Bored Ape Yacht Club collection, released in April, is the most valuable, with a current price floor—or least available NFT—of 73.5 ETH (about $276,000) on the secondary market. It has even outperformed the influential CryptoPunks project, which currently has a price floor of 67.7 ETH (almost $255,000).
The last Mutant Ape Yacht Club project, on the other hand, has seen more recent rises in value, with a current price floor of 15 ETH (about $56,500) reflecting a 119 percent increase in the last 14 days. Over the same period, the Bored Ape Yacht Club floor has increased by nearly 44%.
On Saturday, a single Mega Mutant Serum NFT—burned (or destroyed) to make a Mutant Ape NFT from a Bored Ape—sold for 1,542 ETH ($5.66 million). Other Mega Mutant Serums sold for 999 ETH ($3.8 million) and 888 ETH ($3.6 million) last week, indicating that demand for the Mutant Ape NFTs has risen dramatically.
However, it’s not just apes that are on the move. Yesterday, on the SuperRare marketplace, a piece of Ethereum digital artwork titled “All-Time High in the City” by the artist XCOPY sold for 1,630 ETH, or about $6.2 million. In addition, Snoop Dogg bought a separate XCOPY piece for 1,600 ETH (nearly $7 million at the time) via his NFT-collecting Cozomo de’ Medici pseudonym last month.
A Gala Games 3D dragon avatar sold for 10.85 million GALA, or more than $5 million at the time of purchase, earlier this week. Meanwhile, a single MekaVerse NFT sold for 500 ETH (nearly $1.8 million), the highest transaction for the robot-themed profile image project since it launched in October amid controversy.
Axie Infinity, the most popular Ethereum game, has recently noticed a dip in trade volume. According to data from CryptoSlam, the monster-fighting game produced more than $301 million in trade volume in December, making it the most popular project at the time. However, it was a 60 percent decrease from the previous month’s $754 million.