The broader non-fungible token (NFT) market has defied expectations after it surpassed last year’s revenue milestone.
Data collected by CryptoSlam shows that with less than a week left before 2024 ends, NFT sales for the year have amounted to $8,717,920,832, edging out 2023’s tally by about $230,000.
The Numbers
Last year, the sector recorded more than 91.55 million transactions, bringing in $8.71 billion per CryptoSlam. However, in 2024, the total transactions dropped significantly, only reaching 70.89 million.
Nonetheless, an increase in unique buyers and sellers helped balance the scales, with the former totaling 7.5 million and the latter reaching 4 million. These were the highest recorded figures since 2017, the closest being the 3.8 million sellers captured last year and the 5.4 million buyers from 2022.
There have long been discussions about the prospects of the NFT space, with the hype that once engulfed them dying down considerably. But analysts have urged against writing off the industry altogether, a sentiment justified by the year’s performance, which, while some ways below 2022’s record-setting sales of $23.7 billion from 56 million transactions, has been markedly better than expected.
The next best period was 2021, when the sector raked in $15.7 billion from 34 million transactions involving 3.6 million unique sellers and over 5 million buyers. 2024’s numbers are on course to be the third-highest returns on record, marginally beating last year’s figures.
The space also recently suffered casualties when the Nike-owned RTFKT project announced it would close shop in 2025 after earning almost $50 million since its launch.
Monthly Insights
Looking more short-term, the last month presented a mixed outlook for NFTs. While global sales volumes went up 19.43% to $912 million, unique buyer and seller numbers fell by nearly 28%, reflecting a more selective market approach.
Additionally, transactions saw a 59.25% drop from the previous month, suggesting that fewer but more valuable exchanges may have driven the sector’s growth.
Overall, Ethereum remains the top blockchain for NFT sales, contributing $495.7 million in the last 30 days alone. In second and third place were Bitcoin and Solana, which respectively generated $191.4 million and $107 million in that period.
Interestingly, the two blockchains went in completely opposite directions with regard to attracting buyers. CryptoSlam data shows that NFT purchasers on the Bitcoin network skyrocketed by more than 80% in the last month, while those on Solana dropped by at least 37%.
Immutable and Mythos rounded up the top five blockchains by monthly NFT sales volume. The former registered $35 million worth of sales, a 66.51% jump from the previous month, while the latter shed 36.72% from its tally in the same period, only reaching $25.4 million.
