Blue-Chip NFT Sales Spike as Crypto Market Stalls

Sales of blue-chip NFT collections have seen an uptick, with the number of buyers and sellers surging over the past week.

The spike in NFT sales volume comes as investors seek alternative opportunities within the crypto ecosystem, particularly as traditional cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum show signs of consolidation.

According to data from CryptoSlam, NFT sales volume reached $92 million over the past week, up by around 13%.

The number of buyers and sellers has also surged over the past week, each rising by more than 75%.

BTC down
ETH down
SOL down
Alts down
Memes down

NFTs up

I'd almost forgotten what this felt like

— Zeneca 🔮 (@Zeneca) August 21, 2024

Blue-Chip NFT Collections See Rise in Sales

Data from CryptoSlam further shows that blue-chip NFT collections are the main beneficiaries of the recent surge.

For one, the CryptoPunks NFT collection saw $7 million in sales last week, up by more than 400%.

Likewise, Bored Ape Yacht Club registered around $3.5 million in sales, up by more than 63%.

Other major collections, including Ordinals, Solana Monkey Business, MCSuperUser, and Mutant Ape Yacht Club, also saw a surge in sales volume, up by 320%, 113%, 1,409%, and 7% over the past week.

In terms of blockchains, Ethereum-based NFTs saw the highest level of activity, registering over $34 million in sales volume in the past week, up by more than 40%.

Solana-based NFTs follow with $18.5 million in sales volume, up 12% over the past week.

It is worth noting that the floor price of blue-chip NFTs have also seen an uptick as of late.

According to data from NFT Price Floor, the floor price of CryptoPunks has reached 28.15 ETH, up by 29% over the past week.

The floor price of Bored Ape Yacht, Pudgy Penguins, Azuki, and Mutant Ape has also increased by 29%, 9%, 13%, and 17%, respectively.

The NFT floor value is the lowest value at which an NFT in a specific collection can be acquired.

CryptoPunks NFT Sold at 80% Discount

While the NFT market has slightly recovered lately, it is still at the bottom compared to the 2021 highs.

Just recently, a CryptoPunk NFT sold for $23.2 million in 2022, was resold at an 80% discount for 1,500 ETH, worth around $3.9 million.

The original owner, Deepak Thapliyal, who purchased the NFT for 8,000 ETH, bid farewell to the token on X (formerly Twitter).

The new buyer, VOMBATUS, later confirmed the purchase, equating the low price to getting a “free” token.

is this real?

— dollar (@knownasdollar) August 19, 2024

The NFT, CryptoPunk #5822, was subsequently re-listed for 5,000 ETH, indicating a potential 45% loss for Thapliyal if sold at this price.

Meanwhile, there has been a trend of companies discontinuing their involvement in the NFT space.

Back in March, Starbucks, the renowned multinational coffee chain, made the decision to terminate its NFT rewards program.

In January, gaming retailer GameStop announced the closure of its NFT marketplace after scaling back its crypto services over the past two years.

More recently, X, under the ownership of Elon Musk, discontinued a feature that allowed premium users to use NFT images as their profile pictures.