This year's sales were expected to be less than a third of 2022’s volume, but things have picked up in recent months
Sales of risky investments that are still in their relative infancy were always likely to take a hit in a cost-of-living crisis, and NFTs have certainly suffered in recent months.
The digital assets which saw a surge in interest amid participation from celebrities including sports stars, and brands including fashion and media businesses, saw sales of almost US$30 billion in 2022.
Earlier this year, an analysis from NFT gaming platform Balthazar predicted that sales in 2023 could be as low as $8.3 billion, a 72% year-over-year decline, but things appear to have picked up.
The platform’s latest analysis of the 10 leading NFT marketplaces suggests sales could reach $22.7 billion this year, although this is still almost 40% below last year’s tally.
Last month saw a combined $2.04 billion, down almost 10% from February, and the total number of trades in March was just below 3.8 million, down 24% from the previous month.
But the first quarter total was up 84% from the previous quarter to a total $5.8 billion. That puts sales on a par with July 2022.
Renewed sentiment, new tech
John Stefanidis, co-founder and CEO of Balthazar, says that renewed sentiment and more high-quality projects are fuelling the market’s bounceback.
“The recent movement in Bitcoin is also positive for the NFT market, as all boats rise with the tide,” he said. “It’s likely to have a positive impact on the overall sentiment of the market. Bitcoin is currently trading at above US$28,000, which we haven’t seen since June last year.”
Stefanidis added that NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain, known as Ordinals, are also driving interest in the industry.
