NFT Sales Surge 29% to $159.6M, Pudgy Penguins Soars 247% Amid Crypto Bull Run

NFT sales jumped 29% to $159.6m, with Ethereum leading the charge, followed by Bitcoin and Polygon. Collections like Pudgy Penguins and CryptoPunks surged in sales, while buyer and seller counts nearly doubled. Ethereum's wash trading exploded by 134.47%, and Bitcoin's transactions grew by 3,000%. The NFT market appears to be staging its loudest comeback yet.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have experienced a remarkable resurgence, with weekly sales jumping 29% to $159.6 million. This surge is largely attributed to the bullish run in cryptocurrencies, particularly Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC), which have driven investor confidence and transaction volume [1].

Ethereum maintained its dominant position in the NFT market, accounting for $79.7 million in sales, a 61.83% increase from the previous week. The blockchain's wash trading also exploded by 134.47% to $11.8 million. Bitcoin, while trailing Ethereum, held second place with $24.8 million in sales, a 60.58% increase. Polygon (POL) followed in third place with $16.8 million, though it declined by 9.44% [1].

The NFT market saw substantial growth in both buyer and seller counts. Buyers increased by 89.32% to 176,807, while sellers rose by 86.08% to 112,430. Transactions grew by 20.61% to 1,627,841. Notably, Bitcoin's buyer count surged by 137.56%, while Polygon and Mythos Chain saw increases of 104.21% and 104.01%, respectively [1].

Collections such as Pudgy Penguins and CryptoPunks led the sales surge. Pudgy Penguins, in particular, saw its sales jump by 247.32% to $9.3 million. The collection also experienced significant growth in transactions (115.31%) and saw substantial increases in both buyers (45%) and sellers (51.72%) [1].

The NFT market's recovery is further evidenced by notable high-value sales. Uncategorized Ordinals on Bitcoin sold for 68.9989 BTC ($8,193,864), while V1 CryptoPunks Wrapped #5822 sold for 200 ETH ($725,130). Ethereum's price surged 21% in the last seven days, reaching $3,581, while Bitcoin's price hovered just below $118,000 [1].

The global crypto market cap currently stands at $3.93 trillion, up from last week's $3.68 trillion. This bullish trend is expected to continue, with analysts predicting a breakout for Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in the second half of 2025 [2].

References:
[1] https://crypto.news/nft-sales-jump-29-to-159-6m-pudgy-penguins-surges-247/
[2] https://www.investing.com/analysis/crypto-in-h2-2025-surprises-setups-and-speculation-ahead-200663711