NFT Market Chills as Buyers and Sellers Retreat 58% and 43% in Weeks

The NFT market experienced a notable cooldown in early September, with weekly sales hitting $91.96 million—its lowest level since mid-June, according to NFT tracker CryptoSlam. This marked a significant decline from the sustained momentum seen in July and August, when weekly sales remained consistently above $115 million, peaking at $170 million during the third week of July. The recent drop signals a return to the lower volume levels seen in mid-June when sales reached $90 million.

Alongside the drop in sales volume, the number of unique NFT buyers has also declined sharply. In the first week of September, unique buyers totaled 199,821, a 58% decrease from the record levels observed in mid-June. This trend was mirrored by a 43% decline in unique sellers, which fell to 145,877 from a peak of 258,803. The average sale price has also declined significantly, dropping from over $104 in August to $72 in early September—a 30% reduction in just two weeks.

Despite these declines, the market still maintained a relatively high transaction count of 1.27 million, indicating ongoing trading activity at smaller sizes. Analysts attribute the strong NFT performance in July and August to increased adoption. DappRadar analyst Sara Gherghelas highlighted factors such as the opening of a permanent NFT art gallery in Ibiza and the growing role of Base, Coinbase's layer-2 network, which became the third-largest blockchain by 30-day volume. These developments signaled growing mainstream acceptance and integration of NFTs into various sectors, including art and digital infrastructure.

Looking ahead, the NFT market is forecasted to grow significantly, according to Coinlaw.io. The market is projected to reach over $60 billion by 2025 and exceed $247 billion by 2029, assuming continued adoption and favorable market conditions. Gaming and digital art continue to dominate, representing 38% of global NFT transactions and 21% of market size. Emerging trends such as real estate NFTs and phygital tokens—those linked to physical goods—have also seen growth, with the latter experiencing a 60% rise in transaction volume, driven by luxury brands.

Institutional interest in the space has also increased, with venture capital firms investing $4.2 billion in NFT projects in 2024 alone. Financial institutions like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are exploring tokenization for digital asset collateralization, while investment firms such as SoftBank and Sequoia Capital are expanding into tokenized digital assets. This growing institutional support suggests that NFTs are becoming more accepted as a viable asset class, despite the current market correction.

However, the current market remains far from its 2022 peak of $24.7 billion in market cap. As of the latest data, the NFT market cap stands at approximately $6 billion, a 76% drop since its peak. While some metrics, such as unique active wallets, remain strong relative to other decentralized application categories, the overall market still faces challenges in regaining former levels of trading volume and investor confidence. Continued innovation and broader adoption will be critical in determining the long-term trajectory of the NFT sector.

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[1] NFT market cools with lowest weekly sales since mid-June (https://cointelegraph.com/news/nft-sales-drop-september-market-decline)

[2] Is the NFT Market Making a Comeback? Here's What Data ... (https://cryptopotato.com/is-the-nft-market-making-a-comeback-heres-what-data-shows/)

[3] NFT sales nosedive to $104.5m, CryptoPunks sales in green (https://crypto.news/nft-sales-nosedive-104-5m-cryptopunks-sales-in-green/)