Who would've thought? Despite all the naysayers and their gloomy prophecies, the NFT market has made quite the comeback in 2024, securing its place as the third best year in terms of revenue. That's right, folks! Even with whispers of fading hype, NFTs have danced past last year's numbers with a cool $8.7 billion in sales, just a smidge over 2023's mark.
Now, here's the juicy part: although transaction numbers took a dive, with 2024 seeing only 70.89 million compared to the previous year's 91.55 million, a surge in the number of unique buyers and sellers spiced things up. A whopping 7.5 million buyers and 4 million sellers have been wheeling and dealing, setting records not seen since the good ol' days of 2017.
The NFT realm has been the talk of the town, with some critics predicting its doom. But lo and behold, the market has proven resilient, showing it still has some tricks up its sleeve. Sure, it didn't reach the dizzying heights of 2022's $23.7 billion from 56 million transactions, but 2024's performance outshines even the glory days of 2021, which pulled in $15.7 billion from 34 million transactions.
Not all is sunshine and rainbows, though. The Nike-owned RTFKT project decided to hang up its boots in 2025, despite raking in nearly $50 million since its debut. Talk about a mic drop!
Zooming in on the last month, the NFT scene has been a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, sales volumes climbed by 19.43% to hit $912 million, but the number of buyers and sellers took a tumble, dropping by almost 28%. It's like the market's playing hard to get, with fewer but heftier transactions pushing growth.
Ethereum continues to reign supreme as the blockchain kingpin for NFT sales, contributing a hefty $495.7 million in the past month alone. Bitcoin and Solana trail behind in the second and third spots, with $191.4 million and $107 million respectively. Interestingly, Bitcoin saw a buyer boom with an 80% increase last month, while Solana's numbers shrank by 37%. Amazing how fortunes can change so quickly!
Rounding out the top five blockchain contenders are Immutable and Mythos, with Immutable celebrating a 66.51% sales spike to $35 million, while Mythos had a bit of a rough patch, dipping 36.72% to $25.4 million. So, there you have it, the NFT world is alive and kicking, and 2024 has been anything but boring! Stay tuned for more twists and turns in this rollercoaster ride of a market.
