According to data from market tracker DappRadar, NFT’s sales volume in the third quarter of 2021 exceeded $ 10 billion.
The non-fungible token (NFT) craze surged on in the third quarter of this year with around $10.7 billion in sales volume. That number is eight times higher than the previous quarter at $ 1.3 billion and in the first quarter at $ 1.2 billion.
Moreover, OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, hit over $3 billion in sales volumes this past August. In fact, more than half of its overall sales volume occurred during this period. Along with record sales volumes, the platform saw a nearly 200% growth in users. The unique wallet addresses involved in the transactions were around 150,000.
While Q3 leveled off around $10.7 billion, the total for the year thus far is $13.2 billion. DappRadar takes into account several blockchains and “off-chain” transactions. In addition, a similar market tracker CryptoSlam saw around $9.6 billion for Q3 excluding “off-chain” transactions.
NonFungible.com, which specifically analyzes NFT market data, reported just under 266,000 active portfolios during the third quarter. Of the NFTs sold, over half had value in the $101-1,000 range.
No NFT limits
Numbers aside, some of the biggest names in the financial industry have entered the NFT arena.
Financial services giant Visa made its first NFT purchase in August. The payment service provider spent $150k on its very own CryptoPunk. After the purchase, Visa released an NFT whitepaper, which praised digital collectibles.
Major auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s also joined the craze. Christie’s even auctioned off the most expensive NFT on record – Beeples, a $ 69 million digital artwork. More recently, the previously mentioned CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club achieved sales in the millions. According to the data, in the contemporary art world, annual sales have broken records of billions thanks to NFTs.
As NFTs continue their bullish take over in almost every major industry, NFT marketplaces and funds see support. San Francisco-based MakersPlace NFT marketplace recently raised $ 30 million with support from Sony Entertainment. Ripple Labs introduced a $250 million NFT creator fund on XRP ledger. Even European royals have started their own NFT businesses.
