NFT Performance Lowest Since 2020

The NFT market experienced its weakest year for trading volume and sales in 2024 since 2020, according to a report by DappRadar.

The downturn was attributed to market volatility and increasing token prices.

DappRadar’s 2024 Dapp Industry Report, released on Jan. 14, revealed that NFT trading volumes fell by 19% from 2023 to $13.7 billion, while the number of sales decreased by 18% to just under 50 million.

This made 2024 “one of the worst performing years since 2020.”

The report noted that NFT trading volumes experienced significant fluctuations.

While Q1 trading volumes grew by 4% to $5.3 billion compared to the same period in 2023, the growth was short-lived.

Volumes plummeted to $1.5 billion in Q3 before recovering slightly to $2.6 billion in Q4.

Sales counts were also down compared to 2023, reflecting higher prices for NFTs in 2024.

This was consistent with rising token prices, particularly for Ether.

Despite a resurgence in the broader crypto market, led by the 125% gain in Bitcoin during 2024, the NFT sector struggled to recover.

DappRadar data highlighted 2022 as the NFT market’s best year, with trading volumes reaching $57.2 billion and sales counts hitting 121.7 million.

In comparison, 2024 trading volumes were down by 76% from this peak.

The report highlighted that gaming-related NFTs “clearly dominated” in terms of collections by sales count.

Gods Unchained, a trading card game by Epic Games, led the gaming NFT category in 2024 with $152 million in sales volume—a 27% decrease from 2023—and 3.86 million sales, representing an 18% drop.

Pudgy Penguins emerged as the top NFT collection by trading volume, which surged over 140% from 2023 to $786 million.

The collection’s floor price also increased by 114%, even as sales counts fell by 44%.

Pudgy Penguins expanded into physical products, such as plush toys available at major retailers like Walmart and Selfridges, along with a mobile game and sports partnerships.

DappRadar noted that these initiatives “reinforce the notion that NFTs with real-life utility continue to perform well.”

The report concluded, “Perhaps 2024 helped us realize that NFTs don’t need to be expensive to prove their importance in the broader Web3 ecosystem.”

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/nfts-2024-worst-year-since-2020-dappradar

https://dappradar.com/blog/dapp-industry-report-2024-overview