September Marks the Worst Month in NFT History. The Industry Loses Buyers

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The third
quarter of 2023 has been challenging for the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) market,
with sales hitting their lowest point since the last quarter of 2020. September
alone recorded a dismal sales figure of around $300 million. This downturn is primarily
attributed to a significant drop in average sales prices and floor prices of
popular collections.

The NFT
market has been on a downward trajectory, particularly in September, which saw
the worst sales figures since January 2021. The average sales price in September
plummeted to $38.17, a stark contrast to its peak of $791.84 in August 2021.
Collections like Azuki, BAYC, and MAYC have seen their floor prices decline by
more than 25% quarter-over-quarter.

The newest
Binance Research quarterly report shows while the NFT market is struggling,
Ethereum and Immutable X have managed to gain market share. Ethereum’s share
increased 6% in Q3, partly due to lower gas fees and a decrease in ETH
prices. Immutable X, a Layer 2 solution built on top of Ethereum, also saw its
market share rise from 4% to 8%. The platform hosts popular blockchain games
like Gods Unchained, which led the sales count for the quarter.

Despite the
gloomy sales figures, the number of NFT transactions in Q3 increased 4.6%
compared to the previous quarter. Gaming NFTs like Gods Unchained, Axie
Infinity, NBA Top Shot, NFL All Day, and Mythical Beings dominated in terms of
transaction count.

Less Buyers, Lower Prices

The average
number of daily unique buyers dropped 14.1% to around 53,000, signaling a
decline in overall market interest. What is more, the NFT-500 price index, a
measure of NFT performance, also took a hit, declining 31% in Q3. Various
NFT collections across sectors experienced a fall in prices, contributing to
the index’s poor performance.

While Blur
remains the largest marketplace by sales volume, it has lost ground to
competitors like Opensea, which led in terms of active wallets. New entrants
like Element have also risen in the ranks, thanks to their integration with multiple
networks like Base, Linea, opBNB, Bitcoin , and zkSync. This suggests that
traders on Blur are dealing in higher volumes, aligning with its positioning as
a platform for professional traders.

NFT Art Market Takes a Hit

The NFT
market has been in a slump, particularly in the art segment, which has seen a
continuous decline in both the number of sales and total sales value. This
downturn is not recent; it has been ongoing since the crypto crash in 2022. While
the market did show some signs of recovery, the overall trend remains negative.

Separate data
from Statista and NonFungible confirms Binance Research numbers and shows that NFT
art sales aggregated value across Ethereum, Ronin, and Flow blockchains was a
mere $22.3 million in September 2022. This was a staggering 40 times less than
the sales recorded in the same month the previous year. By the end of 2022, the
monthly sales value had further dwindled to $17.1 million.

The data
clearly indicates that the NFT art market is facing a prolonged downturn, with
little sign of immediate recovery. This decline is not just a blip but appears
to be a more enduring trend, raising questions about the future sustainability
of the NFT art market.

Moreover, theft of crypto and NFTs has surged, resulting in investor losses exceeding
an astonishing $26 billion. Every hour, criminals are raking in $289,000.

Less Buyers, Lower Prices

NFT Art Market Takes a Hit

Moreover, theft of crypto and NFTs has surged, resulting in investor losses exceeding
an astonishing $26 billion. Every hour, criminals are raking in $289,000.

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