The Time When NFTs Came Under the Spotlight
The majority in the digital asset industry still believe Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) first emerged in 2021. This assumption is entirely wrong and the truth is that NFTs existed since 2014 in some form or the other.
This fact can be further proven by Google Trends (GT). Revisiting GT’s cache in January 2021, showed that NFT search trends were only 1 out of 100.
Much before 2020, there were zero searches recorded in the GT with regard to NFTs.
Keeping in view the GT results, at best, it could be argued that NFTs came under the spotlight only in 2021.
Since 2021, NFT has become an integral piece and parcel of the digital asset industry. When digital currencies were struggling in 2022 in showcasing sizzling performance 2022, NFT markets continued to please the industry.
Record-Setting NFT Sales in 2021 and 2022
The NFT sector is still in its infancy yet it is one of the fastest-growing industries within the digital asset industry. It also turned out to be less macro-economic circumstances that affected industry and showed abilities of huge resistance.
NFT markets even continued to thrive when the parent industry of digital assets was rapidly going down. It has been setting up new records and breaking earlier records in terms of its growth, NFTs sales, and revenue collection.
For instance, since 2021 till to date, global NFT markets have concluded sales of over $12.7 Billion. This is enough for proving how fast this industry has evolved in a very less time and drawn global attention significantly.
NFT Sales Boosters
However, there are a few exceptional NFT projects whose contribution is highly appreciated for ensuring whooping NFT sales.
Amongst them at the top is ‘Axie Infinity’. Axie Infinity alone sold NFT collectibles worth more than $4.27 Billion since 2021 to date.
One can only imagine what this would mean for Axie Infinity whose present market valuation is less than $1.5 Million.
The most significant NFT collections which Axie Infinity put forward for sale in the market were related to ‘Cryptopunks’.
Cryptopunks alone sold collectibles worth over $3 Billion since 2021 to date. Even the market valuation of ‘Cryptopunks’ is just over $1 Billion only.
Second, in line is the NFT collection of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) which concluded sales worth $2.39 Billion during the said period. The present market valuation of BAYC is also much lower than its sales i.e. $1 Billion only.
Third and Fourth Positions
Number three and four spots have been secured by Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) and Artblocks. Their NFT sales during a similar timeframe were over $1.66 Billion and $1.36 Billion respectively.
Top Marketplaces of NFTs
Apart from top NFT sellers, there are top marketplaces for NFT sales as well, and among them at the top is OpenSea.
Currently, there is no NFT marketplace in the world that is as active as OpenSea in terms of NFT sales. The particular marketplace has been working really hard for the promotion of NFTs.
The platform has come up with several products and services to facilitate the users and increase the adoption of NFTs.
One of the most prominent features that OpenSea has recently introduced is the royalty program. The platform introduced the new feature towards the end of 2022.
The new feature allows the creators to add a royalty option to their NFTs. When the created non-fungible tokens are sold to other buyers after the initial ones, the creators keep earning royalties on those.
At number two is ‘Rarity’ which is widely adopted for its cheap fee structure for the buyer and the seller.
Similarly, NFT marketplaces of Binance and Nifty Gateway are as popular as OpenSea and Rarity. However, as compared to OpenSea, both marketplaces are relatively new entrants but easily be regarded as fastest growing marketplaces.
