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What the numbers say: The leading NFT marketplaces retreated to the lows of 2021 in key statistics over the last week despite the industry's good start to the year. Unique user numbers across the major NFT platforms, including OpenSea and Blur, declined to 7,805 on April 19, an amount close to 7,455 last seen in July 2021. Similarly, the sales count dropped to 16,149 across all platforms on the same day, approaching 12,910 sales last seen in November 2021. On April 20, however, the metrics showed a slight upward trend, though they could not approach the higher levels earlier this month. Relevance: The NFT market made a good start this year after the downward trend it saw as of Q2 of 2021. NFT trading volumes surpassed $2.04B in February, reaching the highest levels in the last nine months. The stormy competition between OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace by trading volume, and Blur, the newly-launched zero-fee NFT marketplace targeting professional NFT traders, also set the industry in motion. However, the market showed a brief downward trend again from April 13 to 20. Analysts cited the high gas prices and tax season liquidity issues as possible reasons for the decline in both user and sale numbers. Brands that should care: Other NFT marketplaces, including LooksRare, Magic Eden, and Rarible, saw a similar decline in unique user numbers and sales counts, pointing out that the decline occurred market-wide. |
