What the numbers say: A recent report from the Web3 data platform DappRadar has pointed out that NFT trading volumes worldwide declined to $2.9B in Q2, with a 38% decrease from $4.7B in the previous quarter. The NFT market again entered a downward trend in the second three-month period of the year after seeing a slight recovery in Q1. The sales count also retreated to the $18M level, with a quarterly down from $20.5M. Both trading volumes and sales counts in H1 2023 are nearly 65% below the amounts in the same period of last year. Over the past month, several high-profile NFT collections, including Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Azuki, also saw a strong drop in floor prices. Relevance: The NFT market downturn has impacted many NFT firms negatively. Most recently, Dapper Labs, the firm behind the famous NBA Top Shot and CryptoKitties NFTs, had to lay off its 51 employees, representing 12% of its headcount. CEO Roham Gharegozlou said the layoff affected full-time staff and C1 contractors. Gharegozlou also added that the job cut was necessary and the right thing to do to ensure a lean and efficient company, underlining that the firm is still well-capitalized. The move has become the third round of mass layoffs in Dapper Labs in less than a year. The firm also farewelled 22% of its workforce in November 2022 and another 20% in February this year. Brands that should care: Many other NFT-related companies, including OpenSea, Magic Eden, Candy, Metaplex, Autograph, and SuperRare, also had to reduce their headcount over the last months. These job cuts mainly stemmed from a prolonged crypto winter triggered by the collapses of high-profile companies in the industry, such as the previously third-largest crypto exchange FTX and the multi-billion dollar Terra ecosystem. |
