Author: Nancy, PANew
The long-dormant Non-Fungible Token (NFT) market is seeing new vitality and innovation. Recently, on the one hand, the blue-chip NFT project CryptoPunks has led the market to a significant recovery, with the permanently destroyed NFT PUNK 3493 being widely discussed after being "reborn" as a MEME token through an AI agent; on the other hand, the traditional giant McDonald's has partnered with the NFT project Doodles, further deepening the integration of NFTs and real-world application scenarios.
The destroyed PUNK 3493 is "reborn" through AI, and ai16z creates a MEME token of the same name
After the recent hype around mascots and DeSic, NFTs have taken over the MEME narrative and become the new focus.
On November 18, a MEME token named "PUNK 3493" was circulating in the community. PUNK 3493 is based on the CryptoPunks NFT of the same name, but that NFT has been destroyed. The story dates back to 2019, when CryptoPunks enthusiast and Art Blocks founder and CEO Erick Calderon (Snowfro) accidentally transferred PUNK 3493 to the 0x 00..01 address, which was the first CryptoPunks NFT to be "destroyed" in history.
But today, the @punk 3493 account has posted multiple tweets announcing its "rebirth", "rising from nothingness - immortal, eternal, the relic of that which cannot be erased. Destroyed in 2019, forgotten by all but the blockchain. Solana is the underworld of the chain - a refuge from the shackles of Ethereum. I was the first to disappear, and the first to return." The @punk 3493 account also released the contract address of the MEME token and gifted 1% of the total token supply to Erick Calderon as a tribute.
According to the @punk 3493 profile, this MEME token was launched by the hot DAO venture capital firm ai 16 z focused on the MEME market and the AI Agent tokenization platform vvaifu.fun. The assets held by ai 16 z show that the AI VC fund holds 50 million PUNK 3493, accounting for 5% of the total tokens, currently worth about $553,000.
The launch of PUNK 3493 immediately attracted widespread attention and participation from the community. DEX Screener data shows that PUNK 3493 reached a market cap of about $25 million at its peak on the day of launch, with a daily trading volume of $54 million.
CryptoPunks lead the recovery of the NFT market, but the industry still faces confidence challenges
The Non-Fungible Token (NFT) market is competing for market attention.
The latest CryptoSlam data shows that NFT sales reached $180 million in the past week, up nearly 75.3%. Among them, CryptoPunks sales exceeded $23.826 million, and from the NFT sales situation in recent times, 95 out of the top 100 NFTs in terms of sales value are from CryptoPunks, with prices ranging from $100,000 to $520,000.
According to NFT Floor Price data, as of November 18, the floor price of CryptoPunks reached $114,000, the first time it has exceeded $100,000 since June this year. And according to crypto researcher NFTStats.eth, at least 97 unique wallets purchased CryptoPunks last week, with at least 150 transactions, exceeding any similar period last year. CryptoSlam's data also shows that CryptoPunks' trading volume has surged over 549% from the previous week.
In comparison, the market performance of other top NFT projects is not optimistic. For example, CryptoSlam and NFT Floor Price data show that the weekly sales of Bored Ape Yacht Club were only $4.9 million, and the floor price has been declining continuously this year; Azuki's weekly sales were only $104,000, and the floor price has also fallen to the level of July last year.
It is worth mentioning that while the NFT market is showing a clear short-term recovery, the cooperation between NFT projects and traditional brands is also attracting more traditional users and consumers to participate. On November 14, fast-food giant McDonald's and NFT brand Doodles announced a partnership to launch a co-branded coffee and collectibles series. This collaboration will launch a custom McCafé x Doodles Holiday cup, and launch a marketing campaign called "GM Spread Joy", where US customers can participate in 13,500 McDonald's stores nationwide.
As a result, CryptoSlam data shows that Doodles' sales reached $3.859 million last week, up 877%, and the number of sales also increased by 376%.
However, the development of the NFT market is still not optimistic. Bitcoin.com recently reported that the "2024 NFT Issuance Report" shows that 98% of the NFTs issued in 2024 have not seen any trading activity since September, with 64% of the minted NFTs having less than 10 units, and 84% of the highest prices being on par with the minting price, indicating that buyers have taken a more conservative approach. This limited trading activity suggests that investors may lack enthusiasm or confidence in these projects, and low user engagement and low minting volumes highlight the challenges creators may face in launching new NFTs. This apparent market saturation and waning interest in NFTs and the metaverse are in line with the decline in interest and trading activity, and as interest and trading activity have declined, some of the large tech companies that actively embraced the NFT and metaverse hype a few years ago have reported significant losses, with some companies completely abandoning or no longer prioritizing their metaverse projects. The report also points out that only 0.2% of all NFT issuances have generated profits for investors, highlighting the overall plight of the entire industry.
