Author: NFTScan
Translation: Blockchain in Vernacular
The non-fungible token (NFT) market has been volatile in 2024, but the latest data shows strong potential for recovery. Although trading volume in the third quarter fell 50% from the previous quarter to $1.1 billion due to volatility, it is still an impressive number considering the current market environment. The global NFT market opened the first quarter of 2024 with a record $4.1 billion in trading volume, showing great initial enthusiasm. Although activity in the second quarter fell to $2.25 billion as the initial hype faded, meaningful demand continues.
Most importantly, Q3’s $1.1 billion in trading volume highlights the resilience of the NFT ecosystem and collectors’ interest in this innovative asset class. As long as market conditions remain favorable, there is reason to believe that NFT trading will regain significant upward momentum in the coming quarters, driven by the expansion of infrastructure and use cases. Despite recent volatility, the long-term prospects and transformative potential of NFT technology give us confidence that the market will rebound from this trough and become stronger. To better understand the future trend of the NFT market, let’s take a deep dive into the key trends emerging in the third quarter of 2024.
1. Top blockchains in the third quarter of 2024
According to data from NFTScan, Ethereum continues to dominate the NFT market, consolidating its industry lead with the highest transaction volume among all blockchains.
Solana has secured its second position, with NFT trading activity growing significantly on this high- throughput blockchain. Solana’s low transaction fees, scalability, and thriving ecosystem of games, metaverse projects, and DeFi applications are driving rapidly growing demand for Solana-based NFT collections and utilities.
Despite being relatively new, Bitcoin has already secured the third spot in cross-chain NFT transaction volume.
Ethereum-compatible second-layer solution Polygon rose to fourth place, benefiting from its low fees, fast transaction times, and seamless connection with the Ethereum mainnet . As a scalable platform that expands Ethereum's influence, Polygon's NFT ecosystem grows in parallel with its strong DeFi presence; zkSync Era quickly rose to fifth place.
According to NFTScan data, August 21 was the peak of cross-chain NFT sales, with a single-day transaction volume reaching an astonishing 3151.52 ETH.
On the other hand, July 7 was the lowest point in cross-chain NFT trading activity this quarter, with daily trading volume of only 755.24 ETH. This downturn can generally be attributed to the reduction in high-profile NFT releases, weakening promotional efforts, and increased market uncertainty, which suppressed risk appetite.
The 4x gap between the quarterly high and low highlights the early stages of the emerging multi-chain NFT market and the volatility that comes with it. Fluctuations in trading interest and volume remain heavily influenced by new series releases, shifting market sentiment, and the pace of real-world events in this rapidly evolving space.
2. Top NFT Markets in the Third Quarter of 2024
In the third quarter of 2024, OpenSea continued to maintain its position as the largest NFT market, with a staggering trading volume of $445.52 million in the past 90 days and a market share of 40.78%. Despite the high transaction fees of $620,000, OpenSea facilitated 2.72 million transactions involving 1.93 million wallets, demonstrating its position as a top NFT trading center.
Blur consolidated its second position with $230.62 million in trading volume, accounting for 21.11% of the market share. Although gas costs reached $366,000, the platform processed 258,000 transactions from 203,000 unique wallets. Blur's advanced features such as real-time pricing and portfolio tools may have enhanced its appeal among professional NFT traders and collectors.
MagicEden ranked third with $102.27 million in volume and 9.36% market share. Despite fees of only $53,260, the multi-chain marketplace facilitated 469,000 transactions across 269,000 wallets. NFT support for Solana, Ethereum, Polygon, and Bitcoin may have expanded MagicEden’s user base.
Element Marketplace ranks fourth with $99.79 million in quarterly volume and 9.14% market share. Its relatively low fees of $13,900 and high sales volume of 627,000 transactions involving 250,000 wallets demonstrate an efficient infrastructure. The platform’s unique products may have supported its momentum.
Tensor, ranked fifth, achieved $45.5 million in transaction volume, accounting for 4.17% of the market share. Despite a fee of only $6,590, it completed 850,000 transactions involving 198,000 wallets, demonstrating its seamless user experience optimized to meet high transaction throughput.
3. Top NFT Collections in Q3 2024
In the third quarter of 2024, Liberty Cats became the most prominent NFT collection, a limited edition of 9,903 non-fungible tokens hosted on the Polygon blockchain network. In the past 90 days, Liberty Cats has had an impressive trading performance, with a trading volume of $157.86 million in MATIC.
The collection's strong performance was driven by 3,010 trades, demonstrating strong demand from collectors and investors. Despite limited supply, Liberty Cats maintained healthy liquidity with the reserve price holding steady at a strong 60,634 MATIC.
The iconic Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection from blue-chip NFT studio Yuga Labs continued to maintain its position as a giant in the industry in the third quarter of 2024. This set of 10,000 avatar NFTs minted on Ethereum has seen a trading volume of 15,100 ETH and 1,300 transactions in the past 90 days.
BAYC's enduring dominance stems from its pioneering role in spawning the avatar NFT (PFP) phenomenon and its passionate cultivation of a community of holders. Its intellectual property and ambitious roadmap to expand into games, merchandise, and the metaverse solidify BAYC's position as a blue-chip asset with strong utility and cultural relevance beyond mere digital collectibles.
Close behind is Pudgy Penguins, a collection of 8,888 generated penguin avatars issued on Ethereum by NFT studio Igloo. The collection attracted 14,670 ETH in trading volume and 1,470 sales during the quarter, solidifying its position as a strong PFP contender.
At the same time, the multi-million dollar trading volumes of these projects highlight the concentration of liquidity and wealth in the blue-chip NFT ecosystem. To attract mainstream users, the next generation of collectibles may need to creatively blend culture, utility, accessibility, and composability in order to appeal to a wider user base.
4. Summary
NFT market data for the third quarter of 2024 provided by NFTScan provides valuable insights into the development landscape and key players of this innovative digital asset class. Although overall trading volume fell 50% from the previous quarter to $1.1 billion, the figure still shows a healthy demand for resilience during market cycles.
Looking ahead, the NFT ecosystem shows great potential for recovery, driven by infrastructure expansion, use cases, and mainstream adoption. Although volatility in this emerging market will continue, its underlying transformative technology gives us confidence that this market will be stronger in the long run.
To realize the full disruptive impact of NFTs, stakeholders need to prioritize utility, accessibility, composability, and sound incentive design to attract and empower the broadest possible user base. The foundation of NFTs is laying the foundation for inspiring a revolutionary new creator economy.
Link to this article: https://www.hellobtc.com/kp/du/10/5455.html
Source: https://medium.com/nftscan/q3-2024-nft-market-report-trading-volume-exceeds-1-1-billion-amid-shifting-landscape-a4c94af0a70a
