NFT Craze Continues as Sales Hit All-Time Highs

The run on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) saw a huge spike in 2021 and, despite the opinions of many, is continuing to grow. 

NFTs sales have shot through the roof in the last six months. From digital art selling at a classic auction house for tens of millions of dollars to historical documents being auctioned off with NFTs attached to digital collectibles, the industry has been on an upward trajectory. 

As the summer hits in the United States, the rush to get into the NFT world has yet to slow down. This past week featured numerous notable NFT sales in the worlds of art, sports, and entertainment. 

CryptoPunk NFTs remain highly desired

The CryptoPunk NFT line has been at the forefront of NFT art since launching in 2017 by Larva Labs. Since then, Larva Labs has minted 10,000 of the 24×24 pixelated headshots. CryptoPunk also has the distinction of having six of the top ten most lucrative NFT sales in history. This past week, CryptoPunk made history again by selling a pair of NFTs, one for $5.45 million and the other for $3.76 million. The latter, titled CryptoPunk#2140, was bought by entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk.

The popularity boom for these digital avatars pushed CryptoPunk’s daily sales north of $45 million this weekend. However, that number could be beaten soon as a listing for CryptoPunk#3100 was posted recently with a price of $90.5 million. 

Stoner Cats NFT collection sells out in 35 minutes

An upcoming television show called “Stoner Cats,” a Mila Kunis project, sold 10,420 NFTs to help fund the production of the show and to hype up its debut. The collection drew so much attention that it even caused problems on the Ethereum network, slowing transactions and causing gas prices to shoot sky-high. Prices for rapid transactions soared north of 700 Gwei, around $33, one of the highest numbers on record. 

Despite the issues, the sale raised around $8 million for the show and plans for an additional 4000 NFTs were announced. The resale market is already awash with Stoner Cats, with some priced as high as $1 million.

Axie Infinity hits all-time high

The NFT project from Axie Infinity has been on fire this month, becoming the most popular NFT space in terms of all-time volume. Furthermore, Axie Infinity hit a new all-time high in transactions last week. A report from DappRadar states that Axie Infinity has amassed $571 million in volume over the last month, more than double of OpenSea, Axie’s closest competitor. During 24 hours last week, nearly $27 million in volume was seen, more than three times what OpenSea managed during the same period. DappRadar added that four of the fifteen highest-selling NFTs in the last month were Axies.