NFT Sales Surpass $10B in Third Quarter

According to data from market tracker DappRadar, sales volume of NFTs in the third quarter of 2021 surpassed $10 billion. 

The non-fungible token (NFT) craze surged on in the third quarter of this year with around $10.7 billion in sales volume. This number is eight times higher than the quarter before at $1.3 billion and in Q1 $1.2 billion. 

Moreover, OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, hit over $3 billion in sales volumes this past August. In fact, more than half of its overall sales volume took place during this time. Along with record sales volumes, the platform saw a nearly 200% growth in users. Unique wallet addresses involved in transactions was around 150,000.

While Q3 leveled off around $10.7 billion, the total for the year thus far is $13.2 billion. DappRadar accounts for multiple blockchains and “off-chain” transactions. In addition, a similar market tracker CryptoSlam saw around $9.6 billion for Q3 excluding “off-chain” transactions.  

NonFungible.com, which specifically analyzes NFT market data, reported just under 266k active wallets during Q3. Of the NFTs sold, over half had value in the $101-1,000 range. 

No NFT Off-Limits

Numbers aside, some of the biggest names in the financial industry stepped into the NFT arena. 

Financial services giant Visa made its first NFT purchase in August. The payment service provider spent $150k on its very own CryptoPunk. Following the purchase Visa released an NFT whitepaper, which praised the digital collectibles.  

Major auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s also joined the craze. Christie’s  even auctioned off the most expensive NFT on record – Beeples $69 million digital art piece. More recently, the previously mentioned CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club achieved sales in the millions. According to data, in the contemporary art world, annual sales broke records in the billions thanks to NFTs. 

As NFTs continue their bullish take over in almost every major industry, NFT marketplaces and funds see support. The San Francisco-based MakersPlace NFT marketplace recently raised $30 million with support from the likes of Sony Entertainment. Ripple Labs introduced a $250 million NFT creator fund on XRP ledger. Even European royals have started their own NFT ventures. 

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