NFT marketplace OpenSea tops $1 billion trading volume in August, surging 8X since March peak

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) trading is soaring to 8x multiples of the levels seen this March when the NFT frenzy burst into mainstream media with sound headlines, as art dealers were excited. Digital collectibles mania seems to be back as the NFT flagship marketplace prints new records, according to the trading volumes on the OpenSea platform.

By Coin Metrics data, the number of sales on OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, reached more than 60,000 per day over the past week, nearly eight times the peak in March. Another data tracker, DappRadar, says OpenSea’s trading volume over the past 30 days was $1.24 billion, up 935% from the previous 30-day-period.

Aug. 14, 2021, become a record-breaking trading day for OpenSea, while almost 25,000 users authorized 79,800 transactions with a net value of over $75 million.

(Source: CoinMetrics)

Such growth suggests that the hysteria epitomized by the sound auction sales, such as Beeple’s work, “Everydays: The First 5000 Days,” sold off at Christie’s for $69 million worth, might be just a promising hint of the industry’s potential.

Devin Finzer, CEO of OpenSea, admitted that, despite this massive accomplishment, NFT markets are still taking their first baby steps.

“If NFTs start gaining as much outside attention as they did earlier this year, there may be an even bigger boom yet to come,” noted Coin Metrics.

In particular, the latest boom was driven by the sale of NFT collections like CryptoPunk, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Pudgy Penguins.

However, Google search activity globally still ranks lower than in March.

(Source: CoinMetrics)

There’s a chicken-and-egg dilemma over how the NFT market affects the price of Ether (ETH), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, where much of the NFT ecosystem resides. As NFTs are usually priced in ETH, the report noted, a sudden rise in ETH price may deter new entrants to the NFT markets. However, higher NFT sales may help attract new users to Ethereum.

OpenSea sales and Ether increased in tandem in March and during the recent NFT boom, according to Coin Metrics data. During other times, such as in May, the ETH price peaked while NFT sales on OpenSea plummeted.

(Source: CoinMetrics)

As reported before, OpenSea in July secured $100 million in funding, led by top-notch VC Andreessen Horowitz; as a result, its valuation rocketed to $1.5 billion.

Source: https://www.coindesk.com/pudgy-penguins-bored-apes-nft-new-boom