In May 2021, OpenSea closed out nearly $140 million in total volume. Fast forward a year and the most dominant nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace closed over $880 million in less than a week partially because of the Yuga Labs’ The Otherside mint. As a result of this mint, a fresh surge of liquidity was injected into the NFT ecosystem and as it stands the current NFT total market capitalization is over $19.4 billion.
For the past two weeks, most of the market had seen little action, but this changed after the Otherside mint closed over $317 million in just three hours.
These widely unique, randomly sorted parcels of land have amassed over 194,000 Ether (ETH) ($536,137,000) and to the surprise of many, Yuga Labs has begun refunding those lost to the predictable gas wars that burned over $100 million worth of Ether. Some holders also touted airdropped assets valued at over $930,000.
The price of NFTs may have taken a slight slumber, with many NFT traders charting impending doom for projects with low volume, but the liquidity created by the Otherside sale appears to be having the opposite effect.
Investors are no longer fading blue-chip NFTs
Outside of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and the Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), blue-chip tier NFTs like Doodles, Azuki, CloneX and Meebits have seen some notable increases in volume in the last seven days.
Meebits saw a nearly 167% increase in total sales volume and a 19% increase in the average sale price after Yuga Labs announced plans to develop the Metaverse utility for Meebits.
Meebits‘ volume began to simmer at the end of April and saw a surge since the start of May. The average sales price has increased by 15% and volume increased over 65% in the last seven days.
It appears NFT traders who have left certain NFT ecosystems are taking their profits and investing back into upgrading their collection with blue-chip status NFTs.
Following a similar trajectory as Azuki, Doodles NFT has seen nearly a 250% increase in volume over the last seven days. The floor price has also been steadily increasing since the start of May and is currently at 23 Ether ($65,458).
A clear trend is that the most recent capital infusion is lifting blue-chip NFT prices, leaving the rest of the PFP-dominated market to fall. Could this be the beginning of Gary Vee’s speculation that 99% of collections will go to zero, leaving only the top 1% with value?
RTFKT Studios‘ CloneX NFTs have also been riding a wave. Just one week ago, floor prices gravitated around the 16.5 Ether to 17.5 Ether range, but they now stand at 19.7 Ether.
This surge in price could be attributed to the MNLTH NFT reveal depicting the first blockchain-powered Nike sneaker with morphing and forging capabilities (meaning, it can be created to wear in real life).
Along with the novel kicks, owners received a vial representing the first „skin“ and in revealing the MNLTH, the NFT was burned to mint the MNLTH 2, which is another mystery box. So, the journey continues with RTFKT studios and its ecosystem.
Although Ethereum-based NFTs have received the spotlight in comparison to projects on other blockchains, OpenSea’s recent support for Solana NFTs is leveling out the playing field.
Related: Is the surge in OpenSea volume and blue-chip NFT sales an early sign of an NFT bull market?
Solana Summer part deux?
Traders with little to no exposure to Solana can now interact with the NFT ecosystem as OpenSea has added support for the chain. While Solana investors are adamant about using Solana’s Magic Eden marketplace, other traders are thrilled about the new option.
Making waves on the Solana project is Okay Bears, which is the first Solana blockchain NFT to be ranked in the top 5 on OpenSea volume charts. At a cost of 83 SOL ($7,111), Okay Bears has stirred some controversy regarding their quality and value. Because certain NFT influencers changed their profile pics to sport Okay Bears, the project’s total volume spiked over 34% in the last seven days but is continuing to level out.
The success of Okay Bears has investors calling for another “Solana Summer” and the Catalina Whale Mixer NFT is also making a splash on OpenSea.
Even though the project launched in December 2021, NFT influencers and key players are circling back to when they first jumped into the project, and have since made some large sales and notable gains.
Catalina Whale 2291
SOLD! POW POW → 500.00 SOL ($49,080.00 USD)
https://t.co/RB7j7udX3n@catalinawhales
Welcome to the fucking Catalina Whale Mixer!
https://t.co/p2av2TxZ5y
https://t.co/m74Kf8NNZL pic.twitter.com/FkKQjKjT3v— Catalina Whale Mixer Sales Bot (@WhaleBouncer) April 28, 2022
Currently, 12 Solana NFT projects are in OpenSea’s top 100 list for total volume and this could indicate that the above-average NFT collector could be diversifying across blockchains.
DeGods NFT ranks at the top 40 NFT collections for total volume on OpenSea. Self-described as a deflationary collection of misfits, punks and degenerates, DeGods floor currently stands at 310 SOL ($27,190) on OpenSea and 245 SOL ($20,851) on Magic Eden.
Data from Magic Eden shows that DeGods saw a 179% increase in floor price in April and a late surge can be seen at OpenSea.
Given that blue-chip tier NFTs like BAYC and CloneX have set the standard regarding brand equity and rewarding communities, investors appear to be doubling-down on these collections.
It’s important to note that while proof-of-profile NFTs have seen slow volume, there are other types of music, literary and membership-based NFTs emerging. Ethereum NFTs have clearly cemented their mark in history; but other blockchains with NFT projects are also coming to the surface.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
With the emerging Non-Fungible token (NFT) marketplace experiencing a surge in interest over the past months, blue-chip NFT prices continue to reach new heights nearly a week after the Otherside mint event.
The event, which commenced on April 30th, revealed a curated group of digital works from some of the world’s leading digital creators. The auction, hosted by the decentralized platform Foundation, saw some of the highest prices ever paid for digital art – with Damien Hirst’s artwork being sold for over six million dollars, setting a world record for NFT sales.
This event is likely the most significant driving force behind the continuing rise in blue-chip NFT prices. With this auction, investors have seen not just the sheer potential of the NFT market, but also the potential for investing in the types of digital works that could potentially increase in value for years to come.
Not only that, but the attention garnered by the Otherside mint event has spilt over into other projects – particularly those using NFTs to showcase and tokenize large works of art. Over the past week, projects such as NFT Earth, making.wtf and blockparty.zone have seen increased interest in the market potency of their tokens.
The increasing numbers of users engaging with these platforms shows the first real signs of institutional investors getting involved in the digital art space. With larger sums of money being involved in the NFT space, the blurring of the lines between the established art market and the rapidly growing digital art space have occurred.
Attention and money being pumped into the world of digital art is not the only reason for the skyrocketing blue-chip prices. With more attention being drawn to well-known NFT artwork, more people are purchasing tokens from whoever created the work. This creates a strong demand for NFTs, driving prices up and giving investors more of an incentive to add to their portfolios.
Thus, with the growing demand from institutional buyers – and the ease at which NFTs offer security and liquidity – blue-chip NFT prices will continue to surge. Many are predicting the second wind of the digital art NFT market to continue in the future.
