Daily NFT market size until May 5, 2024

Transactions in NFTs were significantly lower in 2024 than during the summer of 2021 when several tokens gained popularity. Most of these transactions were likely related to play-to-earn Vietnamese video game Axie Infinity, which became the world's most valuable NFT collection in August 2021 - although its sales volume did decline since. The gaming segment reported the highest sales volume of the non-fungible token (NFT) market in 2020, with over six times the sales in sports projects. The overall market cap of NFTs in 2024, however, was noticeably smaller.

NFT in 2024: Searching for legitimacy

While cryptocurrency and Bitcoin saw their interest surge in early 2024 after the acceptance of Bitcoin ETFs in the United States, the NFT market has been struggling. For the larger audience, non-fungible tokens still seemed to be confusing what they are supposed to do, whereas crypto increasingly found legitimacy. The slowdown in the NFT market led one of the world's largest NFT marketplaces, OpenSea, to lay off large parts of its staff in October 2023. 

Solana to pave the way for NFTs?

One of the blockchain networks that is closely affiliated with NFTs in 2024 is that of Solana. The monthly sales volume of this blockchain outperformed that of Ethereum in January 2024, causing Solana's market share in the overall crypto market to reach its highest value ever. Solana's position comes from relatively low costs but especially high transaction speeds and the sizable airdrops from multiple projects. This attracted significant amounts of capital, further fuelling the network. Solana's growth may provide the framework for the NFT market as a whole, as it slowly seeks to take over Ethereum's position in this part of the decentralized digital asset world.