NFT sales continue to surge, hitting Rp152 trillion in Q3

Sales volume of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) surged to $10.7 billion (Rp152 trillion) in the third quarter of 2021. According to data from market tracker DappRadar, the sales increased 25% quarter-over-quarter and 509% year-over year.

NFT uses the same blockchain technology that powers cryptocurrencies to record the ownership of digital products, such as images, music, video, text and even tweets. The surging sales and hefty prices of NFTs have confused many people, but the rapid growth doesn’t seem to abate.

Sales on the biggest NFT marketplace, OpenSea, hit $3.4 billion (Rp4.8 trillion) in August. Trade remained strong despite sales dropping by 50% in the first week of September while the global stock market faltered. NFT enthusiasts said that crypto assets have value independently of market conditions.

​​Estimates for the size of the NFT market vary depending on what is included. According to DappRadar, total sales volume in 2021 is $13.2 billion (Rp187 trillion) which include multiple blockchain and off-chain transactions. CryptoSlam, which excludes off-chain transactions, said the total sales is $9.6 billion (Rp139 trillion), as reported by Reuters.

However, despite growing sales and celebrities joining in, the number of NFT buyers remains relatively small. According to NonFungible.com, there were just 265,927 active wallets trading NFT on the ethereum blockchain in Q3. Most of the NFTs were sold for under $1,000 (Rp14.2 million).

One of the NFT brands with high growth in Q3 is Art Blocks, an ethereum-based NFT project in the US that generates original digital artwork pieces on blockchain via an algorithm. On 2 October, an Art Blocks NFT was sold for 2,100 ether or around $6.9 million (Rp98.1 billion) at the time. Average Art Block prices have risen to roughly $15,100 per NFT in September from $3,300 (Rp46 million) in July, according to CryptoSlam.