Key Points
The month of December ended on a high note for blockchain-based digital collectibles with $877 million in sales. This was the second highest monthly total for the year 2024. The last quarter of the year saw a significant recovery in the NFT market after months of declining sales.
According to data from CryptoSlam, the total sales of NFTs for 2024 reached $8.83 billion. This was an increase of over $100 million from the previous year. Despite the growth rate being just 1.1%, it underlines the resilience of the market.
December’s NFT Sales
The month of December was notable for the success of Ethereum-based collections like Pudgy Penguins, Azuki, and Bored Ape Yacht Club. These Ethereum NFTs accounted for $488.4 million of the total sales, according to data from NFT Price Floor. Pudgy Penguins alone brought in over $285 million in trading volume, while other collections like Lil Pudgys and Azuki contributed an additional $222 million.
Nicolás Lallement, co-founder of NFT Price Floor, commented that the NFT market had a strong first quarter in 2024 for both Bitcoin and Solana NFT collections. He also noted that a repricing of Ethereum-based collections was long overdue.
Lallement further explained that the repricing wasn’t solely due to airdrops. Many NFT holders have shifted profits from speculative memecoin trades to long-term conviction plays, favoring quality collections. This trend was particularly noticeable on Ethereum, given its status as the home of the most consolidated set of blue-chip collections.
Lallement predicted a trickle-down effect in 2025 that will benefit the entire NFT ecosystem. He anticipates that it will start with collections tied to airdrops, then extend to Ethereum-based blue-chip PFP collections, generative art (such as Art Blocks), and eventually include Solana and Bitcoin.
The NFT market saw a substantial recovery in the fourth quarter of 2024. After a difficult third quarter with only $1.12 billion in sales, it rebounded by 96% to reach $2.2 billion in the fourth quarter. This was helped by November’s $562 million in sales, which set the stage for December’s near-billion-dollar performance.
DappRadar researchers attribute the rally to growing confidence in the crypto market. Their blockchain analyst, Sara Gherghelas, believes that the rise in token prices likely fueled optimism, drawing new buyers into the space. She also noted that renewed trading activity in high-value collections, such as those from Yuga Labs, coupled with rising token prices, contributed to the divergence.
Despite the rally at the end of the year, 2024’s total NFT sales were still far below the market’s peak years. In 2021, NFT sales reached $15.7 billion, nearly double the figures for 2024. The following year was even more impressive, with $23.7 billion in sales.
Lallement explained that NFTs occupy a unique position as both high-risk speculative assets and status symbols. He pointed out that during the later stages of a bull market, participants who have seen their wealth grow tend to shift their focus from speculative investments to status assets like digital art and collectibles.
Blur and OpenSea were the top marketplaces in the fourth quarter, accounting for almost 70% of all NFT sales, according to data from NFT analytics platform Tiexo. Blur led the way with over $885 million in sales for the quarter, while OpenSea followed with $607 million. Magic Eden, which focuses on Solana NFTs, recorded $365 million in sales.
The variety in marketplace activity suggests that the NFT ecosystem is still maturing. As a result, no single platform or blockchain is completely dominant. Although Ethereum remains the leader in all-time NFT sales, Solana and Bitcoin are slowly increasing their shares.
The strong performance of NFTs in December has led to speculation about what 2025 will bring. Analysts predict that Bitcoin’s rally will peak in mid-2025, which could also impact the NFT market.
