NFTs use blockchain to record the ownership of digital items
such as images, videos, collectibles, and even land in virtual worlds.
Surging sales and hefty prices on NFTs - items which do not
physically exist - have baffled many but the explosive growth shows no sign of
abating.
The third-quarter figure was up from $1.3 billion in Q2 and
$1.2 billion in Q1, DappRadar said.
On the biggest NFT marketplace, OpenSea, sales volumes hit
$3.4 billion in August. Activity remained strong even in September when global
stock markets faltered.
Cryptocurrency price gains during the COVID-19 pandemic are
often cited as a driver behind the NFT market's growth - because people use
cryptocurrencies to buy NFTs - but enthusiasts say that the crypto assets have
value independently of market conditions.
To be sure, estimates for the size of the NFT market vary
depending on what is included. Transactions which take place
"off-chain", such as NFT art sales at auction houses, are often not
captured by the data.
DappRadar's numbers, which include multiple blockchains and
"off-chain" transactions, put total 2021 sales volume at $13.2
billion. Another market tracker, CryptoSlam, which excludes
"off-chain" sales, says the figure is $9.6 billion.
Meanwhile, NonFungible.com, which tracks NFTs on the
Ethereum blockchain only, puts the 2021 total volume at $7 billion.
The most expensive known NFT sale was a digital collage sold
at Christie's for $69.3 million in March. Since then, no known NFT has come
close to this price, but auction houses still hold NFT sales, often fetching
millions.
However, despite growing sales and celebrities and other
investors jumping on the trend, the number of NFT buyers remains relatively
small: there were just 265,927 active wallets trading NFTs on the ethereum
blockchain in Q3, NonFungible.com said.
More than half of NFTs sold in Q3 were $101-$1,000, while
those in the $1,001 -$10,000 bracket
accounted for 20 percent of sales, and 17 percent fetched less than $100,
NonFungible.com said.
One NFT brand to see particularly high growth in Q3 was Art
Blocks, a US-based project which sells NFTs of algorithmically-generated
digital artworks.
On Saturday, an Art Blocks NFT sold for 2,100 Ether. Average
Art Blocks prices have risen to roughly $15,100 per NFT in September, up from
$3,300 in July, according to CryptoSlam.
Gaming-related NFTs also surged, with the blockchain-based game Axie Infinity leading the "play-to-earn" sector with $776 million in Q3 revenues, DappRadar said. © Reuters