Up until November, NFT sales have been on a steady decline, with each month recording a new low. However, this all changed in November when sales grew by over $70 million, according to CryptoSlam.
What makes the growth more impressive is the preceding market conditions. Earlier last month, FTX imploded, leaving carnage in its wake, while the bear market has done enough damage to dampen spirits.
Despite all these tribulations, NFT sales last month managed to rise by 13.2% in value from the previous month. Interestingly, individual transactions fell by 18.75%, according to the NFT aggregation site.
Yehudah Petscher, NFT relations strategist at CryptoSlam, notes that the prevailing market conditions make it hard to pinpoint what exactly drove the rise in NFT sales. However, it is clear that interest in NFTs will continue to grow as the Web3 or token-based internet takes shape.
Some experts are of the opinion that the sales might have been inspired by whales. These are large NFT accounts that are swooping in to pick up any available opportunities. Giulio Xiloyannis, co-founder of LiquidX, a Web3 venture capital studio, is one expert who shares this sentiment.
He notes that whales are resilient to market shocks like the FTX implosion. Thus, they seek opportunities whenever there is a market slump.
Can NFT Sales Keep Growing?
Even though the November sales appear to be an anomaly, it’s too early to start celebrating. Petscher notes that there is uncertainty within the space. Investors are waiting to see how widespread the FTX contagion will be.
“Everybody is waiting to see what the trickle-down effect is from that.” It’s one of the “reasons why people are not ready to dive right back into the deep end with NFTs, because we don’t feel like we’ve seen all there is that’s supposed to happen or that may happen yet.”
That said, a wallet connected to the now-defunct Alameda Research is believed to be holding some valuable NFT pieces worth millions. These include 57 BAYC and the Otherside collections, including 31 Bored Ape Yacht Club pieces considered rare.
