November NFT Dynamics: Trading Volume Increases, Blur's Position Strengthens
The data in this report comes from the NFT research page of Footprint Analytics.Author: stella@footprint.network
In November, with the rise in Bitcoin and Ethereum prices, the cryptocurrency market became active, showing further signs of recovery. In the NFT space, Blur's trading volume surged, further solidifying its position; the launch of Blast has rewritten the Layer 2 landscape. Meanwhile, Binance's CEO announced his resignation, marking the arrival of a mature market that embraces compliance and moves forward.
The data for this report comes from Footprint Analytics' NFT research page. This page provides an easy-to-use dashboard containing the most critical statistics and metrics to understand the latest dynamics in the NFT industry, updated in real-time. You can click here to find the latest information on transactions, projects, funding, and more.
Key Highlights
Cryptocurrency Market Overview
Bitcoin's price continued to rise, opening at $34,629 at the beginning of the month and closing at $37,848, marking a 9.3% increase.
The resolution of the Binance case is generally viewed positively as it reduces systemic risks in the cryptocurrency industry and boosts investor confidence.
NFT Market Overview
The recovery in the cryptocurrency market in November also extended to the NFT market. NFT trading volume surged by 50.7%, reaching $644 million.
The increase in trading volume was more due to the rise in token prices used for pricing NFTs rather than a significant rebound in actual trading activity.
The NFT blue-chip index grew by 12.8% in November.
Public Chains and NFT Trading Markets
Ethereum continued to dominate the NFT market, with trading volume reaching $630 million, accounting for 98.5% of total trading volume, a 50.4% increase from October.
Blur maintained its lead with a 66.3% market share, achieving a trading volume of $430 million.
OpenSea's trading volume fell to $150 million in November, a 16.8% decrease from October, with its market share shrinking from 41.4% to 23.1%.
NFT Investment and Financing Situation
The NFT investment and financing market became more active in November, completing two rounds of financing totaling $11.5 million.
The Bitcoin-focused Ordinals project Taproot Wizards recently announced the completion of a $7.5 million funding round, led by Standard Crypto.
Key Developments This Month
Yuga Labs will collaborate with Magic Eden to launch a new Magic Eden ETH market by the end of the year.
OpenSea announced a 50% layoff.
Square Enix announces the launch date for Symbiogenesis, its first NFT game.
Japanese gaming giant Square Enix announced the release date for its first NFT game, Symbiogenesis.
Disney partners with Dapper Labs to launch an NFT application.
Cryptocurrency Market Overview
In November, Bitcoin's price continued to rise, opening at $34,629 and closing at $37,848, marking a 9.3% increase. During the same period, Ethereum opened at $1,812 and steadily grew by 11.9%, closing at $2,028 by the end of the month.
Data Source: BTC Price & ETH Price
The financial market's response to multiple potential risks has been relatively mild. Expectations for the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF have fueled bullish sentiment, while positive developments in the Middle East conflict have alleviated concerns about broader regional instability. Similarly, the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) continues to trend downward, increasing market optimism about the Federal Reserve potentially lowering interest rates and the U.S. economy achieving a "soft landing."
As part of a $4 billion settlement with U.S. institutions, Zhao Changpeng (CZ) resigned as CEO of Binance on November 21. This settlement ends extensive investigations by several U.S. regulatory agencies, including the Department of Justice, into Binance's alleged violations of anti-money laundering laws and other regulations. Following the announcement of the settlement, Bitcoin's price briefly dropped to $35,800 but stabilized in the mid-$36,000 range by the next morning. The market generally views this settlement positively, believing it reduces systemic risks in the cryptocurrency industry and enhances investor confidence.
NFT Market Overview
The recovery in the cryptocurrency market in November also extended to the NFT market. NFT trading volume surged by 50.7%, reaching $644 million. The number of transactions remained stable at approximately 1,070,324, but the number of unique users (wallets) decreased by 12.9%, totaling 244,928.
Data Source: NFT Market Overview
In November, the NFT market's market capitalization rose by 7.9% from $4.68 billion at the beginning of the month to $5.05 billion by the end of the month.
Data Source: NFT Market Cap & Volume
In November, the buyer/seller ratio in the NFT market was 100.6%, a decrease of 35.5% from October. There were 146,877 buyers and 145,956 sellers in November. Compared to the previous month, the number of buyers decreased by 21.7%, while the number of sellers increased by 5.9%.
Although the NFT market's trading volume increased by 50.7% in November, the decrease in the number of buyers by 21.7% indicates that the increase in trading volume does not necessarily mean a comprehensive recovery of the market. This growth in trading volume is more attributed to the rise in token prices used for pricing NFTs rather than a significant rebound in actual trading activity.
Data Source: Daily Buyers & Sellers
The NFT blue-chip index grew by 12.8% in November.
Data Source: BlueChip Index
According to data from Footprint Analytics, the floor price of CryptoPunks increased by 18.4% in November, rising from 46.8 ETH to 55.5 ETH, peaking at 70 ETH on November 14. CryptoPunks leads the NFT market with a market cap of $1.3 billion and a market share of 19.2%. The Bored Ape Yacht Club maintained a floor price of 30 ETH, with a market cap of $670 million and a market share of 10.3%.
Data Source: Market Cap Distribution in November
From another perspective on the NFT market, according to Google Trends data, using the peak interest point in January 2022 as a baseline set at 100; by the end of November, the public interest levels for "NFT" (blue curve) and "Non-fungible token" (red curve) were only at 5. This indicates that although the market is recovering with increases in trading volume and market cap, public interest in NFTs remains significantly lower than during peak periods.
Data Source: Google Trends
Public Chains and NFT Trading Markets
In November, Ethereum continued to dominate the NFT market, with trading volume reaching $630 million, accounting for 98.5% of total trading volume, a 50.4% increase from October.
Data Source: Monthly Volume by Chain
In November, the number of Ethereum users (wallets) grew by 7.6%, reaching 140,000. In contrast, the number of BNB Chain users decreased by 4% compared to October, totaling 17,000, down 73.5% from 63,000 in July. Meanwhile, the number of Polygon users significantly dropped by 35.3%, totaling 92,000.
Data Source: Monthly Unique Users by Chain
In the NFT trading market, Blur maintained its lead with a 66.3% market share, achieving a trading volume of $430 million. This trading volume surged by 112.3% compared to October, pushing Blur to its highest historical market share.
After launching its exchange feature on Binance and introducing its Layer 2 network Blast, Blur's native token $BLUR saw a price increase. On November 21, the price of $BLUR was $0.30, peaking at $0.68 on November 25, before falling back to $0.50 by the end of the month.
Blast was developed by one of Blur's founders, Tieshun Roquerre. After raising $20 million from Paradigm and Standard Crypto, it opened its beta version to invited users on November 21, beginning its early access phase. Blast is positioned as the first Ethereum Layer 2 solution with a native yield model, quickly accumulating over $600 million in TVL before the end of the month. Despite generating buzz on social media, Blast has faced criticism for its multi-signature contracts, withdrawal restrictions, and referral rules.
Blast
Meanwhile, OpenSea's trading volume fell to $150 million in November, a 16.8% decrease from October, with its market share shrinking from 41.4% to 23.1%.
At the beginning of November, OpenSea announced significant layoffs, reducing its workforce by nearly 50%. This move aligns with OpenSea's strategic transformation as it prepares to launch a new version of its trading market, OpenSea 2.0, aimed at embracing a more streamlined and flat organizational structure to enhance flexibility and competitiveness in the rapidly changing NFT space. This layoff is the second since OpenSea reduced its workforce by 20% in July 2022. The layoffs are seen as a response to OpenSea's lagging NFT trading volume compared to Blur, highlighting OpenSea's efforts to adapt and maintain its position as a key market player.
X2Y2's market position has also declined, with its market share dropping to 5.4% in November, the lowest level for the platform since May 2022.
Data Source: Monthly Volume by Marketplace - Distribution
In November, the NFT market's performance in terms of user metrics varied. OpenSea maintained its lead in attracting users (wallets), with a platform user count of 204,000. However, this figure represents a 16.9% decrease compared to October. In contrast, Blur saw significant user growth, with 44,000 users, an increase of 50.3% from the previous month.
Data Source: Monthly Unique Users by Marketplace
NFT Investment and Financing Situation
The NFT investment and financing market became more active in November, completing two rounds of financing totaling $11.5 million.
Authentick secured $4 million in seed funding from Menyala, a venture capital platform founded by Temasek. Authentick aims to help users purchase digital collectibles without a Web3 wallet or access to exchanges. They are enabling NFTs to be sold on traditional e-commerce sites like Lazada to help brands reach a broader audience.
The Bitcoin-focused Ordinals project Taproot Wizards recently announced the completion of a $7.5 million funding round, led by Standard Crypto. The project has a limited release of 2,121 Wizard NFTs, symbolizing Bitcoin's total supply of 21 million. Currently, less than 1% of Taproot Wizards Ordinals have been minted.
Source: Taproot Wizards - Wizard #0001
Recently, Bitcoin-related Ordinals projects have been very popular. Udi Wertheimer, co-founder of Taproot Wizards, stated that they are keeping their release plans confidential to maintain long-term interest.
He said, "We want to find those who are mission-driven, not just those focused on JPEG images."
The data in this report includes:
Chains: Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Chain, Cronos, Optimism
Trading Markets: OpenSea, LooksRare, Blur, X2Y2, Cryptopunks, Rarible, SuperRare, Foundation, Decentraland, Aavegotchi, Element, Era7, the Sandbox, Minted
This article is for industry research and communication purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice. The market is risky; please invest cautiously.
This article is contributed by the Footprint Analytics community.
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