NFT Market Rebounds with $800M+ in Monthly Trading Volume

The NFT market is gradually recovering. According to a CryptoValleyJourna report, total sales volume last month exceeded $800 million across more than 5 million transactions. One contributing factor was the launch of a meme coin by the Pudgy Penguins collection, which spurred interest in other major projects.

NFT Market Revival and Sales Growth

Analysts indicate that the NFT market has returned to levels seen roughly a year ago during a short-term spike in activity. Recent weeks have shown significant increases in sales, even for collections that had fallen into obscurity.

For instance, the famous 2017 collection EtherRocks, consisting of 100 colorful stones, recently recorded sales exceeding $1 million. Other collections like Cryptopunks and Pudgy Penguins also experienced notable growth, with some Azuki sales reaching $369,211 (Azuki #6536).

Despite the growth, the market is still far from its record-breaking levels of 2021, when monthly trading volumes exceeded $2 billion. However, data from Cryptoslam.io shows a 21.03% increase last month ($870.96 million), indicating positive momentum.

PENGU and Its Market Impact

A major catalyst for growth was the launch of PENGU, a meme coin from the Pudgy Penguins collection. On December 17, 2024, the token debuted on major exchanges, including Binance, Bybit, OKX, and Bitget. With an initial market cap of around $3.5 billion, the token faced selling pressure, which reduced its capitalization to $1.59 billion at the time of writing. Approximately 7 million wallets received the token, with an average distribution of 6,000 PENGU per wallet.

The airdrop attracted attention not only from NFT holders but also from long-term ETH holders, dApp users, and other blockchain communities. In the days leading up to the listing, the collection's Floor Price surpassed $100,000 for the first time, later climbing to $135,000 before dropping to $57,000 after the airdrop.

Despite the ~45% decline in Floor Price post-airdrop, experts predict this is temporary, as another airdrop for the Abstract Chain project, owned by the same company behind Pudgy Penguins, is planned.

Future of the NFT Market and Challenges for Major Projects

While the NFT market continues its recovery, it also faces challenges. One notable event was the issuance of a Wells Notice to the CyberKongz project by the SEC, signaling potential securities law violations. A similar notice was issued to OpenSea in August 2024, but no further details have been disclosed.

Nevertheless, the outlook for the NFT market in 2025 remains promising. Animoca Brands' chairman Yat Siu predicts that the market will not only recover from its downturn but also surpass its peak performance in 2021.

The emergence of crypto-friendly policies in the U.S. following Donald Trump’s election may further improve the regulatory environment for blockchain technologies, providing an additional boost for NFT growth and mainstream adoption.

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This post is for informational purposes only and is not an ad or investment advice. Please do your own research making any decisions.