- NFT sales in 2024 totaled $8.83 billion, a slight increase from 2023’s $8.7 billion.
- Ethereum and Bitcoin led the market with $3.1 billion in sales each.
- December saw a 55% surge in sales, driven by Ethereum-based NFTs, including top collections like Pudgy Penguins.
In 2024, the NFT market recorded $8.83 billion in sales, a slight increase of 1.1% compared to 2023. While this growth is notable, the market remains far below the peaks reached in 2021 and 2022, which saw sales of $15.7 billion and $23.7 billion, respectively.
Ethereum and Bitcoin-based NFTs tied at $3.1 billion each for the year, maintaining dominance in the market, while Solana trailed at $1.4 billion. Despite a weak start to the year, a strong fourth quarter propelled the overall growth.
NFT Sales in 2024: A Year of Growth Amid Challenges, Ethereum Dominates
Despite some earlier setbacks, the fourth quarter of 2024 showed a promising turnaround for NFTs, with December sales jumping by over 55% compared to November. A key contributor to this growth was Ethereum, which captured the largest share of the market with $482 million in monthly sales.
This reflects a recovery trend in Ethereum-based collections, which dominate the high-end digital collectibles sector. The overall NFT market had a strong finish to the year, recording $877 million in sales for December.
The NFT sales surge in December can be attributed to strong performances from popular collections such as Pudgy Penguins and Azuki, which collectively helped drive up the market volume. Pudgy Penguins alone accounted for $115 million in sales, maintaining its place as one of the leading NFT collections.
Bitcoin-based NFTs, primarily represented by Runes, saw a decline, with sales dropping by 17% in December. Solana-based collections also experienced a slight decrease, signaling a shift toward Ethereum-led growth.
The market landscape showed mixed results for different blockchains in December. While Ethereum continued to dominate, capturing the lion’s share of NFT sales, both Bitcoin and Solana experienced negative growth, highlighting the evolving preferences within the NFT space.
Other networks, like Immutable, saw growth in NFT sales, indicating the diversification of the ecosystem beyond the primary players. Despite challenges, the overall trajectory for NFTs in 2024 suggests a steady market recovery, driven by key players in the space.
The NFT market demonstrated resilience in 2024, with a strong recovery in the latter half of the year, despite facing earlier challenges. The market is showing promising growth, and while it may not have reached the heights of previous years, it continues to thrive, particularly through Ethereum-based collections.
“NFT trading volumes could exceed billions monthly as the broader crypto market soars.” — Yat Siu,
