As CryptoSlam journeys deeper into Web3, we’d like to invite our earliest supporters, as readers of NFTs On Deck, to participate in our first ever Zealy Quest. We have big plans for 2024, and in many ways, that starts today. Our Zealy Quest will reward your participation with XP. But what is the XP for? Stay tuned…
For the Love of the Game (Market Commentary) |
Approved, not approved, and approved once again. Last week was a thrilling roller coaster ride when
Bitcoin ETFs FINALLY were approved, but it didn’t happen without your standard crypto clown-world drama unfolding. NFT degens? They were enjoying every moment of it.
On January 9 the SEC tweeted out that they
officially had approved Bitcoin ETFs, and the collective euphoria could be felt through your computer screen. The only problem is, it wasn’t real. The SEC’s X account had been compromised, and before they could recover it, a fake tweet tricked
the world into thinking that history was made.
That magic moment is not only preserved on the Bitcoin price chart forever but it has now been inscribed on the Bitcoin blockchain as an ordinal.
Over the past couple of months, I have said that Bitcoin ETF approval will have a massive impact on NFTs. People trade NFTs when they’re feeling “rich” and with billions of dollars, ( in the long run, trillions) coming into Bitcoin, traders are anticipating potentially crypto’s biggest bull run yet. You better believe
people will be collecting NFTs. Already last week we’re seeing signs of what’s to come, with grail NFTs being swept at a pace we’ve not seen since 2022. And while general sales are flat and the value of the market is declining again, we’re seeing indicators everywhere that things are starting to
simmer. 44 of the top 50 highest-priced NFT sales in the past week were CryptoPunks, a sign that collectors value the historic asset, and believe they may be out of reach soon. The highly coveted hoodie CryptoPunk #6912 sold for 190 ETH ($475,676.56) and was the week’s top sale, while the rest of the top 50 is a mix of art grails, Pudgy Penguins and some of the most rare NFTs in the Azuki collection.
New collections are performing fantastically too. TinFun and Age of Dino on Ethereum, and Steady on Avalanche together saw
over $14m in secondary sales between them, and multiple upcoming mints like Pizza Ninjas, Zokioverse, Quantum Cats, and CryptoUndeads have traders ready to spend big bucks to not miss out. FOMO is returning, WAGMI vibes are back, and ladies and gentlemen, the world is coming to the blockchain.
Sales last week came in at $298.28m, but in the middle of the Bitcoin ETF whirlwind on January 11, NFTs had their best day of sales in 17 days with $52.09m. On the week, total trading volume is down as were sales, but they are offset by the higher priced NFTs from the onslaught of pricey NFT
sales. Average sale prices climbed to a 4-week high because of it.
Right now we have hype, and we have liquid traders. All we need is for the crypto market to get past the initial “sell the news” sell-off to tell traders they’re safe to let loose. Realistically that may be soon, it could be well after the Bitcoin halving this year, and it very well could be next year. Without a doubt
though, we’ve rounded a corner and should be preparing for potentially the biggest run NFTs have seen yet.
- Ordinals are the king of NFTs again, with the NodeMonkes showing their resilience. Falling to .15 BTC, they quickly climbed back to over .22 BTC floor price to remain the top-selling
BTC collection.
- Gas Heros on Polygon continues to do impressive numbers and even climbed higher than last week, up 3.69% to $14.78m in sales.
- Dokyo is undeniable. $9.21m in sales, and up over 31.93% this week, Avalanche has a clear top PFP of their ecosystem.
- CryptoPunks grails and dozens of common NFTs have traded hands this week. In fact, 49 CryptoPunks have sold in the past 7 days, and represent 44 of the top 50 NFT sales this
week.
- TinFun in its first week has traded for over $6.59m on secondary and is a strong indicator that traders are ready to play the speculation game once again.
- Bored Ape prices are swinging all over the place this week. Their average sale price fell to as low as $45k early last week before being swept up and climbing to $65k
today.
- Saga Monkeys are the only Solana collection in the Top Ten as traders have begun to favor Ethereum and L2s. These were a free claim for owners of the hot new Solana Saga
phone.
- Bitcoin lost its #1 spot in a 24-hour period to Ethereum in the past week, but in the weekly chart, it
can’t be beaten. This week Bitcoin sales are down 20.70% to $96.81m, and just around $3m ahead of Ethereum.
- Traders are clearly returning to Ethereum. Sales are up 32.16% this week, climbing to $93.34m thanks to grail
hunters.
- Solana sales are on the decline for the fourth week in a row. This week Solana sales are down just 3.42% to $43.47m, but they have a major mint coming today called CryptoUndeads. Can it
push Solana back to the top?
- Polygon is still being fueled by Gas Hero, who makes up 8 of Polygon’s Top Ten collections this week. In total $29.73m of Polygon’s $34.62m comes from the top 8 Gas Hero
collections.
- An Avalanche is coming, as the Avax blockchain continues to heat up. This week NFT sales climbed 62.94%, up to $15.01m, thanks to collections
like Dokyo and the brand-new Steady.
- Azuki turned 2 years old last week, and they may be primed for their best year yet when it comes to deliverables. Last week they announced a new anime series coming from creative producer Goro
Taniguchi, along with physical collectibles, a video game featuring their Beanz NFTs, and even potentially a new token.
- Grail NFT sales were one of the biggest stories last week. CryptoPunk #6912 sold for 190 ETH ($475,676.56), CryptoPunk #8639 sold for 88.8 ETH ($240,612.69), Azuki #5889 sold for 95 ETH ($236,049.33),
CryptoPunk #9736 sold for 88.5 ETH ($229,788.69), and Azuki #308 sold for
90 ETH ($224,308.45).
- Pudgy Penguins and Lil
Pudgys have red-hot ice running through their veins.. Collectors pushed the Pudgy Penguins collection to a new all-time high in USD value as its floor price reached an astonishing 14.5 ETH. Lil Pudgys also benefited from collectors’ sweeps and hit 1.25 ETH.
- Avalanche NFTs are starting to catch the eye as collections like Dokyo with $9.2m in sales and Steady with $3.97m show traders that they’ll need to continue branching out from Ethereum if they want to have a complete game in NFTs.
- Quantum Cats are possibly the hottest up-and-coming Ordinals mint, and coming from the Taproot Wizards team it’s a can’t-miss. A quest has been announced today for collectors to participate in if
they want a shot at buying one of these evolving, on-chain Ordinals.
- Age of Dino is Ethereum’s fourth best-selling collection in the past seven days, showing that new mints can make it in the market now. In total the collection has traded for $4.52m,
and as a gaming ecosystem hopes to have serious staying power.
Even with bullish news and sentiment, the NFT market is losing value as a whole, with the Forkast 500 NFT Index reflecting the fifth consecutive week in the red. The market lost another -2.54% this week, is now down -12.95% in the past 30 days, and is threatening to erase all of our gains since
November.
I’ve mentioned that traders are starting to favor Ethereum again, and the Ethereum index reflects just how accurate this prediction was. In the past 30 days, the Ethereum ecosystem is the only blockchain in the green, now up +0.79%. Once again, everything
hinges on Bitcoin. If it continues to just tread water, traders will not be going all in on NFTs, and we may begin to see the NFT sell-off resume. However, the Blast $1.2b unlock is coming, and so are airdrops from $FRAME and $JUP to inject a much-needed stimulus. Let’s see if that gets the temperature rising in NFTs again.
Have a MEGA GMs!
CryptoUndeads Date - Jan 16 Blockchain - Solana Price - 3
SOL Rafael Rozendaal - Twist Date - Jan 17 Blockchain - Ethereum Price - Dutch Auction Ninja Alerts - Pizza Ninjas Date - Jan 18
Blockchain - Bitcoin Price - .03 BTC ThankYouX - Terrains Date - Jan 18 Blockchain - Bitcoin Price - .045 BTC Kevin Abosch - REVOLOOTS Date - Jan
19 Blockchain - Bitcoin Price - TBA Bitcoin Boos Date - Jan 22 Blockchain - Bitcoin Price - .01 BTC
Zokio - Zokioverse Date - Jan 24 Blockchain - Ethereum Price .08 ETH Matt Gondek - Deconstructed Mega-Monsters Date - Jan 26 Blockchain - ImmutableX Price - TBA |
A Bitcoin halving is coming this year for the first time since May 11, 2020. The halving refers to an event when the blockchain‘s rewards for mining transactions are cut in half, slowing the rate at which new $BTC is created. Its impact will be significant to the token’s supply and price.
Make sure to dive in to learn how the Bitcoin halving will impact the broader crypto world, including NFTs.
Happy researching!
Watch all of our episodes on Youtube. Don't have time to watch? Listen! All of our episodes are available to listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Received this from a friend? Sign up for this twice-a-week CryptoSlam VIP newsletter.
|
|