Signs that the NFT bubble is continuing to burst come as the OpenSea marketplace volume plunged by ninety-nine percent in just 90 days. NFTs exploded onto the blockchain scene in 2021. From celebrities to artists, investors, and those looking for the next big crypto venture, they seemed to be everywhere, for a while. Now it seems the honeymoon is over as DeFi, NFT, and token trading website DappRadar reported that OpenSea processed only $5 million worth of transactions on August 28. This is a pittance of the $405.75 million processed on May 1.
The once popular Bored Ape Yacht Club saw its prices drop by over half in the same time period. Others saw drops by at least twenty percent. The number of users and transactions has leveled off at about half of their peak 2022 levels but volume has clearly plummeted.
There has always been some confusion as to what NFTs or non-fungible tokens are. This also may have led to the recent decline. As many people can barely fathom what cryptocurrency and a blockchain are, it becomes even more confusing to understand how a digital image now holds a monetary value. This, however, didn’t stop various gaming execs from trying to jump on the bandwagon. From Ubisoft, Square Enix, and even Sega, to some gaming storefronts, it once seemed everyone was ready to cash in on them. However, there were already signs in May that the NFT bubble was in trouble when one CEO saw their $2.9 million investment not get any bids higher than $14K when it was put up for sale.
Anything is possible and NFTs could see a return but as global economies continue to have stresses put on them, such things as blockchain investments will likely be seen as too risky for many without cash to burn. NFTs are also said to have ties to Ethereum which is set to enter its proof-of-stage phase this month but has seen its market value plunge in 2022 as well. There are groups within the blockchain marketplace who believe the market will rebound and are consolidating and taking, loans to bolster their ETH holdings. Meanwhile, some on social media are expressing opinions about the get-rich-quick viability of blockchain endeavors.
agreed, 2020-2021 was crazy get-rich-in-months & the DeFi-NFT-Web3 bubble is going bust now, turns out founders & VCs were scammers only in for the $$$.
— doncrypto (@DonCryptoDraper) August 29, 2022
But pipl said its over in 2018 too after ICOs.
The next bubble will come 100%, you just need to survive.
play the long game. https://t.co/5f17JfdFfY
Source: Cointelegraph