NFT Market Report for January 2024: Your Guide to Understanding & Investing

2024 holds exciting promises for Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), with key trends focusing on tokenizing real-world assets and blending NFTs with tangible products for immersive experiences. Bitcoin-based NFTs are expanding from Web3 gaming to the world of movie actors, establishing their presence. The global NFT market cap reached $193.84 billion in January 2024.

After reaching a peak of nearly $881 million in NFT sales in September 2021, there was a consistent decline. As of January 2024, the total sales value over 30 days stands at $11.8 million. While some may view NFTs as a trend for selling memes, they have the potential to revolutionize various communities.

Expect significant growth in the NFT sector. This Coinpedia report for January 2024 compiles a comprehensive overview of the NFT market, utilizing reliable data sources. It explores the current market stature and monthly performance, offering insights into the evolving world of NFTs.

Delve into the captivating world of NFTs with this report, highlighting popular trends shaping the market in January 2024. Whether you’re an enthusiast or investor, this guide provides valuable insights into the dynamic landscape of Non-fungible tokens.

Market Overview & Insights

The term “non-fungible token” is quite literal – unlike fungible items that can be easily exchanged, each NFT is unique, akin to a litter of distinct puppies. This uniqueness makes NFTs non-fungible; just like we wouldn’t swap our puppy for another, each NFT represents an individually distinct digital record, often linked to other assets or product features.

Since December, the global NFT market has experienced a significant resurgence, with sales surpassing a whopping US $1.77 billion. May 2022 set a record high at nearly US $3.4 billion. Notably, NFT sales are on track to exceed US $1 billion for the second consecutive month, a feat not seen since last February.

• NFT marketplace OpenSea is reportedly considering acquisition proposals.
• Between January 20 and 27, 2024, there was a notable decline in the sales volume stemming from NFTs, plunging 21.25% from the week before.
• The leading blockchains in seven-day sales are Ethereum and Bitcoin!
• The last week marked the steepest decline in 2024, with comparative sales plunging over 21%. This contrasts with the year-end surge in NFT sales during 2023, largely driven by Bitcoin blockchain-based NFT transactions.
• Bitcoin NFT sales dominated in November and December till the first week of January 2024.
• Recent weeks have seen a shift, with Ethereum reclaiming its position as the frontrunner in NFT sales volume.

1.1. The NFT Market Scenario

1. Ordinals Shine: BRC-20 NFTs continued to impress, securing top positions in trading volume.
2. New Entrants: Emerging blockchains like Frame and RARI are making their mark in the NFT market.
3. Cardano’s Rise: Cardano has solidified its place in the top 10 blockchains for NFT trading volume.

Anticipated Trends: A Glimpse into the Future

• Growing NFT Art Scene: Expect established and upcoming NFT art to attract a robust base of collectors.
• GameFi and NFT Integration: The fusion of DeFi, NFTs, and online gaming is enhancing digital ownership and security.
• Metaverse Integration: NFTs are becoming integral to the metaverse, facilitating digital ownership and interaction.

Solana’s Surge: A New Contender?

• In January 2024, Solana outpaced Ethereum and Polygon in NFT activity metrics.
• Solana recorded over 106,000 unique wallets and more than 2.8 million transactions, showcasing its prominence in the NFT space.

Is Solana set to lead the NFT space, and is it here to stay? The report will guide us through this exploration.

NFT price indices have surged almost 10% this month, outpacing Ether, marking a dynamic trend in the valuation of Non-fungible Tokens.

1.2. Blockchains Clash

The Solana NFT ecosystem has witnessed an impressive surge, raking in weekly earnings exceeding $65 million. Notably, Solana’s NFT volumes are on the rise, especially as blue-chip assets gain popularity within the network. A noteworthy development enhancing Solana’s growth is Magic Eden’s new incentive program set to launch shortly.

• The Blue Chips Solana NFT index soared by a remarkable 27% in January.
• Solana’s network activity witnessed a substantial increase, indicating a notable 140.2% rise in revenue generation over the last 30 days.

Momentum Boosters and Top Marketplaces

Magic Eden’s announcement of a forthcoming reward program adds another layer to Solana’s growth story. The program aims to incentivize users to engage more with NFT collections on the Solana network. Notably, Tensor, Magic Eden, and Hyperspace have emerged as the top three marketplaces for Solana NFTs in January 2024.

• Bitcoin experienced a 12.62% week-over-week drop, amounting to $55.92 million in sales for the last week of January.
• Solana secured the third position with $53.69 million in sales, marking an 11.85% decline during the same period.
• Polygon secured the fourth spot, totaling $15.66 million in sales, experiencing a 36.40% drop.

Major Trends in January NFT Space

Following a recovery in the fourth quarter of 2023, the NFT market experienced further growth in January 2024. Notably, Ethereum NFT trading volume quadrupled, while Solana NFT trading witnessed a staggering tenfold increase. Floor prices of top NFT projects on Ethereum and Solana have surged as trading volume recuperates from all-time lows.

• NFT sales on Solana surpassed the Bitcoin network in the last week of January.
• Solana’s NFT trading volume grew by 25% weekly, increasing its share from 7% to 24% over the past six weeks.
• Solana is emerging as a robust alternative to Ethereum for NFTs.

Top NFT Blockchains in January 2024

January has been filled with surprises when it comes to the NFT market. Let us explore how!

Solana

Solana is making news with its burgeoning non-fungible tokens. Solana surpassed $62 million in weekly sales. It marked a 25% surge in trading volume. 

• Solana’s weekly NFT trading volume as per CryptoSlam crossed the $62 million mark in the last week of January.
• Despite a slow start in January, Solana witnessed a resurrection.
• It gained a total trading volume for the month approaching $190 million, securing its position as the second-highest in the NFT market, right after Bitcoin.
• In December 2023, Solana had a watershed moment when its NFT sales volume passed $365 million. It surpassed Ethereum and trailed just behind Bitcoin.
• A massive momentum was seen as January began!
• Experts predict a long-lived surge in Solana’s NFT ecosystem.
• The high-value NFT collections by Tensorians contributed to Solana’s flourishing ecosystem.
• Tensorians led with a 107% surge in trading volume towards the January end, amassing a total of $4.6 million. Each Tensorian commands a floor price of 88 SOL.
• CryptoUndeads and Froganas played a role in Solana’s commendation in the last week of January! With the sale of $15 million and $4.6 million respectively, they have become the stars of the NFT space.
• Despite a 25% weekly rise in trading volume, the number of NFT-related transactions on Solana’s blockchain reduced by 15%.
• Wash Trading was seen declining by 50% in the last week of January in Solana’s NFT space.
• Tensor and Magic Eden were leading Solana NFT marketplaces, having shares of 75.74% and 18.85% in the market, respectively.

Solana is paving the way for a promising future in the NFT space with an impressive surge in sales. 

Ethereum

• The mid-Jan hit on $42.7 million by the Ethereum NFT market made headlines as it was the first time this number exceeded $40 million since June 2023. The weekly volume shot up to the heights too.
• On January 12, the Ethereum NFT space saw the second-highest daily volume of $32.52 million.
• The last few days of January saw a decline in trading volume.
• Azuki continued to lead in volume but experienced a 7% drop in floor price, settling at 6.4 ETH.
• The recovery was driven by Blur and Blast, incentivizing trading activities through airdrops. Blur dominated 82% of the total volume, while Pudgy Penguins experienced a surge of 65% in the last week of January.

3.2. Top NFT Collections in January

• Bitcoin’s Uncategorized Ordinals experienced USD $9 million in sales, witnessing a 3.75% decline from the week prior.
• In the third spot, Solana’s Froganas reported $7.04 million in sales, a significant increase of 420.77% compared to last week.
• Occupying the fourth rank, Solana’s Cryptoundeads achieved $6.75 million in sales, yet faced a 58.82% decrease.
• In the fifth position, Avalanche’s Dokyo NFT collection registered $5.85 million in sales, experiencing a 33.70% drop in sales volume from the previous week.
• January’s last week’s highest-priced digital collectable was Cryptopunk #6,940, fetching $507,618 seven days ago.
• BNB’s Lockdealnft #18,858 realized a sale of $147,157 , while an Axie Infinity NFT commanded a price of $143,559 in the last week.

• An Uncategorized Ordinal was acquired for $88,386, and a Cardano’s Meld Diamond Hand #2,813 went for $56,186.
• The sales of Cryptopunk #6,940 and the Axie Infinity NFT contributed significantly to the sales boost on their respective chains.

With this, we know that the sales of blockchain-based digital collectibles faced a challenging period throughout 2022, and most of 2023 also witnessed a downturn in NFT sales until the year’s end. Bitcoin’s entry into the NFT sales space initially boosted overall sales, but BTC-focused NFT sales not only decreased this week but also experienced a 28.15% drop the week before.

NFTs based on Solana and Polygon hinted at an increase in the latter part of 2023, yet they have recently encountered modest falls in their overall digital collectible sales volume. Whether this downward trend in NFT sales continues or a resurgence occurs remains to be seen.

3.3. NFT Whales Analysis

NFT Whales or the NFTs purchased by the largest NFT asset holders  are listed below:

3.4. Top NFT marketplaces in January

NFT Marketplace	Volume
Blur	$16.9 million
OKX	$6.05 million
OpenSea	$2.74 million
JPG Store	$2.69 million
Magic Eden	$1.96 million
MOOAR	$1.56 million
Immutable x Marketplace	$825.76k
Element Market	$695.43k
CryptoPunks	$599.05k
Axie Marketplace	$275.51k

Source : Dune

3.5. Crypto Space and NFTs

NFTs, which are digital tokens that use blockchain technology to certify ownership of digital assets, have been widely used in various sectors, including art, sports, entertainment, gaming, and retail. 

• The recent surge in the NFT market is credited to the expectation of approval for Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), which has revitalized the broader virtual asset market.
• As the prices of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and major altcoins have risen, investors have once again become interested in NFTs.
• The relationship between the cryptocurrency market and NFTs is becoming more apparent as we observe the price differences in alternative cryptocurrencies.
• In the previous month, as reported by The Block, the trading volume of NFTs based on Solana exceeded $360 million, surpassing the trading volume of NFTs based on Ethereum for the first time. During the same period, Ethereum experienced a slight increase of about 10 percent, while Solana surged by more than 100 percent.
• With the NFT market rebounding, companies that had previously lost interest are re-engaging with NFT-based marketing.
• Particularly, blockchain-linked gaming companies and retail sectors, who are known to be aware of younger demographics’ trends, have been issuing NFTs and initiating marketing campaigns related to them.
• Com2uS Platform, a blockchain subsidiary of the gaming company Com2uS, has announced plans to sell tickets as NFTs for the upcoming 35th-anniversary fan meeting of ‘Choushinsei Flashman,’ a popular special effects series in Korea, in April. In the past, Com2uS issued official Froesman NFTs, which included figures and various related products.
• Starbucks has collaborated with the art-related platform Print Bakery to issue and sell NFTs. These NFTs are based on the concept of ‘a unique cup just for you’ and feature designs that incorporate Starbucks imagery on cups, tumblers, and other products. Starbucks states that it has introduced this initiative to promote environmental conservation by encouraging the use of personal cups.

3.6. NFTs At Work

We have compiled a list of NFTs to look for in the upcoming month. These might be able to yield promising returns if kept closely!

• Azuki

It is an Ethereum anime-inspired NFT collection by Chiru Labs. The current market cap of 71,290 ETH, placing it among the top 10 NFTs of 2024. 

• CryptoPunks

A CryptoPunk collectible recently sold for 205 Ethereum worth a whopping $507,617, amid an uptick in global NFT sales, with sales volume surging by 17.72% in Jan last week.

• Bored Ape Yacht Club

It is one of the most iconic NFT collections to date. Created by Yuga Lab, its current market cap is 253,549 ETH. It has kept its position among the top 10 NFT collections strong!

• Pudgy Penguins

It is a collection of 8,888 cute, algorithmically generated cartoon penguin NFTs. The current market cap of the same is 161,121 ETH. The members enjoy an exclusive club, gaining access to global meetups and parties.

NFT Trader Profiles

The NFT market worldwide is projected to reach a market volume of$3.282 billion in 2027.

• The average revenue per user in the NFT market is $115.
• The NFT market is expected to have 19.31 million users by 2027.
• More than 50% of all NFT sales are for less than $200.
• “The Meg” is the most valued NFT to date, with a market value of more than $91 million.
• $244 million worth of NFTs were traded in the month of September 2023.
• NFTs are collected by 23% of Gen Y(millennials) in the United States.
• NFT collectors are three times more likely to be males than females.

4.1. Demographics and Characteristics

By Country:

Ever since 2022, India, Vietnam and Indonesia have been exchanging positions in the top three countries dominating the NFT space.

By Gender:

Let’s explore the NFT demographics when it comes to gender.

• India displays the most significant percentage of male NFT owners.
• Japan is the only country where female ownership slightly surpasses male ownership.
• The United States, among the leaders in NFT revenue, shows one of the largest gender gaps. This country has significantly more men owning NFTs than women.

By age group:

The table below provides information on NFT ownership by age group for selected countries. Specifically, the data is categorized into three age groups: 

18-34, 35-54, and 55+.

Some observations to note in January 2024:

• Singapore has the highest percentage of NFT ownership among the 18-34 age group at 9%.
• India follows closely with 8% ownership in the same age group. Additionally, it has a fairly even distribution across all age groups.
• Vietnam and Ireland both show a notable spike in the 55+ age group. Both countries have 11% each.
• The United States of America, despite being a major global player, has relatively modest numbers across the board. This country has 5% in the 18-34 group, 3% in the 35-54 group, and 3% in the 55+ group.
• Japan and Germany have the lowest NFT ownership percentages among the listed countries, with no group exceeding 2% ownership.

Conclusion

While the NFT market experienced a rollercoaster ride in 2023, 2024 paints a vibrant picture of transformation and potential. We’ve witnessed the rise of Bitcoin-based NFTs, the fusion of NFTs with tangible products, and the increasing dominance of Solana. Despite recent fluctuations, the NFT market cap holds strong, hinting at an underlying resilience.