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In September, the well-known mainstream media "Rolling Stone" published an article titled "Your NFTs Are Actually — Finally — Totally Worthless", which caused a stir . received widespread attention. The article claimed that “valuations of 95% of once-hyped crypto assets have hit rock bottom,” rendering them “essentially worthless.” While this statement strikes a nerve, the reality is more nuanced and gives reason for optimism.
Although the NFT market experienced a sharp decline in September, it finally achieved a transaction volume of $370.9 million. We need to realize that $370.9 million is not “worthless,” it still has some value. In this report, we will delve into the dynamics of blockchain networks, NFT trading markets, and investment and financing activities in the NFT field. We will see hope from these aspects.
The data for this report comes from Footprint Analytics' NFT research page. This page provides an easy-to-use dashboard containing the most key statistics and indicators to understand the latest developments in the NFT industry, updated in real time. You can find the latest information on deals, projects, financings and more here .
Key points overview
Crypto Market Overview
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In September, the price of Bitcoin fluctuated slightly, fluctuating between a low of $25,158 and a high of $27,210 during the month.
NFT Market Overview
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In September, the NFT market went against the trend of Bitcoin and saw a significant decline, with trading volume falling significantly.
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The blue chip index showed a downward trend in September, falling 7.5% during the month.
Public chain and NFT trading market
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Ethereum’s transaction volume was $364 million, down 30.3% from August.
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In terms of transaction volume, Blur’s dominance is gradually waning. LooksRare's market share in September was 19.3%, showing an upward trend.
NFT investment and financing situation
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In September, the NFT market continued to show a downturn, with a total of three rounds of financing amounting to US$27.14 million.
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Well-known crypto investment institutions such as A16z have shown signs of a "dip hunting" strategy, but have not yet invested in the NFT field.
Highlights this month
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Walmart will sell the toy line of NFT project Pudgy Penguins in 2,000 supermarkets across the United States.
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Google will allow advertisers to use advertising services to promote NFT games that have nothing to do with gambling starting September 15.
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Animoca Brands raises $20 million for its Mocaverse project.
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NFT art platform TRLab completed a US$5 million seed round of financing, led by Hivemind Capital and OKX Ventures.
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Casio will release 15,000 limited edition G-SHOCK NFTs on Polygon on September 23.
Crypto Market Overview
In September, the price of Bitcoin fluctuated slightly, fluctuating between a low of $25,158 and a high of $27,210 during the month. The initial price at the beginning of the month was $25,940, and it grew slightly by 3.7% during the month, finally closing at $26,899.
Data source: BTC Price & ETH Price
Both Bitcoin value and on-chain activity increased in September compared to the previous month. The increase in on-chain activity may be due to investors getting ready to take positions ahead of the potential regulatory approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF. Spot Bitcoin ETFs made some progress in late August.
Additionally, the trustee of cryptocurrency exchange Mt Gox will defer creditor repayments until October 2024. It currently holds about 138,000 Bitcoins, currently worth $3.7 billion. This decision may reduce market selling pressure expectations and have a positive impact on Bitcoin's performance in September.
NFT Market Overview
In September, the NFT market went against the trend of Bitcoin and saw a significant decline, with the largest decline in transaction volume. The total transaction volume in September was US$370.9 million, a significant decrease of 30.6% compared with August; the transaction volume also decreased, reaching 1,038,886 transactions, a decrease of 7.7%; the number of independent users was 244,186, a decrease of approximately 22.5%.
Data source: NFT Market Overview
The recent market downturn has had a clear impact on market capitalization, which has continued to fluctuate and trend downward throughout the month.
Data source: NFT Market Cap & Volume
In September, the buyer/seller ratio in the NFT market was 103.0%, a decrease of 29.2% from August. There were 14,832 buyers and 143,617 sellers throughout the month. It is worth noting that compared with the previous month, the number of buyers decreased by 30.6% and the number of sellers decreased by 11.0%. These data indicate that NFT market activity slowed down in September, with fewer buyers and sellers participating, and bearish market sentiment still prevailing.
Data source: Daily Buyers & Sellers
In September, daily unique users trends were similar to daily buyer/seller trends. It is worth noting that user participation increased from September 20 to 22, mainly related to the Pandra: PixelProwler NFT-related airdrop activities on four blockchains, among which Polygon’s user participation was the most prominent.
Data source: Daily Unique Users
The blue chip index showed a downward trend in September, with a decline of 7.5%.
Data source: BlueChip Index
While some popular NFT series have seen significant price drops, some projects are exploring opportunities outside of the NFT trading market to reach larger audiences in the real world. One way is to sell physical products through existing platforms.
One example is Pudgy Penguins, which recently launched the Pudgy Toys line in 2,000 Walmart stores in the United States. Each toy comes with a unique "birth certificate" and the owner can request unique characteristics for their digital "Pudgy Forever" character in Pudgy World. This online virtual world runs on the zkSync Era chain, and users can scan QR codes to activate their digital characters. Pudgy Penguins effectively utilizes social media and experiential marketing strategies to attract and retain its audience, setting itself apart from other NFT brands that struggle to maintain momentum.
Source: walmart.com
Public chain and NFT trading market
In September, Ethereum's transaction volume reached $364 million, accounting for 98.1% of the total NFT market transaction volume. However, total Ethereum transaction volume fell by 30.3% compared to August, reflecting the downward trend in the overall NFT market.
Data source: Monthly Volume by Chain
Ethereum attracted a total of 135,600 unique users, a decrease of 8.1% compared to August. Polygon's number of unique users also declined, totaling 93,700, a decrease of 30.5%. The number of unique BNB users was 31,700, a significant decrease of 42.2%. User engagement has continued to decline over the past few months.
Data source: Monthly Unique Users by Chain
In terms of the NFT trading market, Blur’s dominance in terms of trading volume is gradually waning. In September, its market share fell from 48.9% to 47.0%. This downward trend started in June, when the share was 64.4%. In contrast, LooksRare’s market share has been on an upward trend over the same period. Its market share increased from 8.9% in June to 19.3% in September. Meanwhile, OpenSea's market share remained stable at 22.4% in September, down slightly from 23.2% in August. The NFT market landscape is changing, with Blur's dominance waning and LooksRare's appeal growing.
Data source: Monthly Volume by Marketplace - Distribution
Overall user activity in the NFT market declined in September, resulting in fewer users participating in most trading markets. Despite this trend, OpenSea still dominates, attracting a massive user base of 189,600 unique users. However, this figure dropped significantly by 29.7% compared with August. Element, on the other hand, is seeing a positive trend in user engagement. In September, it had 41,300 unique users, an increase of 13.7% compared to the previous month.
Data source: Monthly Unique Users by Marketplace
Throughout September, the NFT trading market continued to have heated discussions around NFT royalties. Rarible announced its decision to stop aggregating orders from OpenSea, LooksRare and X2Y2 after September 30. This move demonstrates Rarible’s pro-royalty stance.
Source: Rarible X (Twitter )
The debate over royalties began in February 2022, when X2Y2 began charging creators 0% royalties. Subsequently, platforms such as Sudoswap, Magic Eden and LooksRare also adopted similar practices. OpenSea was originally a staunch advocate of creator royalties, setting royalties at a maximum of 10%. However, in February this year, due to competitive pressure from rival Blur, OpenSea reduced its royalties. OpenSea recently decided to make royalties optional, adjusting the Operater Filter tool that once enforced creator royalties to no longer enforce them.
NFT investment and financing situation
In September, the NFT market continued to show a downturn, with a total of three rounds of financing amounting to US$27.14 million.
Animoca Brands recently disclosed that they received a binding financing commitment of up to $20 million. This financing is intended to accelerate the development of Mocaverse. This round of financing was led by CMCC Global, with participation from well-known investors such as Kingsway Capital, Liberty City Ventures, and GameFi Ventures.
Source: Animoca Brands Website
Mocaverse is an exclusive membership NFT project for Animoca's many companies, projects, investments, shareholders and partners. Its main goal is to build Web3 native tools to empower games, culture, and entertainment products. Through Mocaverse, users can create their own digital identity, accumulate reputation, earn and use loyalty points, and use their digital identity to enter the vast Mocaverse ecosystem. Animoca owns and invests in more than 450 companies, and these companies and partners have more than 700 million potential users. Mocaverse will soon launch Moca ID, a series of non-transferable NFTs designed to help users shape their own on-chain identity and actively participate in the Mocaverse ecosystem.
NFT art platform TRLab announced the completion of a US$5 million seed round of financing, led by Hivemind Capital Partners and OKX Ventures, with participation from HashKey Capital.
TRLab is committed to working with artists, foundations and art institutions to conceive, create and launch art experiences, especially to provide high-quality digital art interactions for established and emerging collectors. TRLab has released multiple projects in partnership with major fashion magazine Vogue, the Calder Foundation, Cai Guo-Qiang (contemporary artist), and Rhizome (a digital art agency affiliated with the New Museum in New York).
来源：Your Daytime Fireworks by Cai Guo-Qiang- TRLab
Although the crypto market continues to be depressed in September, well-known investment institutions such as a16z have shown signs of participating in the "low-price" strategy. It is worth noting that from June to August 2023, a16z maintained relatively low investment activity, with only one investment per month. However, their recent recovery has been clear, with four investments made in September. But none of these investments are targeted at the NFT market.
Conclusion
Mainstream media often pursue extreme narratives, focusing on the absolute highs and lows to create attention-grabbing headlines. In the midst of this media frenzy, it's important to remember: the people working to create and build NFTs are working behind the scenes, unaffected by market fluctuations.
When outlets like Rolling Stone publish articles like this, people are saying, “Now is the time to buy.”
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The above research report data includes:
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Chain: Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Chain, Cronos, Optimism
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Trading Markets: OpenSea, LooksRare, Blur, X2Y2, Cryptopunks, Rarible, SuperRare, Foundation, Decentraland, Aavegotchi, Element, Era7, the Sandbox, Minted
This article was contributed by the Footprint Analytics community.
The Footprint Community is a global, mutually supportive data community where members use visual data to work together to create communicable insights. In the Footprint community, you can get help, build links, and communicate about blockchain-related learning and research on Web 3, Metaverse, GameFi and DeFi. With many active, diverse, and highly engaged members inspiring and supporting each other through the community, a worldwide user base has been established to contribute data, share insights, and drive community development.
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