Original title: (Things are heating up, it seems NFTs are starting to rally?)
Original author: Azuma, Odaily Planet Daily
The long-cold NFT sector seems to be showing some signs of warming up after a long time.
According to CoinGecko data, the total market capitalization of the NFT sector has rebounded to over 6 billion USD, currently reported at 6.417 billion USD, with a 24-hour increase of 23.2%; the growth in trading volume has been even more staggering, with a total trading volume of approximately 40 million USD in the past 24 hours, an increase of about 318.3%.
Among mainstream NFT projects, CryptoPunks, Moonbirds, and Pudgy Penguins stand out exceptionally.
CryptoPunks saw a significant purchase last night when a giant whale spent millions of dollars to acquire 45 pieces (the whale also bought multiple Chromie Squiggles). NFT artist Jediwolf estimated that within just 5 hours from last night to this morning, a total of 76 CryptoPunks changed hands, marking the largest buying spree for this series since 2021. As of the publication date, the floor price of CryptoPunks is reported at 47.5 ETH, with a 24-hour increase of 15.9%.
Moonbirds gained some heat last night when OpenSea briefly changed its official X avatar to an image from the Moonbirds series. As of the publication date, the floor price of Moonbirds is reported at 1.94 ETH, with a 24-hour increase of 33.3%.
Pudgy Penguins, which can be considered a 'beacon of the industry' during the NFT winter, recently appeared in the American TV series (Poker Face) Season 2, capturing some external traffic. As of the publication date, the floor price of Pudgy Penguins is reported at 16.4 ETH, with a 24-hour increase of 13.8%.
Aside from the aforementioned standout projects, the vast majority of NFT projects have seen good increases. As of the publication date, BAYC has a 24-hour increase of 13.2%, Azuki 24-hour increase of 26.8%, and the Bitcoin ecosystem is no exception, with Taproot Wizards seeing a 24-hour increase of 30.3%.
In addition, NFT concept coins have also seen significant increases. According to OKX market data, as of the publication date, BLUR is reported at 0.1176 USDT, with a 24-hour increase of 27.4%, currently ranking third on OKX's increase list.
Regarding the warming of the NFT market, although there have been people 'calling the shots' in the market earlier, over the long years, various 'nurturing methods' surrounding NFTs have appeared too many times, resulting in the sector becoming colder day by day, and retail investors have long become numb to similar 'call-out' rhetoric.
On July 16, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes predicted on X platform that 'ETH Season has arrived, and the DeFi and NFT markets will benefit and make a comeback,' but at that time, most replies under his post were mainly mocking.
However, with recent signs that the long-awaited 'altcoin season' may be gradually arriving, discussions around whether the NFT market can warm up have also increased.
FreeLunchCapital, founder of BitmapPunks and a well-known NFT collector, stated today that institutions have contacted him in advance, attempting to acquire assets—'Since two weeks ago, some institutions have contacted me with interesting offers. Everyone knows I don't sell NFTs, but that's not the case. If the other party has resources that can attract more people’s attention to NFTs and help the industry advance, I would consider trading off-market.'
Abstract contributors 0xCygaar and other veteran players who were active during the previous NFT cycle are shouting, 'NFT Season is finally back.'
The sudden warming of NFTs is logically not too hard to understand.
On one hand, with ETH's strong rebound and rapid surge to high levels, the incoming funds will not only focus on ETH but also consider related investment targets. Since NFTs thrive in the Ethereum ecosystem, and most leading projects are still concentrated in the Ethereum ecosystem, the NFT sector can be seen as an alternative choice to ETH to some extent. In terms of trading volume, the NFTs with the highest trading volume remain leading projects on the Ethereum chain with relatively sufficient liquidity, indicating that the funds for this mild recovery primarily come from within the Ethereum ecosystem.
On the other hand, after a long period of decline, the entire NFT market has undergone significant cleansing—weak hands have exited, and those looking to control the market may have completed their selection and positioning. Considering the non-standard liquidity characteristics of NFTs, they may be a more manageable option for market manipulation compared to altcoins.
However, the current issue is that due to the NFT market being too cold previously, the consensus in the sector has almost collapsed. Even if short-term enthusiasm has picked up, whether more retail investors and funds can follow up remains uncertain.
In other words, the current situation is—if you say the altcoin season is coming, many retail investors might be willing to buy in, but if you say NFTs are about to skyrocket, it seems it's not as believable as claiming I'm Qin Shi Huang...
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