Written by: Azuma, Odaily Planet Daily
The NFT track, which had long been cold, seems to have shown some warming signs after a long absence.
CoinGecko data shows that the total market value of the NFT sector has rebounded to over $6 billion, currently reported at $6.417 billion, with a 24H increase of 23.2%; the increase in trading volume is even more dramatic, with a total trading volume of about $40 million in the past 24 hours, an increase of about 318.3%.
Among mainstream NFT projects, CryptoPunks, Moonbirds, and Pudgy Penguins stand out remarkably.
CryptoPunks saw a giant whale spend millions to buy 45 pieces last night (the whale also purchased several Chromie Squiggles). NFT artist Jediwolf reported 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 time of writing, the floor price of CryptoPunks is temporarily reported at 47.5 ETH, with a 24-hour increase of 15.9%.
Moonbirds saw a spike because OpenSea briefly changed its official X avatar to an image from the Moonbirds series last night, boosting its popularity. As of the time of writing, the floor price of Moonbirds is temporarily reported at 1.94 ETH, with a 24-hour increase of 33.3%.
Pudgy Penguins, which can be regarded as a 'light of the industry' during the NFT winter, recently appeared in a scene from the American TV series (Poker Face), capturing some off-circle traffic. As of the time of writing, the floor price of Pudgy Penguins is temporarily reported at 16.4 ETH, with a 24-hour increase of 13.8%.
Aside from the few standout projects mentioned above, the vast majority of NFT projects have seen a good increase. As of the time of writing, BAYC has a 24-hour increase of 13.2%, and Azuki has a 24-hour increase of 26.8%; the Bitcoin ecosystem is no exception, with Taproot Wizards seeing a 24-hour increase of 30.3%.
Additionally, NFT concept coins have also experienced significant increases. According to OKX's market data, as of the time of writing, BLUR is temporarily reported at 0.1176 USDT, with a 24-hour increase of 27.4%, currently ranking third on the OKX gainers list.
Regarding the recovery of the NFT market, although there were people "calling" in the market earlier, over the long period of the past few years, various 'milk methods' surrounding NFTs have appeared too many times, resulting in the track becoming colder day by day, and retail investors have long become numb to similar 'calls'.
On July 16, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes predicted on the X platform that "ETH Season has arrived, and the DeFi and NFT markets will benefit and make a comeback," but at the time, most of the replies below his post were mocking.
However, as the long-awaited 'altcoin season' has finally shown some delayed signs in the market, discussions around whether the NFT market can recover have gradually increased.
BitmapPunks founder and well-known NFT collector FreeLunchCapital stated today that some institutions had contacted him in advance trying to acquire goods — "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 attention to NFTs and help the industry improve, I would consider conducting off-market transactions."
Abstract contributors like 0xCygaar, who were active in the last NFT cycle, are now exclaiming, "NFT Season has finally returned."
The sudden recovery of NFTs is not too difficult to understand logically.
On one hand, with ETH rebounding strongly and quickly surging to high levels, the funds that follow will also consider related investment targets while paying attention to ETH. Since NFTs thrive within the Ethereum ecosystem, and the majority of leading projects are still concentrated in the Ethereum ecosystem, NFTs can to some extent be viewed as an alternative choice to ETH. In terms of trading volume, the largest NFT by trading volume remains a leading project on the Ethereum chain with relatively sufficient liquidity, indicating that the funds for this small rebound primarily originate from within the Ethereum ecosystem.
On the other hand, after a long period of low points, the entire NFT market has undergone thorough washing — weak hands have exited, and those with intentions to control the market may have already completed their target selection and chip layout. Considering the non-standard liquidity characteristics of NFTs, NFTs may be a more manageable choice for market control compared to altcoins.
The current issue is that the NFT market was previously so cold that the consensus around the track has almost collapsed. Even if short-term popularity has increased, 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, there might still be many retail investors willing to buy, but if you say NFTs are about to surge, it seems it's not even as believable as saying I am Qin Shi Huang...
