"A historic week!" When the clock struck 0:00 on July 21, the screens of the crypto circle were simultaneously lit up by two strong lights—on the left was the celebration of Ethereum (ETH) just after its 10th birthday,#ETH on the right was the sudden "explosion" of the NFT market with a 22% surge in a single day.#NFT市场回暖
On one side, there's the romance of the "Blockchain 2.0 Godfather" running around the world with an NFT torch, and on the other side, there's the madness of CryptoPunks' floor price approaching $180,000; on one side, the ETH price surges to $3,793, hitting an 8-month high, and on the other side, the daily trading volume of NFTs skyrockets to $42.7 million—is this just an ordinary week? It's clearly a "double celebration" scene in the crypto world!#稳定币监管风暴
First Act: Ethereum's tenth anniversary, written with NFT's "decentralized romance"
If Bitcoin is the "creation myth of digital gold," then Ethereum must be the representative of "blockchain possibilities."
Ten years ago, when Vitalik Buterin wrote down the vision of a "world computer" in the white paper, perhaps no one thought that this blockchain, which focuses on "smart contracts," would eventually become the "spiritual home" of NFTs.
In order to celebrate its tenth anniversary, the Ethereum team did a super ritualistic operation—a global NFT torch relay.
On July 21, co-founder Joseph Lubin transformed into the "first torchbearer" and passed an NFT torch symbolizing the "spirit of decentralization" between wallets. This torch is not simple: every day, a core community member (developer, artist, early contributor) takes the baton, and each person can only hold it for 24 hours, until July 30—the tenth anniversary of the launch of the Ethereum mainnet. The torch will be "lit" and a new chapter will begin.
What's even more amazing is that the official also released a message: everyone can receive a "tenth anniversary commemorative NFT" for free. Whether you are a large currency holder or a newbie who has just entered the circle, as long as you participate in community interaction, you can put this digital badge engraved with "ETH×10" into your pocket. This wave of operations perfectly replicates Ethereum's core of "openness and inclusiveness"—after all, it was because of the "everyone can participate" smart contract platform that it overturned the Bitcoin side chain that "only institutions can play".
However, the most shocking thing to outsiders is that Ethereum has lived to become the "top father of the NFT world" in ten years.
Second Act: NFT soars 22%! Ethereum "flying" is not just the price
If Ethereum's tenth anniversary is a "sentimentality killer," then the sudden outbreak of the NFT market is "real hard power."
On July 21, the total market value of NFT jumped directly from 5.1 billion US dollars to 6.4 billion US dollars, a single-day increase of 22%; even more exaggerated is the trading volume—42.7 million US dollars, a surge of 344% compared to the previous week! What is the concept? It is equivalent to the NFT market, which has been silent for most of the year, suddenly being thrown into a fire, and even the ashes are burning sizzling.
Leading the charge is the "top-tier group" of the NFT circle:
CryptoPunks: The floor price soared 16% from 40.3 ETH (approximately $153,000), directly reaching 47.5 ETH (approximately $179,000), buying one is equivalent to the down payment for half a house in Nanshan District, Shenzhen;
Pudgy Penguins: followed closely behind, rising 15%, and the price of 16.75 ETH (approximately $63,500) made the meme of "penguins wearing sunglasses" the new era's "digital Hermes";
Moonbirds and Lil Pudgys are even more exaggerated: the former rose 34% to 1.94 ETH (approximately $7,200), and the latter rose 17% to 1.78 ETH (approximately $6,600), and even media outside the circle began to ask: "What is this thing based on?"
How hot is the market sentiment? Look at the whales. Blockchain detective Lookonchain revealed that a newly registered wallet smashed 2082 ETH (approximately $5.7 million) in a few hours to buy 45 CryptoPunks.
This operation is very similar to retail investors chasing Moutai back then—buying high and not buying low, but some people are willing to be the "leading big brother." More importantly, this wave of NFT craze is a "match made in heaven" with Ethereum's "tenth anniversary market."
Third Act: Ethereum "gone crazy," NFT "winning effortlessly"? Behind it are three promoters
Many people think that NFT is rising because it "takes advantage of Ethereum's popularity," but the truth is—Ethereum and NFT have long been "grasshoppers on the same rope."
Promoter 1: Ethereum's "return of the king" gives NFT a "strong heart shot"
In the past six months, ETH's trend can be described as a "counterattack novel": from $2,800 in late April, it rose all the way to $3,793 in July, with a monthly increase of more than 35%; the market value even soared to $458 billion, hitting a nearly 8-month high. The technical indicators are even more exaggerated: the RSI (Relative Strength Index) soared to 87.8, which is in an "overbought to feverish" state; the MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) steadily maintains the "golden cross," with bullish signals fully loaded.
Why can ETH rise? On the one hand, Ethereum 2.0's "staking economy" is becoming more and more popular—now more than 30 million ETHs are staked, with an annualized return of more than 5%, becoming a "cash cow" for institutions; on the other hand, DeFi (Decentralized Finance) and NFT's "dual engine" drive: DeFi's total value locked (TVL) returns to $50 billion, and 75% of the fees of the NFT trading market Opensea flow to the ETH ecosystem.
Simply put: When ETH rises, the "foundation" of NFT is stable. After all, 90% of NFT transactions now have to go through the ETH chain. When the price of ETH rises, the transaction fees, gas fees, and even the sentiment of "holding coins and waiting for appreciation" all rise with the tide.
Promoter 2: NFT "fundamentals" are recovering, not just "speculating on air"
Of course, ETH's rise alone is not enough. The essence of this NFT rebound is a "return to value."
Look at the data: last week, the total transaction volume of cross-chain NFTs exceeded 140 million US dollars, which is the highest in 6 months; among them, NFTs on the ETH chain accounted for half of the country, with a transaction volume of 75 million US dollars, a surge of 300% in a single week! You know, two weeks ago, the transaction volume of ETH's NFT was only 18.3 million US dollars—equivalent to quadrupling in 10 days. Is this a "rebound"? It's simply a "carp leaping over the dragon gate."
More detailed indicators are more convincing:
Daily trading volume: $30.7 million (+331%);
Sales: $2.25 million (+110%);
Active listings: $32.9 million (+302%).
In other words, the current NFT market is not "no one buying," but "rushing to buy." In the past, it was a "small circle of self-entertainment," but now it's "institutions + retail investors" rushing together—for example, the new buyers of CryptoPunks include both American crypto funds and young players from Southeast Asia.
Promoter 3: Is the "NFT season" coming? Market sentiment is "self-reinforcing"
The most subtle is the "emotional leverage."
When BTC broke the historical high of $119,000 and ETH stood at $3,800, the "risk preference" of the entire crypto circle was completely ignited. Retail investors began to shout "the bull market is coming," and institutions began to re-examine the value of NFT—after all, in the Web3 era, NFT is not only a "digital artwork," but also an "identity ID," "community admission ticket," and "metaverse land."
On X (formerly Twitter), crypto KOL Chris Taylor directly shouted: "This is not a rebound, it is the starting point of the 'NFT bull market'!" Blockworks co-founder Jason Yanowitz even "Versailles": "Now even the new highs of Bitcoin and ETH are the prelude to NFT financial instruments—you wait and see, in the future, NFT mortgage lending and NFT index funds may be more popular than speculating on coins."
However, there are also voices of calm. CryptoSlam's data shows that although trading volume and prices have risen, the number of active NFT buyers has decreased by 52%, and the total global NFT trading volume is still low—this shows that the current popularity may be more of a "carnival of existing funds" rather than "new funds entering the market."
Finale: The tenth anniversary is not the end, but a new starting point for "narrative + emotion"
Looking back at the tenth anniversary of Ethereum, we will find that the most powerful thing about this blockchain project has never been "how many times it has risen," but "always being able to lead an era"—from smart contracts to DeFi, from DAO to NFT, Ethereum is like a "wave maker," constantly pushing new narratives to a climax.
The essence of this NFT rebound is another release of "Ethereum ecological value": When ETH price stabilizes, when technical indicators are bullish, and when community sentiment is high, NFT, as "Ethereum's most representative application," naturally becomes the "first stop" for funds to pour in.
Of course, investing in NFT is never "buying with your eyes closed"—after all, 90% of NFTs will eventually go to zero, and among the remaining 10%, those that can survive the cycle are even rarer. But at least in this July, when Ethereum's NFT torch is passed around the world and the floor price of CryptoPunks hits a new high, we can say: the story of NFT is far from over; Ethereum's next decade has just begun.
Finally, I would like to send you a joke from an old cannon in the circle: "I used to think NFT was 'digital tulips,' but now I find that—tulips may wither, but 'digital ownership' on the blockchain is the real eternal flower."
✍️DYOR, do a good job in risk control, and wish you all a smooth sailing in the crypto world! 🌊
🔁 Welcome to like and forward to your crypto friends, and don't forget to follow me to read more about the latest crypto news!
💬 If you have any projects you want to discuss, welcome to join us! Let's visit the currency circle together and cheer together 😎
