Author: Azuma, Odaily Planet Daily
The NFT track, which had long been cooled down, seems to be showing some signs of warming up after a long time.
CoinGecko data shows that the total market capitalization of the NFT sector has rebounded to over 6 billion USD, currently reported at 6.417 billion USD, with a 24H increase of 23.2%; the growth in trading volume is even more exaggerated, with a total trading volume of about 40 million USD in the past 24 hours and an increase in trading volume of about 318.3%.
Among mainstream NFT projects, CryptoPunks, Moonbirds, Pudgy Penguins, etc., have performed particularly well.
CryptoPunks gained attention because a giant whale spent millions of dollars last night to buy 45 pieces (the whale also purchased several Chromie Squiggles). NFT artist Jediwolf reported that a total of 76 CryptoPunks changed hands within just 5 hours from last night to this morning, marking the largest buying spree for this series since 2021. As of the publication, the floor price for CryptoPunks is reported at 47.5 ETH, with a 24-hour increase of 15.9%.
Moonbirds gained attention because OpenSea briefly changed its official X avatar to an image from the Moonbirds series last night, boosting its popularity. As of the publication, the floor price for Moonbirds is reported at 1.94 ETH, with a 24-hour increase of 33.3%.
Pudgy Penguins, which can be regarded as a 'beacon of hope' in the NFT winter, recently appeared in a scene from the American TV show (Poker Face) Season 2, capturing some external traffic. As of the publication, the floor price for 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 also seen decent increases. As of the publication, 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 having a 24-hour increase of 30.3%.
In addition, NFT concept coins have also seen a significant rise. According to OKX market data, as of the publication, 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 were people 'calling shots' in the market earlier, during the long period over the past few years, various 'milking methods' surrounding NFTs have appeared too many times, resulting in the track becoming cooler day by day, and retail investors have long been numb to similar 'calling shot' rhetoric.
On July 16, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes predicted on the X platform that 'the ETH Season has arrived, and the DeFi and NFT markets will benefit and make a comeback,' but at that time, most of the replies below his post were mainly teasing.
However, as the long-awaited 'altcoin season' has finally shown some late signs, discussions around whether the NFT market can warm up have gradually increased.
FreeLunchCapital, founder of BitmapPunks and a well-known NFT collector, stated today that some institutions have contacted him in advance to try and acquire positions — 'Since two weeks ago, some institutions have contacted me and made some interesting offers. Everyone knows I don't sell NFTs, but that's not entirely true. If the other party has resources that can attract more attention to NFTs and help the industry reach new heights, I would consider conducting over-the-counter transactions.'
Abstract contributors like 0xCygaar, who were active during the previous NFT cycle, have even exclaimed, 'NFT Season is finally back.'
The sudden warming of the NFT market is logically not too difficult to understand.
On one hand, as ETH strongly rebounds and quickly rises to high levels, the incoming funds, while paying attention to ETH, will also consider related investment targets. Since NFTs thrive within the Ethereum ecosystem, and most of the leading projects are still concentrated within this ecosystem, to some extent, the NFT sector can also be seen as an alternative choice to ETH. In terms of trading volume, the largest trading volume for NFTs is still among the leading projects with relatively abundant liquidity on the Ethereum chain, indicating that the funds for this slight warming mainly come from within the Ethereum ecosystem.
On the other hand, after a long period of downturn, the entire NFT market has undergone a thorough washout — the weak hands have exited, and the institutions intending to control the market may have already completed their target selection and chip layout. Considering the non-standard liquidity characteristics of NFTs themselves, NFTs may be a more easily operable choice for market control compared to altcoins.
The current issue, however, is that due to the NFT market being too thoroughly cooled down previously, the consensus on the track has nearly collapsed. Even if there is a short-term rise in popularity, whether more retail investors and funds can follow up remains uncertain.
In other words, the current situation is — if you say that the imitation season is coming, perhaps many retail investors will be willing to buy in, but if you say that NFTs are about to skyrocket, it seems it's better to believe that I am Qin Shi Huang...
