Monthly NFT Sales Are 80% Lower Than Last Year, Digital Collectibles Interest Plummeted in 2022

Like most crypto projects this year, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) felt the pain of 2022’s crypto winter as sales are down a great deal and blue-chip NFTs have been slashed in value. For instance, last month, there was roughly $534 million in NFT sales compared to the $2.77 billion in NFT sales sold in Dec. 2021.

The NFT Industry Takes a Hit in 2022 — Sales and Google Searches Down Significantly

2022 hasn’t been kind to non-fungible token (NFT) holders, and statistics show that interest in the subject has dropped a great deal this year. Google Trends (GT) data shows that the search term “NFT” had a score of around 52 during the week of Dec. 26, 2021 – Jan. 1, 2022. The term also skyrocketed to the highest score of 100 on Jan. 16 – Jan. 22, 2022.

Google Trends search data for the term “NFT” on Dec. 25, 2022.

Today, however, for the week of Dec. 18 – Dec. 24, 2022, the search term “NFT” has a score of around 16. There’s been a slight rebound in interest recently in NFTs according to GT data, which started around Dec. 4, 2022. GT data shows the most interested region in NFTs today is China, followed by Hong Kong, Singapore, Nigeria, and Taiwan.

Google Trends search data by interest by region on Dec. 25, 2022.

Statistics also show that NFT sales volume has dropped a great deal since last year. Cryptoslam.io data indicates that there was $2.77 billion in NFT sales sold in Dec. 2021, and last month only $534 million in NFT sales were recorded. Metrics saved to archive.org indicate that during the week of Dec. 27, 2021, $414.84 million in sales were recorded.

The past seven days of NFT sales volume according to cryptoslam.io and recorded on Dec. 25, 2022.

Sales during the week of Dec. 27, 2021 were also down 32.05% lower as the previous seven days saw $610.53 million in sales. In terms of NFT sales by blockchain at the time, Ethereum saw $334.83 million out of the $414.84 million in total sales that week. The week of Dec. 27, 2021, Ronin had roughly $45.65 million in sales and Solana had just over $16 million in sales during the seven day period.

Seven day NFT sales via cryptoslam.io according to an archive.org snapshot taken on Dec. 27, 2021.

The top five projects or collections in terms of seven day sales during the last week of Dec. 2021, included Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), Cryptopunks, Axie Infinity, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and The Sandbox. This month, roughly a year later, NFT sales pale in comparison to the purchases made last year. As of Dec. 25, 2022, NFT sales dipped by 12.22% this week as $154.02 million in sales were recorded during the past seven days.

One of the top sales during the week of Dec. 27, 2021, according to cryptoslam.io data. Dappradar stats show the Cryptopunk NFT has lost a considerable amount of value since it was purchased for $1.21 million.

Over the trailing seven days, there were 295,338 NFT buyers and just over one million NFT transactions. This week, the top blockchain in terms of NFT sales is still Ethereum (ETH) and over the last seven days, there’s been $129.23 million in NFT sales that derive from the ETH chain.

ETH is followed by Solana, Polygon, Immutable X, and Cardano in terms of the largest sales last week by blockchain. Last year, on Dec. 27, 2021, an NFT called “Mega” sold for 888 ether which was worth $3.6 million at the time. Furthermore, on the same day, Cryptopunk #9137 sold for 310 ether or $1.21 million at the time of sale.

Archive.org snapshot from nftpricefloor.com on Dec. 17, 2021.

Dappradar stats indicate that Cryptopunk #9137 is now worth anywhere between 63.95 ether or $77,995 (Cryptopunks’ current floor), or 377.24 ether or $460K (Dappradar estimates). Last year’s archived data from nftpricefloor.com indicates that the floor value of a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT was around 87.5 ether. ETH was also trading for $4K per unit at that time, which means 87.5 ether was around $350,000 at the time.

Nftpricefloor.com stats on Dec. 25, 2022.

A Cryptopunk could be purchased for 65 ether on Dec. 19, 2021, and its value at that time measured in U.S. dollars was around $260K. Sales recorded on Dec. 25, 2022 are a completely different story, as current statistics from nftpricefloor.com show a BAYC can be purchased for 69.88, which is worth roughly $85,159 using today’s ether exchange rates.

A cryptopunk NFT purchased at the current floor value on Dec. 25, 2022, will cost 63.95 ETH or around $77K in USD value. GT data also shows that interest in the term “Bored Ape Yacht Club,” has declined a great deal as well since last year. Last year, during the week of Dec. 26, 2021 – Jan. 1, 2022, the search term “Bored Ape Yacht Club,” had a score of around 50, and by the week of Jan. 16 – Jan. 22, 2022, the search term hit 100.

Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) interest according to Google Trends stats recorded on Dec. 25, 2022.

Today, the BAYC-related search term is down to a score of 10, which is a considerable drop in overall interest since last year. Similarly, this week China dominates in terms of BAYC interest and the country is followed by Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada, and Australia. GT data related to other blue chip NFTs like Cryptopunks, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, and others have also seen GT search interest drop a great deal.

What do you think about this year’s NFT sales and overall interest in digital collectibles sliding a lot lower than last year? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Cryptoslam.io, nftpricefloor.com, BAYC, Cryptopunks,