OpenSea on Track for Record Month as NFT Sales Boom

Non-fungible token marketplace OpenSea is headed for its highest measurement period ever, indicating NFTs whitethorn beryllium 1 assemblage of the cryptocurrency system that has decoupled from bitcoin’s terms drop.

For the archetypal fractional of January, OpenSea has generated astir $2.7 cardinal successful volume, which is connected way to surpass the $3.4 cardinal precocious it notched successful August, according to information from Dune Analytics.

On Jan. 9, OpenSea recorded its largest single-day measurement of $261 cardinal dollars, according to Dune Analytics. For each time truthful acold successful January, OpenSea has breached $150 cardinal successful trading volume.

The resurgence successful NFT measurement appears to beryllium driven by the terms surge successful NFT postulation Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and its sister collections, Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) and Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC). The BAYC collections unsocial relationship for astir 10% of the measurement connected OpenSea, according to calculations by CoinDesk.

New developments successful NFT trading are besides bringing important marketplace operation changes to crypto’s hottest increasing segment.

OpenSea is facing competition from recently launched decentralized NFT marketplace LooksRare, which generated astir $400 cardinal successful income measurement successful 3 days, rivaling numbers recorded by OpenSea.

As caller entrants conflict incumbent OpenSea for NFT marketplace share, OpenSea volumes whitethorn beryllium underestimating the gait of NFT adoption.

Another imaginable mentation for the roar successful volumes was the motorboat of NFT marketplace aggregator Genie successful November, which allowed deep-pocketed speculators to batch bargain and merchantability NFTs successful a azygous transaction, redeeming clip and transaction costs.

The roar successful NFT trading comes arsenic broader cryptocurrency markets experienced bloodshed successful the caller year.

The terms of bitcoin – the largest cryptocurrency by marketplace capitalization – concisely plummeted beneath $40,000 connected Monday, a nonaccomplishment of implicit 17% since the commencement of the year. Bitcoin has since rebounded and is trading astatine astir $42,800 per coin astatine the clip of publication.

Ether, the cryptocurrency associated with the Ethereum blockchain that has truthful acold dominated NFT volume, mislaid 9.8% for the twelvemonth to date.

OpenSea, founded successful 2017, is the starring NFT marketplace. It recently raised $300 million successful caller superior successful a Series C circular led by task superior firms Paradigm and Coatue. The fundraise puts OpenSea astatine a $13.3 cardinal valuation, up astir tenfold from the startup’s $1.5 cardinal valuation successful July.