In 2021, OpenSea saw a massive growth in sales volume, and in just the first few days of 2022, the NFT marketplace is on pace to smash its record numbers.
We are only a few days into the new year, and OpenSea is already racing toward new records.
The NFT marketplace, which hosts some of the hottest blockchain-based collectibles from Bored Apes to CryptoPunks, reported that it generated $243 million in sales on just the second day of the calendar year. The total marks a sharp increase from the previous two days, which netted $170 million on Jan. 1 and $124 million on Dec. 31. Sunday’s sales were the highest single-day total on the site in the last four months.
In fact, in just three days, OpenSea generated 3.5 times the volume that it generated in the entire month of June 2021. The site capped $3.2 billion in sales to round out the calendar and is clearly riding that momentum into 2022.
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At this time last year, only niche collectors were even familiar with the potential of NFTs. Now, OpenSea is just one of several companies that have capitalized on the ever-growing market. Of the $20 billion in NFT sales registered in 2021, OpenSea captured more than 60% ($14 billion) of the market, generating an increase in trading volume of nearly 646 times from 2020’s $21.7 million.
For context, the second-most active platform was Rarible, which netted $260 million in sales volume in 2021. Thus, it’s safe to say that OpenSea has emerged as the industry leader.
Since the calendar turned, the spike in sales is due, in large part, to heavy activity in a number of popular NFT collections, which is a continuation of a surge that closed out 2021. In the last week, Bored Ape Yacht Club has netted $197.46 million in 3,006 transactions.
In just the last 24 hours, some of the top-performing collections include:
- Mutant Ape Yacht Club: $21.13M, 300 transactions
- Bored Ape Yacht Club: $15.89M, 49 transactions
- Prime Ape Planet PAP: $9.68M, 826 transactions
- Bored Ape Kennel Club: $8.8M, 302 transactions
- CryptoPunks: $2.7M, 10 transactions
While some collections like Mutant Apes, Bored Apes, and CryptoPunks are fetching record-setting prices, the data signals some potentially emergent markets in the form of the Prime Ape Planet PAPs and Bored Ape Kennel Club. Time will tell whether or not they have staying power, but in the meantime, they are helping to fuel a dynamic marketplace and some truly awe-inspiring numbers.
In addition to sales volume, early projections from Dune Analytics show that OpenSea is on pace for new highs in users, having already eclipsed the total number observed on the site in both June and July.
However, with increased action, there has been an emergence of new challenges for OpenSea. Last week, reports emerged of an NFT heist, leading the platform to shut down trades of the items in question. The site has committed to instituting more concrete security measures to help protect new and old collectors
The NFT market has ebbed and flowed substantially according to driving market trends over the last 12 months, and by the looks of things, NFT collectors and speculators alike are in for another wild year.
