{"id":76552,"date":"2024-09-12T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jumpstartmag.com\/?p=76552"},"modified":"2024-09-24T17:27:16","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T09:27:16","slug":"are-nfts-making-a-comeback-top-3-marketplace-of-2024-by-trading-volume","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jumpstartmag.com\/are-nfts-making-a-comeback-top-3-marketplace-of-2024-by-trading-volume\/","title":{"rendered":"Are NFTs Making a Comeback? Top 3 Marketplace of 2024 by Trading Volume"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Who\u2019s the leading NFT marketplace this year?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, the NFT market saw explosive growth, thanks in part to the soaring popularity of cryptocurrencies. That same year, Elon Musk\u2019s Tesla made headlines by buying US$1.5 billion in Bitcoin<\/a> and announcing plans to accept it as payment. By November 2021, Bitcoin reached a record high of US$68,000<\/a>\u2014a peak that would stand for nearly two years until March of this year<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the NFT front, the first-ever NFT artwork\u2014Beeple\u2019s EVERYDAY\u2014auctioned at a major event fetched an eye-popping US$69 million<\/a> in March 2021. As the buzz grew, major brands like Gucci, Salesforce, Adidas, Nike and Coca-Cola all plunged into the NFT arena<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the tide turned dramatically by September of the following year. NFT trading volumes took a nosedive, plummeting by 97%<\/a>. By November 2023, the situation had gotten worse, forcing OpenSea\u2014the leading NFT marketplace in 2022 with a monthly trading volume of US$5 billion\u2014to cut half of its staff. Despite these setbacks, as we moved into 2024 and faced a dip in sales in the second quarter, some market analysts still held a glimmer of hope, predicting a potential market rebound<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NFT market has indeed been a roller coaster of dramatic rises and sharp falls. Once the king of NFTs, OpenSea now trails behind its competitors. Let\u2019s take a closer look at the leading NFT marketplaces in 2024 to see who has claimed the top spot from OpenSea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Magic Eden: The new giant of the NFT world<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to crypto data tracker CoinGecko, Magic Eden recorded a monthly trading volume of US$122.47 million<\/a> in August of this year, commanding 36.7% of the total market share. This marks the sixth consecutive month that Magic Eden has led the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Source: Dune Analytics and CoinGecko<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Launched in late 2021 as a platform focused on Solana-based NFTs, Magic Eden quickly rose to prominence, capturing up to 31.7% market share by 2022 and challenging OpenSea for dominance. However, as the popularity of Solana NFTs waned, so did Magic Eden\u2019s market share, which plummeted to between 3.4% and 9.2% in 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Magic Eden then pivoted by integrating the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol<\/a>, where each Satoshi, the lowest unit of Bitcoin can be inscribed with digital assets like photos, texts and videos as Bitcoin NFTs. This move saw its monthly NFT trading volume surge to US$734.60 million by March 2024, overtaking Blur and OpenSea with a commanding 38.5% market share for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blur: The budding NFT player <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Blur burst onto the scene in October 2022<\/a> and quickly climbed the ranks. By August 2024, it held the second spot among NFT marketplaces. Nonetheless, Blur\u2019s journey has been anything but steady. Initially, from February to November 2023, Blur ousted OpenSea to become the leading marketplace. But then, OKX momentarily overtook it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early 2024 saw Blur reclaiming its lead with a strong market share of 35.4% and an impressive trading volume of nearly US$500 million<\/a> in January. But by March, Magic Eden had surged ahead, and by August, Blur’s market share had slipped to 25.4%, with its trading volume plummeting to just US$84 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This downturn aligned with a dip in the value of its native token, $BLUR, starting in March. Allegations of unethical practices contributed to this fall. According to Crypto News<\/a>, Blur faced accusations of \u201cwash trading\u201d, where entities boost the price of NFTs by trading among themselves to create a false sense of market liquidity, luring in investors. Furthermore, CryptoSlam reported that a whopping 80% of trading on Blur might be controlled by just the top 1% of bidders, suggesting a high level of inorganic activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding Blur\u2019s initial success, CoinGecko points to two main factors. First, the platform catered specifically to high-volume, professional NFT traders and flippers with its analytical tools and polished interface. Second, Blur launched an airdrop farming points program, similar to banking rewards or credit card points. This program rewards users with $BLUR tokens for activities like trading NFTs and boosting liquidity, incentivizing continuous engagement on the platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OpenSea: The ex-giant of the NFT world<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As of August 2024, OpenSea\u2019s market share has shrunk to 19.9%, placing it as the third-largest NFT marketplace with a monthly trading volume of US$66.52 million. While it\u2019s an improvement from a market share of just 9.9% at the beginning of the year, but it\u2019s still a far cry from its former glory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in January 2022, at the peak of the NFT boom, OpenSea was riding high with a trading volume of US$6 billion<\/a>, according to CryptoSlam. But since then, it\u2019s been a bit of a downhill journey. The introduction of zero trading fees by Blur dealt the first significant blow to OpenSea<\/a>. Also, OpenSea lacks a points program like Blur’s, which could have helped maintain user engagement and trading volumes. According to The Verge<\/a>, OpenSea also faced internal challenges including a chaotic work environment, shifting priorities and regulatory hurdles with the SEC, all of which further complicated its operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founded in 2017<\/a>, OpenSea quickly became the darling of the NFT world, known for its vast and varied collections that include everything from art and music to virtual real estate and domain names. Its user-friendly interface stood out in the crowd, welcoming both seasoned collectors and newcomers to the NFT space. The platform is incredibly accommodating, supporting a multitude of file formats which allows creators to tokenize just about anything imaginable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NFTs: A bubble or the future?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The NFT market is notorious for its volatility, with prices often driven more by hype than by actual value. This has sparked debates among critics, some of whom describe NFTs as a speculative bubble that’s bound to burst eventually<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the core technology behind NFTs\u2014blockchain<\/a>\u2014presents undeniable advantages that could transform a variety of industries. NFTs offer a reliable method to establish ownership of digital assets<\/a>\u2014something that was difficult to achieve before. This breakthrough has a potential impact beyond the art world, touching sectors like real estate<\/a>, healthcare<\/a>, pharmaceuticals<\/a>, gaming, finance and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, the future of NFTs remains hotly contested. According to Forbes<\/a>, an oversupply of NFTs might be cooling off the initial excitement, a classic result of supply exceeding demand. Additionally, the crash of the cryptocurrency Terra Luna has shaken the broader digital asset market, eroding investor confidence in both cryptocurrencies and NFTs alike. Nftevening.com reports<\/a> a grim statistic, suggesting that as many as 96% of NFTs are effectively \u201cdead\u201d\u2014indicated by no trading volume, scant sales and absent social media activity over the past three months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amidst this uncertainty, several questions loom large: Can NFT marketplaces sustain long-term viability and steer clear of financial pitfalls by combating scams and hacks<\/a>? Will they keep pace with evolving copyright and intellectual property laws? And how effectively can developers leverage blockchain technology to prevent the duplication of NFTs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it stands, it’s unclear if the era of NFTs is waning or if a new chapter is just beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also read:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n