While big coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum are struggling, the same cannot be said for NFT coins. NFTs are back in vogue and popular projects regularly find buyers for high numbers. NFT avatar projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club and Azuki are increasing in value. Details are on Kriptokoin.com.
NFT coins are popular
The recent renewed interest in NFTs may be due to a lack of momentum in the broader crypto market. Despite the gaming community rising against NFTs, user growth and transaction volumes on marketplaces like OpenSea show no signs of slowing down. NFTs have become hot property in recent weeks. Base prices for existing blue-chip NFT projects have exploded and the value of new entrants is rising rapidly to meet them. NFTs dominate the crypto space once again. Since the start of the year, major crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana have been trending bearish amid fears of planned interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and a shaky macroeconomic environment. NFT coins have regained interest from collectors, resulting in the appreciation of the best projects.
Arguably the most prolific NFT avatar project thanks to its strong community, set roadmap, and continued support from leading celebrities, Bored Ape Yacht Club saw a base price increase in January. At the beginning of the month, buyers could buy a monkey for 66 ETH. Now, the cheapest monkeys will get fans over 108 ETH (around $298,000). Over $229 million in Bored Apes changed hands in the same period, placing the collection in the second place for highest trading volume on OpenSea. A few anime-themed collections have hit the scene lately and have quickly joined the ranks of the most traded projects of all time. Azuki, a community-focused anime Metaverse project, has seen its base price increase from 1.9 ETH after launch to 18.27 ETH on February 1, a massive 885% increase. Currently, Azuki ranks number one in terms of trading volume on OpenSea, with trading volume exceeding $254 million last month.
Behind Azuki’s success, several other anime-inspired projects have soared to new heights. CloneX, an avatar collaboration between virtual collection creator RTFKT and Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, has seen a surge in sales thanks to the current NFT marketplace. CloneX NFTs changed hands for around 2.95 ETH shortly after the project was launched in early December. However, the cheapest pieces currently sit at 17.2 ETH, in part due to speculation that CloneX owners are prioritizing Murakami’s next NFT collection, Murakami Flowers.
BTC, not ETH, NFT
Viewers pointed out that there is an inverse relationship between the prices of top crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum and the interest in NFTs. Prices fell during the NFT summer, possibly encouraging investors to look instead to NFTs for profitable short-term investments. Additionally, since NFTs are typically priced in Ethereum, a drop in the price of a particular asset may encourage investors to trade it for other uncorrelated assets with higher short-term upside potential, such as NFTs. Given this historical precedent, it’s not surprising that NFTs have risen in value after the last six-month lows in Bitcoin and Ethereum prices.
Despite the current NFT craze surrounding the crypto space, there is still a persistent negative attitude towards non-monetary assets in other circles, particularly among the gaming community. While some game companies such as Ubisoft have committed to incorporating NFTs into their games, other studios have canceled their NFT plans due to community backlash. However, much of the skepticism towards NFTs stems from vague environmental concerns and concerns about making money from games with pay-to-win. While these issues seem strong in the gaming community, they have not prevented NFT adoption. The number of registered users transacting on OpenSea continues to increase at a parabolic rate and exceeded 1 million at the end of January. Trading volumes similarly hit an all-time high last month, hitting a record $5.5 billion. While NFTs may experience a meteoric rise in 2021, current measurements suggest the market still has a lot more room to grow this year. Time will tell if the current interest in NFT avatars will expand to other areas such as gaming.
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