Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been around for a while, but only a few people were aware of them until last year. As blockchain technology took the world by storm in 2021, NFTs, too, rose up.
The NFT market has cooled significantly in 2023. Sales of NFTs in the first quarter of 2023 were down 70% from the same period in 2022
Despite the recent decline in sales, there are still a number of people who believe that NFTs have the potential to revolutionize the way we own and interact with digital assets.
So in today’s post, I’ve compiled a summary of some of the most essential data concerning NFTs to help you better understand the state of it in 2024. Let’s get into it, shall we?
NFT Statistics 2024 – Top Picks
Take a look at our top picks from the complete post in this section. We do, however, recommend you to go through the post if you can to better understand the state of NFTs in 2024 and the predictions for the future.
- The NFT market worldwide is projected to reach a market volume of$3.282 billion in 2027.
- The average revenue per user in the NFT market is $115.
- The NFT market is expected to have 19.31 million users by 2027.
- More than 50% of all NFT sales are for less than $200.
- “The Meg” is the most valued NFT to date, with a market value of more than $91 million.
- $244 million worth of NFTs were traded in the month of September 2023.
- NFTs are collected by 23% of Gen Y (millennials) in the United States.
- NFT collectors are three times more likely to be males than females.
What are NFTs
Digital assets with unique codes and information are known as NFTs.
These tokens are digital representations of physical or virtual goods that may be used to represent almost anything.
The phrase “non-fungible” refers to the fact that these tokens are one-of-a-kind and cannot be replaced.
They function similarly to limited-edition goods. If there are only 100 pieces of ‘something’ and even if you purchase two pieces, they both are unique and distinct from one another and may have different values. Digital currencies, on the other hand, such as Bitcoin, are not the same – each Bitcoin has the same value as any other.
NFT Statistics In-depth
Let us have a look at the NFT statistics in a detailed manner below.
1.) The NFT sphere has 13.95 million users as of 2023
This number is expected to hit 19.31 million users by 2027.
It is important to note that the number of NFT users is not the same as the number of people who own NFTs. Some people may have multiple NFT wallets, and others may use NFTs without owning them (e.g., by playing NFT games).
Source: Statista
2.) 10,000 wallets interact with NFTs on any given day In 2023
Over 12,000 NFT sales occur every day.
It has also been disclosed that there are over 10,000 active wallets engaging with NFTs every day, as well as approximately 6,000 unique purchasers.
Source: Bankless Times
3.) The NFT Market will reach $80 Billion in worth by 2025
As per Jefferies’ report, The NFT Industry will hit a valuation of $80 billion US dollars by the year 2025
4.) Over $24 billion was spent on NFT platforms In 2022
The NFT industry generated $24.7 billion in sales in 2022, However, it could not surpass traditional art sales. These traditional sales reached $67.8 billion in 2022.
Source: Decrypt
5.) Over 50% of total NFT sales are under $200
Not all NFTs generate millions in revenue. Around 53.6% of the documented NFT sales are recorded to be less than $200. More than 75% of NFTs are valued below $100.
Source: NonFungible
6.) In 2021, about 28.6 million wallets traded NFTs
NFT sales volumes totaled roughly $24.9 billion in 2021; as per the source, this was a tremendous rise from roughly $94.9 million in 2020.
Notably, the number of wallets trading in NFTs expanded considerably in 2021, from roughly 545,000 in 2020 to around 28.6 million in 2021. The most valuable items were usually the most volatile.
Source: Reuters
7.) The NFT market grew nearly tenfold from 2018 to 2020
As per the source, Around 1,000 to 3,000 unique wallets bought NFTs on most days in April and May 2021.
In April, there were over 30,000 unique purchasers, and in May, there were about 25,000. This is a tiny decrease from March’s 39,000 unique purchasers, but it represents a huge rise over 2020, when most months had fewer than 10,000 unique customers.
Source: Statista
8.) Cryptopunks are responsible for 5 of the top 20 NFT Sales
CryptoPunks, a Larvalabs brainchild, runs on the Ethereum blockchain network.
Due to their rarity, they are incredibly popular. For example, CryptoPunk #7523 sold for around $11.8 million, whereas #3100 CryptoPunk sold for $7.7 million, making them the 4th & 5th highest NFT sales, respectively.
9.) The Largest NFT Marketplace Is OpenSea
OpenSea is the largest P2P marketplace for Non Fungible Tokens, with a total trading volume of roughly $14.68 billion.
OpenSea takes 90% of all the NFT trading volume.
OpenSea recorded an all-time high trading volume of $3.7 billion in January 2022
The brand has also aided in the creation of a number of other competitors, like Axie Infinity, which is currently valued at $3.94 billion. The CryptoPunks ($2.40 bil.) and the NBA Top Shot ($0.78 bil.) are two more well-known markets.
Below is the overview of Top Marketplaces for NFTs
| Market | Average price | Traders | Volume, billions |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenSea | $938.99 | 1,387,357 | $14.68 |
| Axie Infinity | $216.15 | 1,624,169 | $3.94 |
| CryptoPunks | $123,690.00 | 5,600 | $2.40 |
| NBA Top Shot | $63.63 | 492,039 | $0.78 |
| Magic Eden | $308.74 | 304,403 | $0.62 |
| Solanart | $1,100.00 | 170,703 | $0.59 |
| Mobox | $790.81 | 59,178 | $0.53 |
| AtomicMarket | $24.98 | 895,199 | $0.32 |
| Rarible | $990.79 | 92,115 | $0.28 |
| SuperRare.co | $7,940.00 | 5,493 | $0.21 |
10.) Between Quarter 2 of 2021 to Quarter 3 of 2021, the amount of NFT trading increased by more than 700%.
Throughout 2021, the NFT surge was impossible to ignore, with quarterly trade volumes increasing by multiple folds between Q2 and Q3. The total value of all global NFT transactions in Q3 was $10.7 billion.
Source: CNBC
11.) The Chinese and Singaporeans are the most enthusiastic about NFTs
Citizens of China and Singapore are the most interested in NFTs, according to Google Trends. The third-place finisher is Venezuela. Surprisingly, the United States did not even make the top ten countries list. This data was acquired over the course of a year by looking at Google Trends.
Source: Google Trends Data
12.) Millennials are three times more likely than GenZ to purchase NFTs
The survey also revealed that widespread interest in NFTs is expanding, owing to a strong desire to “collect.” Around one-fourth of all individuals in the United States claim to have a hobby of collecting tangible objects. Around 42% of millennials also have a tangible collection.
Source: Morning Consult
13.) Search Interest in the term “NFT” (Statista)
Users in the Asia and Oceania region were more interested in NFTs than those in Europe, Latin America, or the Middle East and North Africa. China’s ranking as the top country for NFT searches may come as no surprise to some, given that it is the world’s largest Bitcoin miner. Three Southeast Asian countries are in the top five on this list, despite the fact that none of them are among the world’s top crypto-owning nations.
Below is the overview of the same:
| Nations | Interest By Nation |
|---|---|
| China | 100 |
| Singapore | 74 |
| Venezuela | 67 |
| Hong Kong SAR | 56 |
| Philippines | 49 |
| South Korea | 46 |
| Malta | 43 |
| Cyprus | 40 |
| Australia | 39 |
| Canada | 39 |
Note: The above Values are determined on a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 denotes the place with the highest popularity as a proportion of total searches in that location, and 50 suggests a location that is half as popular.
14.) In 2021, the Nyan Cat GIF was sold for $590,000.
The famed Nyan Cat GIF, which was minted in February 2021 and has been around for ten years, sold for nearly $600,000. Many other cat NFTs were dethroned after this transaction.
Source: Business Insider
15.) The Merge is the most expensive NFT ever sold
It was sold to 28,000 different collectors in parts for a sum of $91.8 million in December 2021.
Here is a table showing the 10 most expensive NFTs ever sold:
| NFTs | Selling Price |
|---|---|
| The Merge | $91.8 million |
| The First 5000 days | $69 million |
| Human One | $29.98 million |
| CryptoPunk #7523 | $11.75 million |
| CryptoPunk #3100 | $7.58 million |
| Xcopy: Right-Click and Save As Guy | $7.09 million |
| Art Blocks, Ringers #109 | $6.93 million |
| Crossroad | $6.6 million |
| This Changed Everything | $5.4 million |
| Save Thousands of Lives | $4.5 million |
Check our detailed post on the most expensive NFTs ever sold
16.) The most valuable NFT video was sold for about $7 million
In February 2021, this brief 10-second movie sold on Nifty Gateway for $6.6 million.
It displays former United States President Donald Trump lying flat on his stomach while passers-by go about their business.
17.) The most valuable NFT meme was sold for $4 million.
One of the most well-known memes is Doge, which depicts a Japanese breed Shiba Inu. It’s also the most expensive NFT meme, with a sale on Zora in June 2021 fetching over $4 million. The new owner of the NFT stated in September 2021 that the meme NFT will be divided into 17 billion parts. Only 20% of the new tokens dubbed as $DOG will be auctioned off initially.
Source: CNBC News
Memes turned into NFTs sell with high value, Here is a table showing the most expensive Meme NFTs to date:
| NFT | Selling Price |
|---|---|
| Doge | $4,000,000 |
| Nyan Cat | $600,000 |
| Disaster Girl | $500,000 |
| Overly Attached Girlfriend | $411,000 |
| Grumpy Cat | $83,000 |
| Leave Britney Alone | $44,000 |
| Bad Luck Brian | $36,000 |
| Success Kid | $35,000 |
18.) People with annual incomes of less than $25k invested in NFTs at a similar caliber as those with annual incomes of greater than $150k.
Buying NFTs is a hobby shared by both low- and high-income people. However, individuals in the middle-income range ($25,000- $150,000/pa) tend to be less enthusiastic, with 95% stating that they had no enthusiasm for NFTs at all.
Source: CivicScience
19.) It costs around $100 to mint and sell most NFTs.
While the typical price for an NFT is roughly $200, it’s possible that you’ll have to pay half of that to get the artwork produced and sold. The typical price is between $70 to $120; however, some traders pay thousands.
Because of the blockchain’s use, creating NFTs can be a costly operation.
According to Slate, the cost of generating an NFT may range anywhere from $1 to $1000, based on the techniques employed.
Source: Poster Grind
20.) In 2021, NFT art sales reached about 1.5 million per month.
Roughly 1,540,000 NFT art sales were made between October 15 and November 15. It totaled 11 million by the end of 2022.
Source: Economic Times
21.) The NFT art segment recorded sales of $140.67 billion in 2023
Out of the $140.67 billion, $8.956 billion came from primary sales, and $131.721 billion came from secondary sales.
Here is a table showing the sales in the NFT art segment in 2023:
| Time | Primary Sales | Secondary Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 15, 2023 | 1,663 | 15,505 |
| Feb 15, 2023 | 1,910 | 17,009 |
| Mar 15, 2023 | 1,812 | 18,929 |
| Apr 15, 2023 | 1,139 | 15,737 |
| May 15, 2023 | 668 | 12,963 |
| Jun 15, 2023 | 398 | 15,587 |
| Jul 15, 2023 | 526 | 13,494 |
| Aug 15, 2023 | 522 | 11,706 |
| Sep 15, 2023 | 318 | 10,791 |
Source: Statista
22.) In-Game NFTs are the most popular category in NFTs
The popularity of in-game NFTs has been growing rapidly in recent years. In 2022, the global market for in-game NFTs was valued at $3.64 billion, and it is expected to reach $15.46 billion by 2027.
Source: Analytics Insights
23.) It is estimated that there are approximately 370,000+ NFT owners
There are over 370,000 NFT owners who collectively possess around $2.9 million worth of NFTs. However, around 9% of the overall owners are responsible for around 80% of the share
This suggests that the bulk of the value in NFTs is held by a few whales who are now owning the most expensive NFTs. This is analogous to the hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin assets held by numerous whales.
Source: NonFungible
24.) NFTs capture the interest of more than a third of gaming enthusiasts.
Over a third of eSports enthusiasts are interested in acquiring NFTs. Around 20% of the 2,200 people who took part in the poll stated they were highly interested in buying NFTs as an asset or a pastime. Another 35% of respondents said that they were moderately interested.
The same study found a substantial difference in the number of NFTs collected by men and women. According to the data, roughly 15% of male respondents had already collected NFTs, whereas just 4% of female respondents had done so.
Source: Morning Consult
25.) A typical NFT has a similar ecological footprint as a month’s worth of power used by an EU person.
The amount of energy consumed to mint, maintain, and transfer titles of an NFT are costly to nature. A typical NFT transaction emits nearly 50 kgs of Carbon dioxide.
Source: CBS
26.) The electricity usage of Ethereum is similar to that of Qatar and Hungary.
Ethereum presently utilizes 44.94 terawatt-hours of electrical energy, which is similar to a lot of countries’ annual usage. It also emits around 21.35 metric tonnes of CO2 each year, which is similar to Sudan’s carbon impact.
Source: CBS
27.) Cryptocurrencies like Polygon emit less than 1% of the Carbon Dioxide that Ethereum does.
The Ethereum network is used for the majority of NFTs; the coin used an estimated 104 Terawatt – hours per year by the end of 2021. Proof of stake technology, such as MATIC, on the other hand, utilizes just about 0.00006 Terawatt hours per year.
Sage Read: To gain insights into the market capitalization and trading volume of cryptocurrencies, explore our post on Cryptocurrency Statistics.
Source: Digiconomist
28.) Ethereum 2.0 technology has the potential to cut energy consumption by more than 99%.
If Ethereum is successful in transitioning from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake technology, it might lower its blockchain’s energy usage by 99.95%. The changeover took place on 15th September 2022.
Source: Investopedia
29.) Jack Dorsey, Founder and ex-CEO of Twitter, sold his first-ever tweet in NFT format for $2.9 million.
Mr. Dorsey dubbed the tweet as “Mona Lisa of Tweets,” was able to fetch such a high amount because of expectations that the NFT’s value will rise in the future. The tweet stated, “just setting up my twttr,” with the price per character set at $100,000.
Source: Coindesk
30.) Grimes sold NFTs for more than $7 million.
Grimes created one of the best-selling NFT collections to date. She sold hundreds of copies of her record in NFT format for more than $7,500 apiece, as well as a one-of-a-kind film called “Death of the Old” for more than $389,000.
Source: Tone Deaf
31.) More than $21.6 million was paid for NBA Star LeBron James NFT.
On the NFT marketplace, a statue of NBA player LeBron James sold for more than $21.6 million. The sale is thought to have benefited LeBron directly.
Source: Sportco.io
32.) Eminem’s first NFT collection fetched $1.78 million at auction.
As per the Nifty Gateway figures, “Rap God” Eminem sold his Shady Con NFT collection for $1,78 million. Digital action figures that impacted the American rapper throughout his boyhood were featured in the collection.
Source: Tone Deaf
33.) Music Album NFT fetched $2 Million.
Kings of Leon, an American rock band, released their latest album ‘When You See Yourself’, as an NFT, making them the first band to do so. Additionally, as part of their “NFT Yourself” series, the band supplied three different varieties of NFTs. They also issued rewards for their live events as well as exclusive visual art as two additional sorts of tokens in addition to the exclusive record bundle. Through the NFT sales, the band was able to earn more than $2 million. Now, more music artists are releasing their work in the form of NFTs.
Source: Coin Telegraph
34.) Taco Bell released 25 NFTs in 2021.
Fast-food restaurants can also sell NFTs if rock bands can. Taco Bell became the first fast-food chain to offer NFT. “NFTacoBells” was a collection of 25 digital art pieces that sold in less than 30 minutes on Rarible. More than $3,500 was paid for the artwork that garnered the highest price. Taco Bell’s Live Mass scholarship received 100% of the proceeds.
Source: The Verge
35.) Thailand is the country with most NFT users.
Thailand is home to 5.65 million NFT users in the world. Brazil and the United States stand in the second and third spot with 4.99 million and 3.81 million users, respectively.
Below is the table showing the top 10 countries with the most number of NFT users:
| Country | Number of NFT Users |
|---|---|
| Thailand | 5.65 million |
| Brazil | 4.99 million |
| United States | 3.81 million |
| China | 2.68 million |
| Vietnam | 2.19 million |
| India | 1.50 million |
| Canada | 1.40 million |
| Indonesia | 1.25 million |
| Germany | 1.23 million |
| South Africa | 1.23 million |
Source: Statista
36.) 1 Ethereum transaction consumes about 238.22-kilowatt hours of energy.
1 Ethereum transaction consumes about 238.22-kilowatt hours of energy, while 100,000 VISA transactions consume about 148.63-kilowatt hours of energy. Although Ethereum’s energy consumption is lower than that of BTC, it is still very high. It will take a while until ETH is economical in terms of power consumption.
Source: Statista
37.) Men are 2 times more likely to collect physical items than women.
Morning Consult conducted a survey of US adults, which revealed that 45% of men collect physical items as an investment or hobby. Only 22% of women said they collected physical items.
Source: Morning Consult
38.) Reasons why consumers buy NFT in the United States by gender.
There are several reasons why Americans invest in NFTs; while both genders often noted return on investment, women were mostly invested in NFTs due to their popularity.
Here is a table showing why Americans invest in NFTs (By gender):
| Reason to Buy NFT | Male Respondents | Female Respondents |
|---|---|---|
| Return on investment | 39% | 40% |
| I am an art fan | 39% | 28% |
| Because family and friends are buying them | 34% | 22% |
| Early Adoption | 33% | 18% |
| It is trendy and currently popular | 30% | 36% |
| Bragging Rights | 21% | 7% |
| Others | 0% | 1% |
Source: Statista
39.) Philippines is the country with the highest NFT adoption rate.
According to Statista, individuals in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany were substantially less likely to own or purchase NFTs in 2022 than people in other countries.
Analyzing the results of multiple Google Surveys conducted in 2022 worldwide demonstrates that NFTs are highly popular among Southeast Asian and Latin American folks.
Here is a table showing the countries with the highest NFT adoption rate:
| Country | Share of adults who own an NFT |
|---|---|
| Philippines | 32% |
| Thailand | 26.6% |
| Malaysia | 23.9% |
| UAE | 23.4% |
| Vietnam | 17.4% |
| Nigeria | 13.7% |
| Brazil | 12.1% |
| Hong Kong SAR | 10.7% |
| Venezuela | 10.6% |
| Peru | 9.9% |
| Colombia | 8.4% |
| South Africa | 8.3% |
| Argentina | 7.4% |
| Singapore | 6.8% |
| Canada | 5.6% |
| Australia | 4.6% |
| Germany | 4% |
| United States | 2.8% |
| United Kingdom | 2.5% |
| Japan | 2.2% |
Source: Statista
40.) NFTs and Environment
NFTs have been criticized for their environmental impact, as the process of minting and trading them can consume significant amounts of energy. However, some platforms, such as Tezos and Flow, have developed more energy-efficient alternatives to traditional blockchain technology.
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