NFT sales reach nearly $900M in record-breaking month

NFT mania is roaring back — and the one-of-a-kind digital collectibles are selling for more money than ever. 

A total of $897 million in NFT sales were recorded during the 30 days ended Aug. 18, according to the most recently available data from the NFT tracking site NonFungible. 

That’s by far the most NFT sales on record during a monthlong period, eclipsing the first, eye-popping round of sales that hit this spring. 

In the month of March, $221 million in NFT sales were recorded — less than a third of the most recent 30-day tally — according to NonFungible. That’s despite the fact that it was in March when a Beeple NFT famously sold at Christie’s for more than $69 million. 

Earlier this summer, interest in NFTs appeared to collapse, sending the markets into a slump with less than $60 million in sales during the month of June. Some critics at the time pronounced the craze dead, but August’s figures show the NFT market is now bigger than ever.

NFT sales have soared to record heights, according to data from NFT tracking site NonFungible.
NFT sales have soared to record heights, according to data from NFT tracking site NonFungible.

Recent high-profile NFT sales over the past month include a cartoon rock that went for $1.3 million, a version of the famous “friendship breakup” meme that sold for $51,500 and a NFT version of a Polish influencer’s love that sold for $250,000. 

The NFT space also seems to be gaining acceptance from some mainstream financial players. 

Credit card company Visa recently bought a rare CryptoPunk NFT for $150,000 and declared that the assets will “will play an important role in the future of retail, social media, entertainment, and commerce.”

Polish influencer Marta Rentel sold an NFT of "her love" for $250,000.
Polish influencer Marta Rentel sold an NFT of “her love” for $250,000.
Instagram

And investor Mark Cuban said Wednesday that he is investing a Singapore-based startup that creates “intelligent” NFTs that can talk. 

A total of 270,000 NFTs were sold during the 30-day period ended Aug. 18.

Yet some critics still see the market as a speculation-driven bubble. 

 A NFT of a cartoon rock recently sold for $1.3 million.
A NFT of a cartoon rock recently sold for $1.3 million.
NFT

“These were people too slow to capitalize the first time around,” crypto investor Aaron Brown told Bloomberg. “Since all of them seem driven by cynical calculation for money rather than any vision of NFTs, I suspect things will soon collapse.” 

source: nypost.com