NFT Market Cools: $1.2B Drop as Penguins Rise

NFT Market Cap Plunges Amid Ether Dip

The NFT market experienced a significant correction, shedding over $1.2 billion in value in under a week. This downturn coincided with a slowdown in Ether's (ETH) price rally, a key factor given that most NFTs are built on the Ethereum network.

According to data from NFT Price Floor, the total valuation of NFT collections fell to $8.1 billion on Monday, a 12% decrease from the $9.3 billion valuation recorded the previous Wednesday. This peak followed a 40% surge since July.

The decline in NFT market capitalization aligns with a 9% drop in Ether prices. At the time of writing, ETH traded at around $4,260, down from a high of approximately $4,700 on Wednesday. Since many NFTs are valued and traded in ETH, fluctuations in ETH price directly impact the NFT market.

CryptoPunks Hit Hard

CryptoPunks, while still the top collection by market capitalization, saw roughly $300 million erased from its overall value. Its market cap stood at $2.1 billion, down 12% from $2.4 billion on Wednesday. CryptoSlam data shows the collection’s sales volume reached $12.7 million, a 34% drop in the last seven days, with total sales only reaching 51, down 28% in the last week.

Penguins Overtake Apes

The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) slipped from second to third place in overall NFT market capitalization. The collection's valuation declined to $482.3 million, representing an almost 20% drop from Wednesday’s $602 million.

Meanwhile, Pudgy Penguins climbed to the second-highest valuation, despite also experiencing a decline in value. The collection's market cap was $491 million, down 17% from Wednesday’s $591 million.

Notably, BTCS Inc., a publicly traded blockchain company, recently added three Pudgy Penguins NFTs to its corporate digital asset treasury, signaling growing institutional interest in established NFT collections.