NFT gaming platform Balthazar has released its latest NFT Marketplace Update, analysing four leading NFT marketplaces based on all-time trade volume: OpenSea, Magic Eden, LooksRare and Solanart. Based on sales volume data up to June 19, 2022, Balthazar is projecting a 239 percent growth rate for 2022, ending the year with US$48.43 billion in total sales.
John Stefanidis, Co-founder and CEO of Balthazar, said the bear market is impacting the NFT space, but growth will continue. “We’re seeing a softening of NFT sales volume this year, and this is the case across the crypto market,” he said. “However, if we look at NFT sales volume last year, 2022 has already surpassed this by almost US$10 billion, with US$23.82 billion in sales this year across the four marketplaces.”
Weekly sales volume is showing a downward trend and the average transaction size has dropped. However, there are positive signs that will strengthen the NFT market as more people are getting involved, which is spurring more activity. The number of users and number of trades have seen positive growth month-on-month from January to May this year.
“NFT gaming in particular is moving forward with more games being developed, more investment and activity from NFT holders and gamers. This will be the clear winner in the crypto market this year,” Stefanidis added.
Sales volume analysis for NFTs
June to date is sitting at $673.31 million in sales volume across the four marketplaces. This is 80 percent lower than May 2022 (US$3.40 billion). OpenSea is expected to reach US$30.61 billion in sales volume by the end of 2022, which is a 134 percent increase on 2021 (US$13.06 billion). Magic Eden is expected to end the year with US$6.68 billion in sales – 1,035 percent on last year.
Month-on-month sales
Sales volume for the four marketplaces in June 1-19 (US$673 million) is 80 percent down on May 2022 (US$3.40 billion). LooksRare is the furthest behind, with 83 percent lower volume in June 1-19 (US$49.58 million) compared to the month prior (US$284.04 million). Weekly trade volume has slowed in June 2022, with the latest week commencing June 12 down 30 percent on the previous week. It ended with US$195.85 million in sales across the four marketplaces.
While we haven’t seen positive growth since April 2022, June 1-19 sales volume for OpenSea alone (US$389.10 million) is 211 percent higher than the whole month of June 2021 (US$125.25 million).
Average NFT trade size
Based on the number of users per day and trade volume, the average trade size for June to date was US$515. This is significantly lower than the average trade sizes for previous months this year. Last month, the average trade size across the four marketplaces was US$993, and due to large transactions on LooksRare in February, the average trade size peaked at $9,840.
Despite this, the number of users and number of trades have both remained relatively strong this year. January to May saw positive growth in the number of users month-on-month.
The total projected number of users across the four marketplaces for June is 2.16 million – 249,604 short of May 2022. The number of trades projected for June is 15.19 million, which will be the highest on record. June to date recorded 9.62 million transactions across the four marketplaces, and is expected to see a 21% increase in June.
The above analysis by Balthazar analysed NFT marketplace data from DappRadar, with the most available data collected up to June 19, 2022. Marketplaces were chosen based on the highest all time volume recorded. Projected 2022 sales volume was calculated by calculating the average sales volume per month for the past six months of 2022, and multiplying this by 12 months. BloctoBay was removed from the latest analysis due to unavailability of data.