NFT Market Continues Losing Momentum; Annual Growth Rate to Drop Twenty Times to Only 2.6% by 2028

March 23, 4:05 am

Ever since reaching a peak in September 2021, global NFT sales have been consistently falling as collectors spend less and less money on digital artwork. Although revenues of NFT marketplaces are still expected to see double-digit growth, rising by 41% year-over-year to $2.37 billion in 2024, the market is losing its momentum, and this trend is set to continue in the following years.

According to data presented by AltIndex.com, the annual growth rate in the NFT market is expected to drop to only 2.6% by 2028.

Annual Growth Rate to Drop 30x in Five Years

After the 2022 crypto winter, the investors' appetite for non-fungible tokens has significantly cooled, with the number of sales and sales value falling deep below the levels seen at the market's peak. According to NonFungible data, total NFT sales recorded on the Ethereum, Ronin, and Flow blockchains generated an aggregated value of $245 million on March 20, practically one-third of the value seen on the same date last year, while the total number of sales plunged from nearly 200,000 to only 52,000.

Despite the obvious negative trend, revenue in NFT marketplaces, the number one spot for people looking to trade or invest in these digital assets, is still expected to grow double digits, though much smaller than in previous years.

According to a Statista survey, NFT marketplaces will gross $2.37 billion in 2024, 41% more than last year. Although 41% is a high figure, this is only half the growth rate seen last year and almost 1000 times less than the growth rate reported in 2021, the record year for global NFT sales.

Statista expects the market to continue losing its momentum in the following years. In 2025, the revenues of NFT marketplaces are forecasted to increase by 21% to $2.87 billion, only half the growth projected for this year. Statistics show that 2026 will bring less than 10% annual growth in the NFT space. Although the revenue of NFT marketplaces will increase to $3.36 billion by 2028, the annual growth rate is expected to drop to only 2.6%, or thirty times less than last year.

The Number of Active NFT Wallets Plunged by 72% Year-over-Year

One of the reasons for such a poor market projection is the constantly falling number of active NFT wallets and people willing to invest in NFTs.

Last week, the NFT market counted around 25,700 active wallets, or 72% less than in March last year, according to NonFungible data. The number of unique buyers plunged by 78% in this period, falling from over 63.100 a year ago to 13,500 last week. Statistics also show the NFT market counted 15,200 unique sellers last week, or 67% less than in the same month a year ago.

A higher number of sellers indicates more supply than demand in the NFT space, which may cause NFT owners to lower their pricing, resulting in a further drop in NFT market value.

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