NFT Art Sales Fall From $2.9B In 2021 To $24M In Q1

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The worldwide non-fungible token artwork market has been experiencing an up-and-down swing since its inception in 2020, evolving from area of interest enthusiasm to mainstream frenzy earlier than dealing with a brutal steep decline. An in-depth evaluation has revealed that the NFT artwork market has fallen by over 90%, with its buying and selling quantity falling from $2.9 billion in 2021 to only $23.8 million as of Q1 2025. On this article, we will focus on what went mistaken.

NFT Artwork Gross sales Fall In Q1, Down +90% Since 2021

On March 27, 2025, DappRadar, the digital asset platform offering a complete hub for locating, monitoring, and managing decentralized purposes, NFTs, DeFi tasks, and different web3 belongings whereas providing information and insights to customers and business companions, shared a report concerning the NFT artwork market. The information analytics report discovered that the buying and selling gross sales quantity for the NFT Artwork market has plummeted by greater than 90%, falling from a document excessive of $2.9 billion to $23.8 million in Q1 2025.

📉 In 2021, Artwork NFTs hit $2.9B in quantity. This quarter? Simply $23.8M.

From Beeple’s $69M masterpiece to a 93% crash in trades – what occurred to the NFT artwork increase?

We dug into the information, and it’s greater than only a hype cycle.
Learn the total breakdown 👇https://t.co/WGo83lTQM9

— DappRadar (@DappRadar) March 28, 2025

The non-fungible token artwork market debuted in early 2020, with buying and selling quantity reaching $28.7 million and over 101,000 gross sales on Ethereum. Because the pioneering blockchain community within the NFT house, Ethereum laid the inspiration for digital artwork to thrive. The NFT artwork market reached an enormous milestone in November 2020, shortly after the launch of Artwork Blocks. This artwork assortment propelled generative artwork into the highlight and attracted artists and collectors, marking a turning level within the digital artwork panorama.

NFT art volume from 2020

In late 2021 and early 2022, the NFT artwork market surged in recognition, quickly changing into some of the mentioned matters within the NFT business. Throughout this NFT market bull run, the artwork sector supplied digital artists unprecedented artistic and monetary independence, creating a brand new digital economic system and pushing the worldwide NFT market valuations to extraordinary heights. For the primary time, the normal artwork market captured mainstream consideration and curiosity.

The speedy progress of the NFT artwork market coincided with international shifts pushed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which accelerated the adoption of digital platforms and pushed NFT artists to discover modern strategies of participating with their audiences. In late 2021, Artwork NFTs gained large traction, with buying and selling quantity skyrocketing by +10,000% year-over-year to achieve $2.9 billion. Earlier in 2022, the NFT artwork market noticed some NFTs promoting for eye-watering sums of {dollars}.

The most costly and iconic NFTs offered in the course of the 2021-2022 historic NFT marker bull run included “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” by Beeple, which Offered for $69.3 million, “HUMAN ONE” by Beeple, Offered for $28.9 million, “Proper-Click on and Save As Man” by XCOPY that Offered for $7.09 million, “Crossroad” by Beeple that Offered for $6.6 million, and Ringers #109” by Dmitri Cherniak that Offered for $6.93 million.

From mid-2022, the artwork NFT market misplaced its preliminary momentum, with buying and selling quantity dropping by 19% year-over-year to $2.38 billion regardless of a 31% enhance in gross sales depend to 1.91 million. This divergence between buying and selling quantity and gross sales depend indicated a big drop in common NFT ground costs because the hype started to fade. The downturn continued in 2023 and 2024, with artwork buying and selling quantity plummeting 93% from its all-time excessive to only $197 million.

Three years later, the hype round Artwork NFTs has plunged considerably. In Q1,2025, the buying and selling quantity for Artwork NFTs dropped even additional to only $23.8 million. Though the yr isn’t over, this determine signifies that Artwork NFTs are nonetheless struggling to regain relevance. The drastic decline for Artwork NFTs from the golden period of 2021-2022 displays waning enthusiasm and diminishing funding curiosity. The plunge additionally means that market sentiment can change, leaving any panorama in a state of uncertainty.

What Went Flawed?

Based mostly on DappRadar’s findings, the NFT artwork market skilled excessive demand and fewer sellers in 2022, creating intense competitors that drove up ground costs and buying and selling gross sales quantity. In 2022, the ratio grew to become extra balanced, with elevated buying and selling and flipping exercise as hypothesis grew. In 2023, consumers and sellers balanced, signaling a extra mature and fewer speculative market.

NFT buyers

Sadly, a pointy drop in consumers alongside regular vendor numbers final yr highlighted dwindling demand and elevated efforts to liquidate belongings. Previously three months, the market has skilled a cautious however steady surroundings, with a small however constant group of devoted collectors remaining lively. Because the NFT business evolves, Artwork NFTs are poised to thrive as a refined and resilient section of the broader NFT ecosystem.