It’s rough sailing on the OpenSea. According to data from DappRadar, OpenSea processed a record $2.7 billion in NFT transactions on May 1, but on August 28 (this past Sunday), the marketplace recorded just $9.34 million in NFT transactions, which is about a 99% decline in trading volume.
According to CoinGecko, the floor price of the most popular NFT collection, Bored Ape Yacht Club, fell 53% to 72.4 ETH (about $110,000) as of August 28, from a high of 153.7 ETH on April 30. CryptoPunks is down 19% from its July peak.
Some of this is related to the crypto winter; cryptocurrency prices are 50-90% lower than they were back in May, and no coins or tokens have been exempted from the downward trend.
However, there’s more to the story. NFTs are greatly misunderstood, even by some sophisticated owners. An immutable proof of ownership coupled with a smart contract is powerful, and the technology has use cases including branded digital collectibles, ticketing, gaming, gambling, fantasy sports, fraud prevention, supply chain authentication, and on and on.
If OpenSea can weather the storm and adapt, it will emerge stronger — as will most investors who are long on Web3. No one is happy about the downturn, but history tells us that the most adaptable will not only survive, but thrive.
Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it.