NFT market holds near $65.6M as Bitcoin BRC-20 steals the spotlight and Ethereum cools
The NFT market has essentially moved sideways over the past week in dollar terms, but under the surface the landscape is shifting quickly. Overall NFT sales volume slipped just 0.47% to 65.58 million dollars, barely below the previous week’s 67.76 million. At the same time, user activity is accelerating: the number of buyers jumped 26.31% to 292,030, while sellers increased 24.44% to 205,205. Transaction counts were almost unchanged, edging down only 0.95% to 869,747.
This combination — flat volumes, more participants, and steady transaction counts — suggests that average ticket sizes are shrinking as more smaller trades flow through the market. Rather than a collapse in interest, the data points to a broadening user base and heavier retail-like participation, even as large, high-value deals become slightly less frequent.
DMarket retakes the crown on Mythos
Among individual collections, DMarket, running on the Mythos blockchain, has reclaimed the top spot. Its weekly sales soared 72.49% to 5.32 million dollars, up from 3.09 million. That performance came on the back of intense trading activity: 142,989 transactions involving 10,681 buyers and 9,007 sellers.
The numbers highlight DMarket’s role as a highly liquid, gaming-focused marketplace where frequent, lower-value trades can outpace more prestigious collections in pure turnover. In the current environment, such utility-driven ecosystems appear better positioned than purely speculative art projects.
Polygon’s Courtyard strengthens second place
Courtyard, built on Polygon, held onto second place with a strong surge in interest. Weekly sales climbed 66.58% to 4.99 million dollars from 2.97 million. The collection logged 67,082 transactions, with 10,039 buyers and 2,192 sellers participating.
The relatively high buyer count compared to sellers suggests a strong net inflow of demand, consistent with a run of accumulation and continued confidence in the collection’s long-term appeal. Polygon’s lower transaction costs likely continue to support this kind of high-frequency, mid-ticket trading.
Bitcoin BRC-20 NFTs explode into the top tier
The most dramatic move of the week came from BRC-20 NFTs on the Bitcoin network. These assets rocketed into third place with 3.45 million dollars in sales, a staggering 335.14% jump week over week.
Despite the impressive volume, activity was relatively concentrated: 2,100 transactions powered by 822 buyers and 602 sellers. This pattern indicates that while the user base is smaller than on Ethereum or Polygon, the participants are trading aggressively and at higher average values. The surge underlines the growing momentum of Bitcoin-based NFTs and BRC-20 tokens as traders diversify beyond Ethereum-native collections.
Ethereum blue chips split: CryptoPunks up, Milady drops
On the Ethereum side, the performance of major collections diverged sharply.
CryptoPunks climbed into fourth position with 2.51 million dollars in sales, up 68.62% from 1.77 million the previous week. Yet this volume was generated across only 30 transactions, involving 25 buyers and 19 sellers. That concentration reflects CryptoPunks’ status as a blue-chip collection: few trades, but very high-value ones.
By contrast, Milady Maker slipped to fifth with 2.26 million dollars in volume, a steep 42.01% drop from 3.68 million. The collection saw just 130 transactions supported by only 2 buyers and 1 seller over the period, signaling extremely thin liquidity and highly concentrated ownership. This imbalance can quickly magnify price swings, as a single large holder can dramatically move the market.
BNB and other collections: steady but subdued
On BNB Chain, the YES BOND collection maintained sixth place with 2.15 million dollars in weekly sales — essentially flat, posting a marginal 0.25% increase from 2.12 million. The project recorded 1,643 transactions, suggesting a consistent but measured level of activity.
While not as headline-grabbing as Bitcoin’s BRC-20 spike or DMarket’s high-volume surge, this kind of steady turnover speaks to a maturing segment of the NFT market where price discovery is less volatile and participants appear to be trading around more stable valuations.
Ethereum still leads by volume, but takes a heavy hit
By blockchain, Ethereum remained the dominant NFT network, holding first place with 20.88 million dollars in sales. However, that figure represents a sharp 23.92% fall from the previous week’s 28.06 million.
Wash trading on Ethereum accounted for 3.55 million dollars of activity, bringing total volume including wash trades to 24.43 million. Despite the drop in dollar volumes, distinct buyers on Ethereum actually rose 37.19% to 19,798, again reinforcing the theme of more participants placing smaller trades.
This divergence — fewer dollars, more people — can be read as a sign that large institutional or whale buyers temporarily stepped back, while retail and mid-sized traders continued to engage. For long-term market health, an expanding base of smaller participants is often more sustainable than reliance on a handful of large players.
Bitcoin climbs to second place with strong growth
Bitcoin moved decisively into second place among NFT blockchains, with sales hitting 12.12 million dollars. That marks a 70.52% jump from 7.38 million the week before, one of the strongest moves among major chains.
Wash trading on Bitcoin was minimal by comparison, at just 45,552 dollars, indicating that most volume appears organic. Buyer numbers surged 44.08% to 9,904. This combination of rapid buyer growth, low apparent wash trading, and strong volume increase underscores genuine rising interest in Bitcoin-native NFTs and BRC-20 assets, rather than purely speculative wash cycles.
BNB Chain slips, but buyer interest grows
BNB Chain dropped to third place in the chain rankings with 7.77 million dollars in weekly NFT sales, down 18.84% from 9.62 million. Wash trading on BNB totaled 20,584 dollars — modest relative to its overall volume.
Interestingly, even as nominal volumes fell, the number of buyers on BNB Chain rose 41.76% to 42,673. This mirrors the broader market pattern: more users, lower average deal size. For BNB, this may signal a shift toward broader utility and experimentation with lower-cost NFTs, even as high-ticket speculative trades taper off.
Polygon advances on strong wash-adjusted activity
Polygon secured fourth place with 6.06 million dollars in NFT sales, up 44.33% from 4.12 million the previous week. However, wash trading was substantial: 10.59 million dollars, pushing total volume including wash trades to 16.65 million.
Even so, user growth was robust. Polygon’s buyer count grew 31.63% to 56,606 — one of the largest buyer bases across all chains. This reflects Polygon’s growing role as a hub for more affordable NFTs, gaming assets, and brand activations, where low transaction fees attract a high number of smaller, frequent traders.
Mythos and Immutable show quiet strength
Mythos Chain, home to DMarket, climbed to fifth place among blockchains with 5.46 million dollars in sales, a 72.71% jump from 3.22 million. The chain attracted 27,248 buyers, up 22.32%. The growth suggests that gaming- and utility-based ecosystems are gaining traction, not just in headline volumes but also in the number of active participants.
Immutable (IMX) held sixth position with 3.20 million dollars in sales, effectively flat with a mild 0.88% decline from 3.19 million. Yet its buyer count expanded 38.96% to 5,079. For a chain positioning itself as a specialized gaming and digital collectibles platform, a rising number of distinct users is a constructive signal even in the face of stagnant overall volume.
Solana volumes fall as its user base expands
Solana ranked seventh with 2.93 million dollars in NFT sales, down 23.03% from 3.96 million. Despite the pullback in dollar terms, Solana’s buyer count increased 29.43% to 34,242.
The pattern echoes Ethereum and BNB: large-ticket activity cooled while day-to-day participation broadened. For Solana’s NFT ecosystem, this may mark a transition phase as speculative hype gives way to more organic community use, gaming integrations, and utility-based experimentation.
High-end sales: Bitcoin domains and CryptoPunks set the tone
On the individual sale front, Bitcoin-based NFTs secured some of the largest trades of the week. A BTC Domain identified as #372a75d6671ec00a1337f33999fb75acf9 sold for 362,729.32 dollars (4.1293 BTC) six days ago, ranking among the top single NFT deals.
CryptoPunks also contributed to the high-end segment, with two punks entering the top five sales of the week. These transactions reinforce the status of both Bitcoin-native NFTs and long-standing Ethereum blue chips as preferred vehicles for large, high-profile purchases.
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What this means for the NFT market
Despite the headline of a “drop” in total sales, the market picture is more nuanced. A 0.47% decline in volume is marginal, especially against a backdrop of surging buyer and seller counts. Rather than an outright downturn, the data suggests a rebalancing phase:
– Capital is spreading across more chains, with Bitcoin, Polygon, Mythos, and others gaining share.
– The dominance of Ethereum in dollar terms is being challenged, even as it retains the top spot.
– Retail and smaller traders now play a larger role, while whales appear less aggressive than in prior periods.
Why Ethereum is slipping while Bitcoin rises
Ethereum’s 23.92% weekly volume decline, contrasted with Bitcoin’s 70.52% surge, highlights several underlying trends:
1. Fee sensitivity: Higher gas fees on Ethereum can discourage smaller NFTs trades, pushing budget-conscious users toward Polygon, Solana, or emerging L2s and sidechains.
2. Narrative rotation: Traders increasingly see Bitcoin as more than a store of value, with BRC-20 and Ordinals opening a new frontier. This attracts speculative capital and early adopters.
3. Maturity vs. novelty: Ethereum’s NFT segment is comparatively mature, with many established collections already repriced multiple times through bull and bear cycles. Bitcoin’s NFT ecosystem is still in a discovery and expansion phase where growth rates can appear explosive.
The growing role of wash trading in interpreting data
The divergence between gross and wash-adjusted volumes is becoming more pronounced, especially on Ethereum and Polygon. With Ethereum recording 3.55 million dollars and Polygon 10.59 million dollars in wash trades, superficial volume rankings can be misleading.
For analysts and traders, it’s increasingly important to:
– Focus on unique buyer and seller counts rather than just dollar volumes.
– Track chains and collections with relatively low wash-to-organic volume ratios, which can indicate healthier, more sustainable activity.
– Consider transaction count and frequency as key indicators of genuine user engagement.
How traders and collectors can adapt
Against this shifting backdrop, strategies for market participants are evolving:
– Diversification across chains: Relying solely on Ethereum may mean missing fast-growing niches on Bitcoin, Polygon, or gaming-focused chains like Mythos and Immutable.
– Prioritizing liquidity: Collections like DMarket and Courtyard, with high transaction counts and broad buyer bases, offer more reliable entry and exit points than thinly traded projects.
– Monitoring user growth: Expanding buyer numbers on chains such as BNB, Solana, and Immutable can serve as an early signal of where future demand might concentrate, even before prices move.
Signals for long-term builders
For creators, game studios, and infrastructure teams, the current data carries several lessons:
– User experience wins: Chains with low fees and fast transactions are steadily attracting more participants, even if headline volumes are lower.
– Utility-driven NFTs are gaining ground: Markets tied to gaming, in-game assets, and functional NFTs are quietly building deep liquidity, as seen on Mythos and Polygon.
– Cross-chain strategies are key: With capital and users dispersing across networks, projects that remain strictly single-chain risk ceding market share to more flexible competitors.
Outlook: consolidation with pockets of high growth
Looking ahead, the NFT market appears to be entering a consolidation phase in which:
– Total volumes may remain range-bound or only slowly trend upward.
– Growth will be uneven, with newer narratives such as Bitcoin NFTs and gaming ecosystems periodically producing sharp spikes.
– The importance of user metrics — active wallets, average trade size, retention — will continue to rise as a more reliable gauge of ecosystem health than headline volume alone.
The latest week of data ultimately paints a picture of an NFT sector that is not collapsing but reorganizing. Ethereum’s setback, Bitcoin’s surge, the resilience of Polygon and Mythos, and the spread of buyers across virtually every major chain all suggest that NFTs are transitioning from a narrow speculative bubble into a broader, more diversified digital asset class.