NFT trading volume surges amid market and floor price crash

Nonfungible token (NFT) trading volume has surged over the past 24 hours as crypto markets tank taking floor prices of many top NFT collections along with it.

A long list of top NFT projects such as Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), Crypto Punks and Sorare have all seen more than 100% increases in 24-hour trading volumes as investors look to snap up cheaper NFTs as floor prices tumble.

According to data from CryptoSlam, eight of the top 10 NFT projects in terms of 24-hour sales volume have posted at least a 115% increase in trading volume, with the only projects falling under that mark being Goblintown at 35.54% and Moonbirds at 64.11%.

Leading the pack is Yuga Labs’ BAYC NFTs, with a 262.79% surge over the past 24 hours to account for $7.1 million worth of sales.

Notably, the following three highest-ranked projects are also owned by Yuga Labs, with MAYC, Otherdeed and CryptoPunks posting 173.49%, 157.88% and 122.69% surges in 24-hour trade volume to represent $3.4 million, $2.6 million and $2.5 million worth of sales, respectively.

Data from DappRadar also shows that OpenSea marketplace has been the biggest beneficiary of the increased trading volume over the past 24 hours, with the platform posting a 173.43% gain in trading volume for a total of $23.88 million worth of sales.

However, the number of traders on the platform also decreased by 15.39% to 29,300 within that same time frame, suggesting that only a small number of investors with relatively deep pockets are making moves.

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It is also worth noting that even as projects such as the BAYC and CryptoPunks have seen their floor prices drop to 82.5 Ether (ETH), or $96,700, and 47 ETH, or $54,800, at the time of writing — down from their all-time highs of 153.70 ETH and 123 ETH — investors are still snapping up assets above the floors.

In the past 24 hours, CryptoPunks #8620 and #5690 went for 275 ETH apiece, or $327,000 at current prices, while BAYC NFTs #393 and #3441 sold for 118 ETH, or $140,000, and 105 ETH, or $124,000.