Some may wonder, “What exactly is an NFT?”
So, anything digital has the potential of becoming an NFT. The value of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, is skyrocketing. Though most of the attention is focused on selling digital art and collectables, the technology’s versatility allows nearly anything to be tokenised.
Are you interested in getting into the lucrative world of NFTs? Well, we’ve prepared a crash course on some of the most interesting NFT Statistics available.
Let’s begin!
Market size NFT Statistics
1. The Merge sold for $91.8 million just before the end of 2021.
(Business Insider)
The Merge, by NFT artist Pak, sold for $91.8 million via the Nifty Gateway just before the end of 2021. Thus, being the highest sold NFT of 2021. What’s more intriguing is that, rather than having a single owner, The Merge was dispersed among 28,983 traders. It equates to a little more than 300,000 fractionalized NFT pieces per individual.
2. $41 billion in cryptocurrency was spent on NFT sales.
(Bloomberg)
About $41 billion in cryptocurrency was paid to two Ethereum intelligent contracts related to NFT marketplaces and collections from the beginning of 2021 through mid-December.
3. NFT sold a total of $13,981.9 million in 2021.
(Statista)
In 2020, NFT projects in art and gaming valued millions of dollars, but they were significantly smaller than in 2021. Compared to 2020s $66.78 million, the total NFT sales of 13,981.9 million U.S. dollars only.
NFT Demographics Statistics
4. How many people own NFTs?
(Financial Times)
In Q1 of this year, there were 360,000 NFT owners with 2.7 million NFTs between them. About 9% of those — or 32,400 wallets — held 80% of the market value, according to Chainalysis’ findings.
5. 22% of NFT owners are 35-44-year-olds in the U.S.
(Statista)
Millennials dominate the NFT investor sphere, as 22% of NFT owners are ages 35-44 years old. And while 30% of these investors are male, 14% are women.
The 18-34-year-olds group also own about 22% of NFTs. Men account for 24% of the total, with women accounting for 21%.
6. 42% of Millennials are avid collectors of things, including NFTs.
(Morning Consult)
Millennials are the biggest generation group to collect NFTs, with 42%. In comparison, 37% is for Gen X, 29% is for baby boomers, and 20% is for Gen Z. Adults between 18 and 24 were included in the Gen Z sample.
NFT Sales Statistics
7. DeFi makes $19.75 million, the lowest NFT sales.
(Statista)
Decentralised Finance, or DeFi, makes the lowest sales of NFTs in 2021, totalling only $19.75 million. Utilities come second to last with $75.5 million. The Metaverse comes third last, as the former Facebook company raked in $630.99 million.
8. The iconic Doge meme is the most expensive NFT to be sold.
(Business Insider)
The beloved Shiba Inu of the internet, known as the Doge meme, was sold in June 2021 for a massive $4 million, becoming the most expensive meme NFT ever sold. The Doge meme is also the face of another cryptocurrency, Dogecoin. It was sold by the dog’s owner, Atsuko Sato. The new owner plans to fractionalize and sell it for a higher price.
9. The most popular NFT tokens are sports and collectibles.
(Reuters)
Two of the most popular NFTs are video highlights of sports athletes and the unique digital ape NFTs by the Bored Ape Yacht Club. The average price of The U.S. National Basketball Association Top Shot marketplace reached its peak at $182 with the Top Shot “Moment”. On the other hand, The Bored Ape Yacht Club’s total sales have jumped to $61 million.
10. Eminem sold his first collection of ‘Shady Con’ NFTs for $1.78 million.
(NME)
Eminem made $1.78 million from his first ‘Shady Con’ NFTs. The collection included digital action figurines based on characters from Eminem’s most well-known music videos and original instrumental beats composed by the rapper.
11. LeBron James’ video highlights sold for $208,000.
(Action Network)
The rare LeBron James moment dubbed “Cosmic Dunk” sold for a whopping $208,000 to a user only known as “jesse.” The short video clip shows one of the NBA legend’s great dunks.
12. Grimes made $5.8 million from her NFT digital collectibles.
(Art.art)
Grimes made $5.8 million in a couple of minutes by selling one-of-a-kind and limited-edition WarNymph goods. She sold two of her works in an open edition for $7,500 each. So, the highest-selling piece, a one of a kind video entitled “Death of the Old”, sold for $388,938.
13. Jack Dorsey sells his first ever tweet for $2.9 Million.
(NFT Street)
In March 2021, NFT enthusiast and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey sold his first Tweet as an NFT for $2.9 million. After a fierce bidding war on the V.Cent.co platform, the NFT was purchased by Sina Estavi, the CEO of Bridge Oracle.
14. What type of NFTs sell the most?
(CNBC)
According to NFT sports statistics, Top Shots has earned more than $230 million in sales so far. However, most of this has come from traders exchanging the items after their initial sale. NFT sales statistics claim that investors who purchase, sell, and trade on the marketplace make up 95% of the $230 million in sales.
Environmental Impact of NFTs Statistics
15. One transaction of Ethereum consumes a staggering 238.22kwh.
(Statista)
A single Ethereum blockchain transaction consumed the same energy as thousands of VISA card transactions. 100,00 VISA transactions use up to 148.63kwh, which is minuscule compared to only one transaction of Ethereum using up 238.22kwh.
16. Ethereum 2.0 would reduce crypto energy transactions by 95%.
(India Today)
Ethereum developer Vitalik Buterin has revealed that the cryptocurrency will undergo a significant overhaul this year, reducing energy consumption by about 95% and making Ethereum 2.0 more environmentally friendly than Bitcoin.
17. An average transaction for NFTs has a carbon footprint of roughly 48kg CO2.
(earth.org)
Each time an NFT is created or sold, it’s a new transaction. However, as per the artists in the NFT market, it isn’t easy to estimate that average marketing for NFTs has a carbon footprint of roughly 48kg CO2. According to these calculations, a single transaction has a carbon footprint more than 14 times that of sending an art piece, which NFT trend statistics estimate to be 2.3kg CO2.
Facts about NFTs
18. NBA Top Shot is the largest NFT marketplace.
(Money High Street)
With over $600 million in all-time volume moved in mid-2021, NBA Top Shot is the largest NFT marketplace by overall volume transacted. If just recent sales are taken into account, OpenSea, which executes agreements worth $70 to $90 million per 30 days, takes the lead in mid-2021.
19. What are NFTs?.
(ScreenRant)
NFTs are essentially a data bundle attached to a token and can be in any form. They exist as a digital representation of a work of art, and all of the data makes up the work of art. As a result, they can represent any digital media, including songs, videos, images, and even video games.
20. William Shatner sells photos of his lifelong career as NFTs.
(Coin Telegraph)
William Shatner, the legendary actor, created NFTs of photos from his personal life and work and uploaded them to the WAX blockchain. Fans bought images of Shatner’s career from the 1930s to today. It sold out in just minutes.
21. The Atomic Market is the most popular NFT Marketplace.
(Money High Street)
The Atomic Market is the most popular as judged by the number of traders rather than the overall value. Nothing else comes close to the Atomic Market, which has over 440,000 all-time traders and around 150,000 over 30 days in mid-202.
Wrapping Up
People are willing to spend millions of dollars for the chance to own these one-of-a-kind digital assets because demand is so high. According to the NFT statistics, its global and generational popularity secured its place in pop culture.
Though it is a trend on par with original memes or videos, it could also ensure artists earn royalties from their work in the future.