NFT buying and selling volumes plummeted for the fifth consecutive quarter, declining 80% to $823 million in Q2 2025 from $4 billion through the prior-year interval, based on DappRadar information.
The sharp decline marks the weakest efficiency for the reason that NFT market peaked in 2022 when annual buying and selling quantity reached over $50 billion.
Regardless of falling buying and selling volumes, NFT gross sales really elevated 78% this quarter, indicating costs have dropped considerably whereas curiosity stays.
Profile image NFTs skilled a big decline, with a 72% drop in buying and selling quantity, whereas Actual-World Property rose to second place, posting a 29% improve in quantity.
The variety of month-to-month NFT merchants elevated by 20% to 668,598, suggesting that customers are returning to the area with totally different motivations than in earlier cycles.
Area NFTs skilled progress pushed by TON blockchain exercise, the place Telegram customers buy nameless number-based domains linked to accounts with out SIM playing cards.
Gaming NFTs dominated quarterly charts for the primary time in years, with Guild of Guardians securing two positions within the prime 5 collections, surpassing blue-chip tasks like CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Membership.
The artwork class noticed a 51% lower in quantity however a 400% surge in gross sales, making Artwork NFTs extra accessible to a wider viewers.
Market Consolidation Accelerates as Main Gamers Exit
A number of main platforms shut down NFT operations through the downturn.
Bybit, as an example, discontinued its NFT market on April 8 following a $1.46 billion safety breach by North Korean hackers.
@Bybit_Official shuts down NFT and IDO platforms after a $1.5B safety breach, reflecting trade developments and strategic shifts amid declining buying and selling volumes and heightened safety considerations.#Crypto #NFTshttps://t.co/QKghreYJu3
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) April 1, 2025
The trade cited efforts to “streamline choices” whereas directing customers to various platforms, together with OpenSea, Blur, and Magic Eden.
Most not too long ago, Solsniper introduced the closure of its 3.5-year-old Solana NFT market on June 13, mechanically delisting NFTs and refunding bid balances.
The platform clarified it will proceed working as an organization whereas shutting down all NFT-related merchandise to concentrate on Telegram buying and selling bots and memecoin instruments.
Equally, LG Electronics closed its LG Artwork Lab NFT platform after three years of operation, ending integration that allowed customers to purchase, promote, and show NFTs straight on sensible TVs.
The closure follows related exits by Kraken’s NFT market and Nike’s RTFKT enterprise in December 2023.
VK, Russia’s largest social media platform, additionally shut down VK NFT Hub on April 15 amid mounting monetary losses of 94.9 billion rubles ($1.1 billion) in 2024.
Moreover, X2Y2, previously the fourth-largest NFT platform by quantity, ceased operations on April 30, having recorded simply $53.5 million in buying and selling quantity over the previous 12 months.
Nonetheless, amidst all these, OpenSea maintained its market management regardless of sharp drops in buying and selling quantity, with gross sales will increase linked to its upcoming $SEA token airdrop.
Customers actively commerce cheaper collections to farm factors for future rewards, following acquainted airdrop marketing campaign patterns.
NFT Lending Market Collapses 97% as Utility Shifts Focus
Notably, the NFT lending market collapsed from almost $1 billion month-to-month quantity in January 2024 to simply $50 million in Could 2025, representing a 97% decline.
Debtors dropped by 90%, whereas lender participation fell by 78% for the reason that earlier 12 months, with common mortgage sizes shrinking from $22,000 in 2022 to $4,000.
GONDI overtook Blur’s Mix protocol to guide the sector with 54.2% of complete excellent quantity.
Mix beforehand managed over 96% of the market by way of airdrop incentives and aggressive flipping methods that didn’t survive the bear market circumstances.
Collateral preferences shifted considerably throughout platforms.
On conventional platforms like NFTfi and Arcade, Pudgy Penguins dominate with over $203 million in loans since January, adopted by Azuki and Bored Apes.
GONDI customers concentrate on artwork NFTs and 1/1 items, with CryptoPunks main at $21 million in lively loans.
Mortgage durations tightened to a mean of 31 days in Could 2025, down from 40 days in 2023, indicating a extra cautious and tactical strategy amongst debtors.
With all these declines, it’s clear the sector is experiencing a elementary shift from speculative hype to utility-driven use circumstances amongst skilled collectors and DeFi-native customers.
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