Despite indications that the broader crypto market favors traditional stocks, established NFT projects like CryptoPunks and Ethereum-based collections are drawing renewed capital. With recent trading volumes surging on Ethereum, many of the leading altcoins also rose.

Pioneering Collections Spark Volume Surge

Trading volume within the NFT ecosystem has markedly increased recently, particularly on Ethereum. A leading indicator of this trend has been CryptoPunks.app, the official marketplace dedicated to the iconic CryptoPunks collection. Sunday became the busiest day in months for this specific Ethereum ecosystem, with a reported $26 million in volume, though this represented a significant drop from previous peaks.

Activity has predominantly shifted towards recognized, older collections, with major trading volume occurring on platforms linked to the creators, notably CryptoPunks.app in this instance.

CryptoPunks Sees Significant Floor Price Jump

CryptoPunks, created by Yuga Labs and recently transferred to The Infinite Node Foundation, leads the resurgence. According to available data, the collection’s floor price climbed by 20% over the past week to just under 48 ETH ($177,000). This marks a considerable increase, driven partly by the rising market value of ETH itself. Simultaneously, the number of NFTs sold saw a substantial 460% increase week-over-week, signaling heightened interest.

Other established Ethereum NFT collections followed suit, including Pudgy Penguins (rising ~38% to $56,000), Mutant Ape Yacht Club (up ~26% to $6,300), and Fidenza by Tyler Hobbs (jumping ~64%).

The broader altcoin market surge is seen as a potential catalyst behind this renewed NFT interest, contrasting with a market where traditional equities like Bitcoin futures outperformed many cryptocurrencies earlier in the year.

Ethereum and Solana Trading Activity Soars

Trading activity has extended to Solana-based NFTs, with floor prices also climbing: Mad Lads jumped ~27% ($6,800), Clarnosaurz rose ~47% ($2,100), and Solana Monkey Business Gen2 increased ~43% ($4,000). Over the last week, the secondary market value for Solana NFTs reached $9.3 million, a 59% increase.

Comparatively, Ethereum-based NFTs saw $105 million in sales over the same period, a 50% lift. Major trading venues like OpenSea (volume up ~44%, $9.5m) and Blur (volume up ~120%, $12.8m) also reported significant surges.

Mixed Signals and Market Context

While activity is up, analysts maintain realism. One noted data scientist stated that though the current activity is encouraging and marked two consecutive days of above-average volume, it falls short of the pandemic-era peaks and only partially reclaims volume seen earlier in the year. Furthermore, no collection referenced reached an all-time high floor price.

Although Bitcoin-based collectibles like Taproot Wizards also saw floor prices climb (~26%), the overall market seems distinct, potentially with different risk profiles, according to the available sources.