The term NFT may be new, but it’s taking the world—or should we say, the Internet—by storm. Just how much is the NFT market worth? Are NFTs really that popular in 2023? What’s the most expensive NFT of all time? We’re answering all of those questions right now.
If you’re looking for statistics about NFTs, this is the ultimate list for 2023. This compilation of NFT statistics was gathered from a wide range of verified and trusted sources across the internet to ensure accuracy and the most timely facts.
Ready to get into it? Without further ado, let’s NFT!
The top NFT statistics in 2023
- The NFT market is worth over $22 billion
- The industry has grown 220x since 2021
- NFT sales hit $25 billion in 2021
- The NFT Market will be worth $80 billion by 2025
- However, sales have dropped over 90% since September 2021
- The most expensive collection of NFTs was sold at $91.8 million
- NFT sales amount to approximately $1.8 billion every month
- Half of NFT sales cost less than $200
What are NFTs?
Before we dive into NFT statistics, let’s start with the basics. What are NFTs, anyway?
NFT stands for “non-fungible token.” They are digital assets on a blockchain that can be distinguished from one another. In short, every NFT is unique.
NFTs are considered cryptographics. Unlike cryptocurrencies, cryptographics cannot be duplicated, traded, or exchanged at an equivalency because every NFT is different and therefore valued separately. So, while one Bitcoin equals the value of another Bitcoin at any given time, two NFTs can be worth any different amounts.
Many NFTs represent real-world items like personal identities, real estate properties, or pieces of art. However, countless NFTs emerge every day unlike anything in the real world as we know it, like virtual fashion items or video game modifications.
NFTs have existed since 2014 but the market took off in 2021 when it exploded into a $22B market. The initial hype has started to cool down, but experts believe NFTs are here to stay.
NFT market size in 2023
1. The NFT market reached a worth of over $22B last year
(The Guardian)
A data firm that tracked NFT sales in 2021 found that the NFT market soared to $22B. This is a remarkable increase in market size considering these same sales tracked just $100M the year before. That means the NFT industry grew 220x in just one year.
2. NFT sales hit a record $25B in 2021
(DappRadar Industry Report)
2021 was among the most critical years for the NFT industry, thus paving the way for today’s crypto landscape. The volume of NFT sales especially exploded during Q3 of 2021, amassing over $10B in this time frame. This is because the value of NFT collectibles appraised higher as exclusive brands and celebrities began entering the space.
3. The global NFT market is expected to observe 30.72% growth in 2022
(Technavio)
The global NFT market is predicted to grow over 30% this year. At this rate, this market is expected to register an incremental growth of $147.24B by 2026. These figures are determined by following the trends of leaders within the NFT market like Dapper Labs, Asynchronous Art, and Enjin Pte.
4. As of May 2022, NFT collectors had already spent over $37B in NFT marketplaces this year
(Chainalysis)
Before the fifth month in 2022, NFT shoppers have outpaced last year’s spending. By May 1st, they had already spent a recorded $37B within NFT marketplaces, where they spent $40B in all of 2021.
5. 950,000 unique addresses bought or sold an NFT in Q1 of 2022
(Chainalysis)
The amount of wallets within the metaverse is growing as more and more potential NFT investors enter the scene. In Q1 of 2022, 950,000 unique addresses bought or sold an NFT. This figure is up from 627,000 in Q4 of 2021. Historically, the number of active NFT buyers and sellers has steadily increased quarter after quarter since Q2 of 2020.
NFT market size growth
6. The NFT market is growing at an impressive CAGR of 35.27%
(Technavio)
Just how fast is the non-fungible token market size growing? Experts predict it is growing at a CAGR, compound annual growth rate, of over 35%. This rate will propel an incremental growth of over $147B between 2021 and 2026.
7. Approximately 28.6M wallets traded NFTs in 2021, up from 545,000 in 2020
(Reuters)
More people are joining the online world and desiring ownership inside of it, driving 28.6M trades of NFTs in 2021. This is compared to just 545,000 trades the previous year. Note that 10% of NFT traders account for 85% of all NFT transactions. Regardless, this activity shows confidence that the market size is growing.
| Number of Wallets | Year |
| 28.6M | 2021 |
| 545,000 | 2020 |
8. The NFT market will be worth over $80B by 2025
(CoinDesk)
Analysts from the global investment bank, Jeffries, are doubling down on their market-cap forecast for NFTs. Their bar is set at $35B for 2022 but they recently raised this forecast cap to over $80B for 2025. That’s because big brands are planning to expand their customer reach into “digitally-enabled experiential tie-ins” and the bank is recommending clients to build their investment exposure within the metaverse.
9. NFT sales have dropped more than 90% since September 2021
(The Wall Street Journal)
Some financial experts at The Wall Street Journal think the NFT market could be flatlining, at least for now. Since autumn of last year, NFT sales have dropped an estimated 92%. This collapse is likely due to rising interest rates. Investors across financial markets are limiting “risky bets” including highly speculative NFT purchases.
NFT sales statistics
10. On average, about 19,000 NFTs are sold every day
(The Wall Street Journal)
How many NFTs are sold every day? Approximately 19,000. This is a 92% decrease from when NFT sales volume peaked in September of 2021 which averaged 225,000 sales daily.
11. Global NFT sales amount to approximately $1.8B per month
(Statista)
The total sales within NFT collectibles, the metaverse, and art segments all exceeded $150M in November 2021. Today, total NFT sales are bringing in almost $2B each month. Collectibles were responsible for $745M in sales last year while the metaverse category brought in about $222M in sales.
12. NFT sales have settled to generate upwards of $20M per week
(NonFungible)
Since May 2021, the weekly sales of NFTs have been between $10M and $20M. The first week of May 2021 was the climax, when $176M was spent in a seven day span. NFTs gained initial traction as early as September 2020 and since then, not a single week has passed without at least $1M being spent on NFTs.
13. Between 15,000 and 50,000 NFT sales occur every week
(NonFungible)
NonFungible.com, one of the leaders tracking movement within the NFT space, reported that thousands of NFTs are bought and sold each day. On a weekly basis, they suspect over 15,000 and upwards of 50,000 NFT sales. For comparison, in 2017, only 100 NFT sales happened per week.
14. The first 100 NFTs ever sold have a collective value of $16.7B
(The Guardian)
The measured collective of the first 100 NFTs ever issued is valued at $16.7B. This astronomical sum is thanks to famous NFT collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club and CyptoPunk avatars that made world news. Among these first NFTs also includes The First 5000 Days, a digital NFT collage that was auctioned for a hefty $69.3M.
15. The most expensive NFT ever sold was CryptoPunk #9998 for $523M—to himself
(CNet)
What’s the most expensive NFT ever sold? It’s a peculiar situation. Technically, the NFT named CryptoPunk #9998 sold for $523M. Strange enough, the seller sold the NFT to himself, immediately transferring the NFT from one wallet to another. There is no limit to the amount of wallets (where NFTs and cryptocurrencies are stored) one person can own within the metaverse.
16. The most expensive NFT collection, The Merge, sold for $91.8M
(Sensorium)
Outside of the previously mentioned CryptoPunk, the most expensive NFT in history is in fact a collection of them. Known as The Merge, this NFT collection sold for $91.8M in December 2021. The Merge was created by digital artist, Pak, whose artworks has grossed over $350M. The Merge was purchased by 28,983 different people over 312,000 NFT shares. Each NFT share started in the auction at $575 and some sold for nearly $92M.
17. In a single month, there were over 1.5M sales of NFT art
(NonFungible)
It was a good time to be an NFT artist between October and Novemer 2021. During this one month period, over 1.538 million NFT art sales took place. For perspective, more than 11M art sales occurred over the whole of 2021.
18. The average cost of NFTs vary greatly between marketplaces; from $150 to $900
(Yahoo)
How much does the average NFT cost? It depends which NFT marketplace you’re browsing. On Mintable the average NFT is $900 whereas on Valuable the average is just $150. Opensea maintains an average NFT price of $500. The cost of NFTs also change from weekdays to weekends depending greatly on blockchain activities. Hint: The cost of minting NFTs is reportedly cheaper on Saturdays and Sundays.
19. Half of NFT sales cost less than $200, one-third costing less than $100
(Medium)
NFTs may be selling for millions, but only a handful of artists are getting rich from them. According to the research of a Canadian artist, over one third of NFT sales go for under $100 while over half (53.6%) sell for sub $200.
20. “Minting” and selling NFTs costs between $70 and $150 (sometimes more)
(Medium)
The cost of “minting” and selling an NFT is about $100 give or take, so many artists actually lose money trying to produce these cryptographics. NFT marketplace fees, like “gas fees,” are calculated by the supply and demand between blockchain miners, so predicting how much fees will cost is hard to calculate.
21. An NFT of a popular dog meme sold for $4M
(Mashable)
The internet is swarming with countless memes and some of the classics have reached stardom status, but not just in popularity. One famous meme, Doge, sold for an unbelievable $4M in June 2021. The image is a relatively simple photo of a Shiba Inu (a dog breed) making a perplexed face taken back in 2010. Other famous memes-turned-profitable-NFTs include Disaster Girl for $500,000 and Nyan Cat for $590,000.
22. One NFT investor turned an initial investment of $600 into $20M
(Financial Times)
A well-known NFT investor known as Pranksy started his NFT investment journey with just $600 in 2017. Now, his NFT portfolio is worth more than $20M. This trader said that he owns a mix of NFT projects ranging from high-volume trades to niche, more exclusive collections.
23. Most collectors haven’t recouped the cost of NFT purchases
(Financial Times)
A study from the Financial Times revealed that the overwhelming majority of new NFT collectors haven’t recouperated the money back from their investment. Why? NFT purchases are confusing and many collectors are still figuring out how to use them correctly. In short, knowing when to buy or sell is risky and uncertain.
NFT sales demographics
24. Millennials are 3x more likely to buy NFTs than Gen Z
(Morning Consult)
Gen Zers are not as interested in NFTs as Millenials are. In fact, Millennials are three times as likely to buy and sell NFTs as this younger generation. They’re also twice as likely to collect physical items in general. This study proves that getting involved with NFTs is inspired by the desire to “collect.”
25. Almost one quarter (23%) of Millenials collect NFTs
(Morning Consult)
According to this study’s sample size, the largest group of NFT collectors are Millenials at 23%. Other current generations are significantly less. Only 8% of Gen Xers, 4% of Gen Zers, and 2% of Baby Boomers admit to collecting cryptographics.
| Age Group | Percentage (%) |
| Millennials | 23% |
| Gen X | 8% |
| Gen Z | 4% |
| Baby Boomers | 2% |
26. Men are more than 3x as likely to be NFT collectors as women
(Morning Consult)
Almost half (45%) of male respondents in this U.S. survey from Morning Consult reported that they engage in some form of physical collecting, about twice as much as women. The gap widens further with NFTs. 15% of male respondents are involved with digital collectibles compared to just 4% of female survey-takers.
27. China is the country most interested in NFTs
(Statista)
According to data aggregated from Google Trends, people in China searched for the keyword “NFT” more than any other country. Other top countries showing interest in non-fungible tokens online are Hong Kong, Singapore, Gibraltar, and Macao.
28. APAC (Asia-Pacific) occupies 43% of the global NFT market share
(Technavio)
The global NFT market is fragmented, split between five key regions of APAC, South America, the Middle East and Africa, North America, and Europe. APAC (Asia) dominates the space occupying 43% of the global market share.
29. The top 5 countries with the highest NFT adoption are in Asia
(Finder)
Where do the most NFT owners live? As it turns out, in Asia. The country with the most NFT owners is the Philippines (32%), then follows Thailand (27%), Malaysia (24%) and the UAE (23%). The country with the smallest percentage of NFT collectors is Japan at just 2%.
30. Those making less than $25,000 share a similar interest in NFTs as those earning over $150,000
(Civic Science)
The interest in NFTs has a correlation with higher incomes—except, however, for those making sub $25,000. A survey revealed that 11% of those with this lower-income are interested in NFTs, while 13% of those making over $150,000 are. Those with salaries in between were much less interested, less than 7% want to get involved with NFTs, respectively.
What percentage of Americans own an NFT?
31. 2.8% of American internet users currently own an NFT
(Finder)
A poll of more than 28,000 people across 20 counties found that less than 3 in every 100 Americans own a non-fungible token. That means the United States ranks within the last third for overall NFT adoption.
32. NFT adoption within the United States is predicted to hit 6.7%
(Finder)
The same survey mentioned above showed that in addition to the 2.8% of Americans that already own NFTs, an additional 3.9% plan to acquire them. If this pans out, NFT adoption in American would reach almost 7%.
33. 29% of American adults are interested in NFT investing
(Morning Consult)
Almost 30% of U.S. adults said they would consider collecting or trading NFTs in the future. Of this, 9% admitted they would be “very” interested while the other 20% said they are just “somewhat” interested in investing in NFTs.
34. Only one in four Americans can accurately explain what an NFT is
(Entrepreneur)
NFTs are new–and confusing to understand. A study of over 2,200 American adults revealed that only one in four can accurately explain what a non-fungible token is. Granted, 35% had a vague idea, but only 26% could explain precisely what NFTs are and how they work.
How many NFT users are there?
35. There are more than 14,000 active NFT traders right now
(The Wall Street Journal)
How many active NFT traders are there? During the first week of May 2022, there were 14,000 active wallets performing transactions. This approximation can be compared to a peak of 119,000 active wallets that buzzed in November 2021.
36. More than 2.1M unique wallets traded NFTs in 2021
(NonFungible)
There was an increase of 1,822% of active wallets trading NFTs last year. This number includes active wallets making any NFT transaction (buying, selling, holding, using on blockchain). By the end or 2021, there were a little over 2.1M compared to just 89,061 in 2020.
37. NFT ownership doubled in 2021
(Security.org)
According to a survey from Security.org of hundreds of American adults, NFT ownership doubled from 2021 to 2022. Approximately 2% of U.S. bought or sold NFTs in 2021, compared to 4% who did so in 2022. That percentage translates to roughly 9.3M Americans with NFTs.
38. There are over 2.12M NFTs on the internet today
(NonFungible)
How many NFTs are there? In NonFungible’s State of 2021 report, the year concluded with 21,156,291 NFTs identified. This same year, more than 15.7M new assets were created.
NFT stats opensea
39. OpenSea, an NFT marketplace, is valued at $13.3B
(CoinDesk)
After raising $300M in its latest Series C funding round, investors valued OpenSea at $13.3B at the start of 2022. This is a serious uptick from the startup’s $1.5B valuation in July 2021. The company was founded in 2017 and has quickly become the world’s largest NFT marketplace.
40. Roughly a quarter of a million people trade NFTs on OpenSea every month
(CNet)
Approximately 250,000 people trade NFTs every month on OpenSea. Right now, it’s the world’s biggest NFT marketplace and is popular because of its unique NFT price tracker. CoinBase is preparing to launch an NFT marketplace to 2M waitlisters and Robinhood also has plans to enter the space.
41. The NFT sales volume of Opensea fell 75% since May 2022
(Bloomberg)
Opensea saw a 75% fall in sales since May. These are the lowest levels since July 2021. Why? The prices of top-selling NFTs have begun slipping. For example, the Bored Ape NFT Tom Brady bought for over $430,000 has lost an estimated $194,000 since his purchase.
42. In July 2020, OpenSea laid off 20% of its staff
(TechCrunch)
Despite a high company valuation, OpenSea is preparing for “crypto winter” as a result of the macroeconomic instability of the world today. Factors affecting NFTs are the declining price of cryptocurrency, inflation, rising interest rates, the pandemic, and the war in Ukraine. The company is preparing for the NFT flatline or crash, but promises that “winter is our time to build.”
NFT gaming stats
43. 58% of eSports fans confirmed interest in NFTs
(Morning Consult)
What hobbies are NFT collectors involved in? Video games and especially eSports, considering eSport fans were the most receptive to NFTs. 37% of video game fans showed interest, but this number concentrated to 58% when the same question was asked to eSport fans.
44. Game NFTs make up 22% of the total non-fungible token sales
(DappRadar Industry Report)
In Q3 of 2021, NFTs attracted over $10.7B in sales. Of this, 22% of sales were from in-game sales of NFTs showing an important interaction between NFTs and NFT-related play-to-earn games.
45. Axie Infinity, an NFT-based online game, has sold over $4B in NFTs
(Yahoo Finance)
One online video game with a pay-to-earn model of NFTs hit the $4B mark in February 2022. Players trade NFTs between one another in this blockchain-based video game, selling millions of crypto assets every day.
46. In March 2022, Axie Infinity was hacked for roughly $620M of crypto funds
(Yahoo Finance)
The same blockchain video game to sell over $4B in NFTs is also the victim of one of the biggest crypto heists in history. A hacker stole roughly $620M worth of the company’s crypto funds impacting millions of players worldwide, some of whom treat the game like their job.
47. By December 2021, Ubisoft had sold fewer than 20 NFTs
(CNet)
Blockchain-based games are raking in millions for NFTs but other gaming companies are struggling to enter the market. Ubisoft, a globally famous company known for video games like Assasin’s Creed and Far Cry, was the first to integrate NFTs into its games. But since its roll out, it has sold less than 20 in total. The Youtube video announcing the addition of NFTs into Ubisoft games received 2,000 likes and over 40,000 dislikes.
Conclusion
There you have it. You just learned the top 47 NFT statistics for 2022. Now, you know the state of the industry, what’s next for NFT collectors, and more.The future will tell if the popularity of NFTs continues to grow–or not.
Sources:
Further reading:
3D Animation Industry Statistics: The Ultimate List
