By Elizabeth Howcroft

LONDON, (Reuters) – The third quarter 2021 sales volumes for non-fungible tokens rose to $10.7 billion, more than eightfold higher than the prior quarter according to market tracker DappRadar. This was as crypto asset demand reached its highest point.

NFTs make use of blockchain technology to track ownership of digital objects such as photos, videos, collectibles, and land within virtual worlds.

The explosive growth of NFTs and their astronomical sales have puzzled many, but it is not likely to slow down.

DappRadar reported that the third quarter figure increased from $1.3 billion Q2 to $1.2 billion Q1.

NFT sales surge to $10.7 billion in Q3 – DappRadar https://graphics.reuters.com/FINTECH-NFT/Q3/zdpxodznjvx/chart.png

OpenSea was the largest NFT marketplace and sales volume reached $3.4 billion for August. Even in September, when the global stock market crashed globally, activity remained robust.

NFT sales on OpenSea https://graphics.reuters.com/FINTECH-NFT/Q3/egvbkydokpq/chart.png

Many people cite cryptocurrency’s price rises during the COVID-19 epidemic as an explanation for the NFT markets growth. However, enthusiasts argue that cryptocurrency assets are independent of market conditions.

It is possible to estimate the NFT market’s size differently depending on the information included. The data often does not capture transactions that occur “off-chain”, like NFT art sales at auction house.

DappRadar estimates that 2021 total sales volume will be $13.2 billion. These numbers include both multiple blockchains as well as “off-chain transactions”. CryptoSlam (another market tracker) says that the figure stands at $9.6 Billion.

NonFungible.com is currently tracking NFTs only on the Ethereum blockchain. It estimates that the total volume for 2021 will be $7 billion.

Collectible NFTs are most popular https://graphics.reuters.com/FINTECH-NFT/Q3/akvezqkokpr/chart.png

A digital collage that Christie’s sold for $69.3 Million in March was the most valuable known NFT. Although no NFT sale has been close to that price since then, many auction houses have NFT sales which often sell for millions.

Weekly NFT buyers – NonFungible.com https://graphics.reuters.com/FINTECH-NFT/Q3/lgpdwkyjdvo/chart.png

Despite the growing popularity of NFTs and the celebrity and investor interest, there is still a small number of buyers: NonFungible.com reported that 265,927 wallets traded NFTs using the ethereum Blockchain in Q3.

According to NonFungible.com, more than 50% of NFTs were sold between $101 and $1,000 in Q3. 20% of NFTs in this range accounted for 20%, while 11%-$10,000 was the highest. Only 17% of NFTs, however, sold during Q3, were less than $100.

Most NFTs are under $1,000 https://graphics.reuters.com/FINTECH-NFT/Q3/gkvlgwojlpb/chart.png

One NFT brand to see particularly high growth in Q3 was Art Blocks, a U.S.-based project which sells NFTs of algorithmically-generated digital artworks.

An Art Blocks NFT was sold on Saturday for 2,100 Ethereum (roughly $6.9million at that time). According to CryptoSlam, the average Art Blocks price has risen from $3,300 per NFT to $15,100 in July to $15,100 in September.

Art Blocks NFT sales – CryptoSlam https://graphics.reuters.com/FINTECH-NFT/Q3/akvezqknlpr/chart.png

DappRadar reported that gaming-related NFTs have also risen, with Axie Infinity, a blockchain-based video game, leading the “play to earn” segment with $776m in Q3 revenue.