The prices of non-fungible tokens (NFT) have been surging despite the fact that the prices of the majority of the major cryptocurrencies have been flat over the past 30 days, with Bitcoin and Ethereum only rising by 1.7 and 4.0%, respectively, and BNB and XRP falling by 3.9% and 7.0%, respectively, according to CoinMarketCap. The price floor to acquire an NFT from the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection has increased 17.5% over the past 30 days to $117,750, according to NFT Price Floor.
Over the previous 90 days, BAYC NFT Price Floor
The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection presently has the highest market capitalization in the NFT market, valued at over $1.177 billion (based on the price floor). The cost to purchase a CryptoPunk NFT, the second most valuable NFT collection with a price floor market value of also over $1.0 billion, has increased by about 5.5% during the same time period.
NFT Prices Increase Nevertheless, Regulatory Headwinds Notwithstanding Macro
The increase in NFT prices occurred despite broader derisking in traditional asset classes, as a series of positive US data points last month increased Fed tightening expectations. With inflation heating up once more and the US labor and economy remaining strong, the Fed is now anticipated to raise interest rates to around 5.5% by the middle of the year, as opposed to earlier expectations for rate hikes to pause at around 5.0%.
For digital assets, which are still mostly seen as a speculative asset class, such a change in Fed tightening expectations has often been detrimental. NFTs have historically been one of the worst-hit industries in the crypto world under such conditions. The price increase coincides with increased regulatory pressure on centralized crypto businesses in the US; most recently, the SEC targeted Paxos for its BUSD issuance and Kraken for its staking program.
Despite an increase in NFT trading volumes, prices have managed to withstand the pressure. The largest monthly trade volume since May 2022 was reached in February, according to a monthly report by DappRadar that was just made available. According to DappRadar, the top seven NFT trading exchanges witnessed trading volumes reach $2.0 billion over the course of the previous 30 days, with the newcomer Blur taking home a significant $1.45 billion of these flows.