NFT Marketplaces Sales, Users Fall to Lowest Levels Not Seen Since 2021, Dune Data Shows

The number of daily users and sales has dropped across non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces over the past week, according to data sourced from analytics platform Dune, hitting new lows not seen since July 2021.

According to a Dune dashboard compiled by NFT researcher SeaLaunch, the number of unique users on top NFT marketplaces such as Blur, OpenSea and LooksRare has steadily declined over the past seven days, falling to 7,805 on April 19. The number of unique users on NFT marketplaces has not been this low since 31 July 2021, when the number of unique users on OpenSea and other marketplaces was recorded at 7,455.

Sales across NFT marketplaces have also declined over the past seven days, with 16,149 sales recorded on April 19, according to the same data from Dune. The last number of sales was this low was 9 November 2021, when there were 12,910 sales.

It appears that both top marketplaces OpenSea and Blur are seeing significant declines in unique users and sales. According to another dashboard compiled by SeaLaunch, Blur, the pro-focused NFT marketplace has seen a shrinking number of sales on its platform this week, counting 5,688 sales on Thursday – the lowest daily sales figure in 90 days. Blur has also seen its number of unique daily users shrink, with 1,777 unique users reported on April 19, the lowest in 90 days.

As for OpenSea, a Dune dashboard prepared by researcher Hildobby shows that the number of daily traders has fallen sharply over the past week, reaching 10,640 on April 18. According to the data, OpenSea’s daily traders have not fallen below 10,000 since July 2021.

“Unique daily users are effectively at a historically low amount in both marketplaces,” SeaLaunch told CoinDesk.

It is unclear why the number of daily users and sales have taken a deep dive across NFT marketplaces. SeaLaunch told CoinDesk that since there has been an observable decline in activity across marketplaces and users – from “pro” traders to more casual users – It is most likely that a “macro scenario” has influenced trading patterns. SeaLaunch cites “high gas prices” and “tax season liquidity issues” as possible causes.

“Other scenarios may have also contributed to this, such as high-volume Blur airdrop farmers reducing trading volumes and reducing liquidity, and the meme coin trading frenzy of recent days with coins like PEPE,” SeaLaunch added.

Hildobby shared similar sentiments with CoinDesk. “I think it’s a combination of factors, but the biggest factors [in my opinion] is that not much interesting has happened in NFTs lately, and rapidly rising gas prices are not helping.”

Representatives from OpenSea and Blur did not immediately respond to CoinDesk for comment.

Not all calculations seem pessimistic. Trading volume in ether across NFT marketplaces has remained relatively stable over the past 30 days, according to data from Dune. SeaLaunch also points out that compared to the number of daily active users across OpenSea and Blur, Uniswap has managed to few daily active users the last two weeks.