NFTs are unique ‘tokens’ that are stored on blockchains. These tokens have a unique digital signature, which denotes a piece of artwork or any other digital property, such as a tweet, as completely unique on the internet. As a result, these tokens can be traded or auctioned, thereby adding value to digital properties such as images produced by digital artists. While the popularity of NFTs shot up through 2021, the past one week has seen a steady decline in trade volumes and total sales of NFTs. According to weekly trade volume data from cryptocurrency and NFT market tracker The Block, sale volumes across art and gaming in the week starting April 17 was $369.67 million. Over the past three weeks, this volume has declined by 49.2% to hit $187.62 million. Data from other market reports back this up. NFT tracker non-Fungible states that over the past week, the total number of NFTs traded has declined by 69.1%, and total sales have declined by a whopping 94.9% – down from $780.43 million a week ago, to $40.16 million.

1. NFT- Sales Predicting Growth
Abstract:
NFTs are unique ‘tokens’ that are stored on blockchains. These tokens have a
unique digital signature, which denotes a piece of artwork or any other digital
property, such as a tweet, as completely unique on the internet. As a result, these
tokens can be traded or auctioned, thereby adding value to digital properties such
as images produced by digital artists. While the popularity of NFTs shot up
through 2021, the past one week has seen a steady decline in trade volumes and
total sales of NFTs. According to weekly trade volume data from cryptocurrency
and NFT market tracker The Block, sale volumes across art and gaming in the
week starting April 17 was $369.67 million. Over the past three weeks, this
volume has declined by 49.2% to hit $187.62 million. Data from other market
reports back this up. NFT tracker non-Fungible states that over the past week, the
total number of NFTs traded has declined by 69.1%, and total sales have declined
by a whopping 94.9% – down from $780.43 million a week ago, to $40.16 million.

2. Introduction:
Decline in Growth;
 The decline incidentally comes in the same week when a report by market
research firm MarketsAndMarkets claimed that the global NFT industry,
which presently has a market cap of around $3 billion, could grow at a
compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35% to reach $13.68 billion by
2027. The report said that factors contributing to the growth would include
an “increased influence of celebrities”, rise of digital artworks, bigger
gaming communities and adoption of NFTs among mainstream social media
influencers.
 However, the report’s NFT market cap valuation is in contrast to other
industry sources. Data from crypto asset price tracker CoinMarketCap
states that the entire NFT industry is worth $10.5 billion already.
Sales- Flatlining

3. Any growth in the NFT space is not apparent at the moment. NFT data aggregator
CryptoSlam that over the past seven days from May 8, NFT sales have declined by
28.7% week on week. Ethereum and Solana, two of the biggest blockchains used
to mint NFTs, have seen NFT trade volume declines of 30% and 14.7%,
respectively. The two blockchains account for the biggest NFT sale volumes across
the industry – as of the past week, Ethereum accounted for $958.23 millions of
NFTs, while Solana accounts for $94.1 million.

4.  Market activities have also suggested a cooldown in the NFT space. In April,
Sina Estave, founder of crypto startup Bridge Oracle and owner of the first-
ever tweet made by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, attempted to sell the
latter in an NFT auction. While Dorsey had sold his tweet as an NFT for $2.9
million, Estave set an asking price of $50 million for it. However, it only
received a highest bid of $280 upon the official closing of the auction,
which went up to around $5,000 in a post-auction bid – only a fraction of
Estave's asking price.
 Earlier in April, a Snoop Dogg NFT, titled Doggy #4292, was put up for
auction for $25.5 million, but only received $210 as the highest bid.
 Such incidents show that the aspect of hype around NFTs is dwindling,
compounded by other factors such as rising inflation and weak financial
markets around the world. Experts who spoke to Mint and TechCircle in
April echoed the same sentiment, stating that instead of investments being
made in NFTs due to hype generated through celebrities, those buying or
trading NFTs will focus on the real value of an NFT project.
Conclusion:
The valuation of the entire NFT market, however, has continued to tumble
through the year, as Bloomberg reported in March this year about crashing NFT
sale volumes as well. Going forward, it remains to be seen if the NFT market
continues to crash further, or shows signs of recovery with numerous gaming

5. companies and social media platforms offering NFT adoption as added features
on their platforms.