98% of NFT collections released in 2024 have zero trading volumes

What’s new? According to a joint report by NFTEvening and Storible, the non-fungible token (NFT) market is in decline, showing weak trading activity and a sharp decline in prices despite abundant new collections. The authors analyzed 29 079 NFT collections released since the beginning of the year and found that 98% of them have zero trading volume and only 0,2% have generated profits for investors.

The publication’s report

What else is known? Using data from blockchain analytics platform Dune and NFT marketplace OpenSea, the analysts also found that 98% of the 2024 collections had fewer than ten trades in the first week after release, with their token price falling by at least 50% in the first three days alone.

In 84% of cases, the record price was equal to the issue price (mint) of the tokens, meaning that they had never increased in value since release. 64% of collections had less than 10 mints, meaning that their circulation was less than 10 tokens.

To prepare the report, analysts gathered information on Dune about the prices and individual NFT contracts that were used to issue additional collection tokens from January 1 to August 31, 2024, and then verified it via the OpenSea API.

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In 2024, an average of 3635 NFT collections were created each month. While this shows the interest of creators in launching new projects, their volume indicates a market oversaturation. Supply has far exceeded demand, leaving many projects struggling for attention and buyers.

The survival rate of new collections is shockingly low (2%), indicating the difficulty of projects to maintain liquidity, community engagement and trust, and relevance, the authors note.

The low level of engagement suggests that many collections are not resonating with audiences, perhaps due to a lack of uniqueness, utility, or value. NFT’s rapid rise in popularity has created a crowded marketplace where standing out has become a difficult task.

One of the most disturbing trends is the rapid decline in the value of NFTs after launch. This sharp drop reflects waning buyer enthusiasm and a lack of long-term interest in owning these digital assets. It can also be said that buyers are either losing confidence or becoming more picky about the projects they back.

In 2024, only 0,2% of NFT transactions generated profits for investors. Even among “live” collections, only 11,9% were profitable. In this environment, investors should be extremely cautious.

“The data paints a clear picture: while NFTs continue to be a vibrant space for innovation, the market is currently flooded with projects that struggle to find traction. With oversaturation, low minting rates, and poor price performance, creators may need to rethink their strategies, focusing on building community and offering real utility to stand out,” the report’s authors state.

The top 5 blockchains in terms of NFT activity over the past 30 days include Ethereum with $133,9 million in trading volume, Bitcoin ($94,2 million), Solana ($71,1 million), Mythos Chain ($26,4 million) and Immutable ($17,2 million).

The best collections during the same period were Mythos-based DMarket, various BRC-20 standard tokens on the bitcoin blockchain, one of the oldest Ethereum collections CryptoPunks, Immutable’s Guild of Guardians Heroes game tokens, and Bitcoin Puppets.