There was a time when people used to pour in thousands - sometimes even millions - of dollars into JPEGs of rocks, apes, punks, penguins, etc. Mints used to cause network congestions and trigger gas price spikes. However, somewhere down the line, mainstream Ethereum NFTs lost their charm.
Sales figures are down on their knees when compared to their peaks, and both buyers and sellers continue to remain dormant. In fact, over the past month, the aggregate NFT sales on Ethereum [excluding wash trades] have dropped by 50% to $200 million.
Recent numbers also show more than 75% of all NFTs on Ethereum have not even been traded even once so far this year. They remain lying idle in the wallets of users, indicating that speculative interest has completely withered out. The percentage of untouched NFTs individually stood at 95% for Punks, 87% for Mfers, 83% for both BAYC and MAYC, and 78% for Milady.
In fact, even their floor prices have seen significant pullbacks. In the summer of ‘21, for instance, one had to spend at least 120 ETH to buy one NFT from the CryptoPunks collection. However now, the figure is hovering around 39 ETH. Likewise, BAYC’s floor has dropped by more than 90%, from a high of 153 ETH to the current 14 ETH.
Pepe Coin vs. NFTs
Barring a few exceptions, NFTs across other chains have also not particularly been faring well. Sale volumes stand malnourished. Interestingly, Pepe Coin - that’s currently valued more than $4.2 billion - is worth more than the top 25 NFT projects, across all chains, combined.
Pepe Coin, on its part, has been in the news lately for creating new highs on the price front. Using the uptrend line as support, it managed to climb past its 20, 50 and 100 EMAs over the past month to claim the $0.00001161 peak. From its mid-April wick low of $0.00000393, this marked a 195% rise.
That being said, it should be noted that the Pepe Coin market is leaning more towards the overbought side at the moment. Alongside, it shouldn't be forgotten that almost all addresses are 'in the money' or in profit at the moment. This increases the odds of paper-hand holders partially cashing out and booking profits. Ultimately, we could see a brief pull back before this speculative meme coin initiates another leg up.
