OpenSea trading volume set for record month despite crypto market retreat

The top NFT marketplace in the world is set to break its own record for trading volume as it is on pace to exceed $6 billion by the end of the month if the trend continues.

The world’s leading NFT marketplace OpenSea is poised to break its own record for monthly sales on Ethereum as daily volumes are surging.

OpenSea’s $2.1 billion in trading volume of nonfungible tokens (NFT) through Jan. 10 is more than half the total trading volume for the entirety of August 2021, the highest month on record. Volume reached nearly $3.5 billion in that month, according to Dune Analytics.

The marketplace is currently on pace to top $6 billion in trading volume for January should the current trend continue.

Current trading volume on OpenSea has been driven by the new PhantaBear collection, which recorded 17,124.79 ETH ($53 million) in sales over the past seven days. Bored Ape Yacht Club is a close second place with 16,657.78 ($51.5 million).

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Aggregated data from CryptoSlam shows the Doodles collection as the leader in sales across all NFT marketplaces, with nearly $56 million in sales over the past seven days. It currently ranks third in trading volume on OpenSea.

Other key factors contributing to the record pace for OpenSea according to Dune include the number of active users, which at 260,369 is rapidly approaching the all-time high of 362,679 tallied last month.

OpenSea has shown that there is still a tremendous amount of room to fill for NFT marketplaces, as trading volumes have remained high for over six months straight and surpassed $4 billion globally over the past 30 days. In light of that, alternative marketplaces such as the new LooksRare (LOOKS) and Solana’s Magic Eden intend to siphon off at least a portion of OpenSea’s volume.

The NFT markets have experienced a veritable resurgence in interest since the beginning of the new year. Volumes across all platforms tracked by NFT market data source NonFungible show a steady increase since Jan. 1 when total daily sales reached nearly 15,671 items. Between Jan. 7 and 8, sales spiked up from 13,189 to 36,041 NFTs. Daily sales hit a monthly high of 29,921 NFTs on Jan. 10.