According to NonFungible and L’Atelier, non-fungible token transactions (NFTs) have grown from $ 62 million in 2019 to over $ 250 million in 2020. The number of active wallets increased by 97%.
NFTs are unique ERC-721 digital assets serving as collectible items, from game cards to luxury goods. The NFT market has seen astonishing growth in the past year. The use cases for non-replaceable tokens have expanded, the number of buyers is growing, and many traders have made six figures in profits. NonFungible CEO Dan Kelly said 2020 was a historic year for NFT in many ways.
The total value of all NFT transactions increased from $ 62 million in 2019 to over $ 250 million in 2020. Sales of digital art using NFTs alone grew by 2,800% last year. Big brands such as Turner Sports and Swiss watchmaker Breitling have joined the industry, driving the popularity of this type of digital asset. L’Atelier COO Nadia Ivanova said that well-known brands Nike, Louis Vuitton and Formula 1 have also begun to use NFT commercially. Ivanova expects more companies to enter the industry looking to find new ways to interact with customers online while making a profit.
The researchers found that between 2019 and 2020, the total number of active wallets using NFT increased by 97% – from 112,731 to 222,179. Given the rapid development of NFT over the past year, in 2021 the number of wallets may increase even more. Virtual art has become the most dynamic segment, accounting for 24% of the NFT market. In 2019, total sales of virtual art using NFT were $ 456,885, and in 2020 this figure increased to $ 12.9 million. Last year, games in the NFT sector accounted for 23% of the market and also generated a large number of sales. However, for sports-related collectibles, they accounted for only 13% of the total trade volume in the NFT market.
The growth of this industry is driven by increased user activity on the Internet during the pandemic. People are willing to spend more on virtual goods and services. According to Ivanova, large companies are taking advantage of this trend, since the transition to “virtual finance” is already becoming evident. This lays the foundation for the creation of economic infrastructure and financial products that support the NFT. Analysts believe that as Ethereum 2.0 rolls out, the NFT industry will also improve.
The authors of the report concluded that in the coming years, non-replaceable tokens will become one of the leading asset classes for the virtual economy, both in terms of their financial value and practical use. In addition, NFTs can become the “engine” of economic activity in the virtual world. However, Terra Virtua CEO Gary Bracey believes that due to the high activity in the NFT industry, special care should be taken towards it.
