It’s been a wild ride, but 2022 has finally come to a close! And what a year it’s been for NFTs. From soaring to new heights at the beginning of the year to experiencing a bit of a dip towards the end, the world of NFTs has remained full of excitement and innovation. From the explosion of NFT art and collectibles to the growing use of NFTs in gaming and beyond, there’s been no shortage of news and progress in the world of web3. It’s been a year to remember, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for NFTs.
Transaction Volume
It’s no secret that the NFT market has experienced some ups and downs in 2022. But according to data from Bitay, the decline has been particularly dramatic. From January to September of this year, NFT trading volume saw a massive drop of 97%, plummeting from a staggering $17 billion in value all the way down to a still-impressive $466 million. While it’s not uncommon for any market to experience fluctuations, this decline was definitely notable. With a trend that seemed to begin in March 2022 through June 2022, the NFT market cap dropped 40% and trading volume plummeted 66%. This made June 2022 a rough month for NFTs, with daily sales totalling around 19,000 and a value of just $13.8 million. These declines mirrored the struggles of the broader cryptocurrency market, particularly with Ethereum.
However, May 1, 2022, was a historic day for NFTs, with a record-breaking 118,577 NFTs sold for a total value of $780.4 million. Despite this impressive feat, the ongoing “crypto winter” has made it difficult for NFT prices and transactions to bounce back.
The Biggest Sales
While the NFT market may have experienced a bit of a slowdown in 2022, there were still plenty of impressive high-dollar sales to be seen. And despite the overall turmoil in the cryptocurrency market, the NFT market actually held up pretty well, especially when it came to major sales. So, without further ado, here are the top 3 NFT sales of 2022!
Julian Assange and Pak’s Clock NFT, February 2022: 16,953 ETH ($52.7 million at time of sale)
This artwork, titled “The Clock,” was created through a collaboration between Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and the mysterious artist known as Pak. The NFT was purchased by the decentralized organization AssangeDAO, which was established to fundraise for Assange’s legal fees. The organization was able to raise an impressive 16953 ETH, worth approximately $52.7 million, with Pak donating all of the funds towards Assange’s legal defence.
But what makes “The Clock” stand out isn’t just its price tag. This dynamic NFT features a timer counting the number of days Assange has been imprisoned, bringing attention to an important cause and generating strong support from those who want to contribute to funding his legal defence. The anonymity of Pak also added to the hype and intrigue surrounding the NFT, a common occurrence with many anonymous blockchain projects. “The Clock” is truly a one-of-a-kind piece that seamlessly combines art and activism.
CryptoPunk #5822, February 2022: 8,000 ETH ($23.7 million at time of sale)
If you’re into NFTs, then you’ve probably heard of CryptoPunk #5822 — it’s the most expensive NFT in the popular CryptoPunk collection to date. But who knows, maybe one day another NFT from the collection will surpass it in value. This particular NFT is an alien punk and is one of four alien apes from CryptoPunk to make it into the top ten most expensive NFT sales.
CryptoPunk #5822 was originally purchased for 8 ETH ($1646) in July 2017, but its value has skyrocketed since then. In October 2021, it received bids as high as $87 million, and in February 2022, it sold for a record-breaking 8000 ETH ($23.7 million). It’s no surprise that this NFT is so valuable — it’s not only one of nine alien punks, but it also features a bandana. With such rarity and unique features, you can bet that other alien punks in the collection are equally as valuable.
CryptoPunk #5577, February 2022: 2,501 ETH ($7.7 million at time of sale)
The CryptoPunk #5577, is one of the rarest in existence — there are only 24 ape punks out of a total of 10,000 CryptoPunk items. But it’s not just the rarity that made this NFT so sought after. It also boasts a unique attribute — a cowboy hat — which only 142 other punks have. Interestingly, this NFT was not sold for months even when mouthwatering bids as high as $122 million had been placed.
So, what happened? Well, it seems that the NFT was finally purchased by Robert Leshner, the CEO of DeFi platform Compound Labs, for a whopping 2501 ETH. The demand for ape punks, especially from the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection, was skyrocketing at the time, which likely contributed to the high price of this particular NFT.
The Biggest Moves
Despite the uncertainty and bearish trend in the market, 2022 saw some major moves in the world of NFTs. From the historic display of Boss Beauties at the United Nations to the record-breaking sales of digital artworks, it was a year filled with exciting developments and progress. These advancements demonstrate the resilience and potential of the NFT industry, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds. Here are a few of the biggest moves in 2022:
NFT at The United Nations
Boss Beauties began the year 2022 with a significant announcement that their NFT collection, called ‘Boss Beauty Role Models’, would be displayed at the United Nations headquarters in New York. This marked the first time that NFTs have been exhibited at the UN.
The Rise of PFPs
Twitter Blue subscribers were given the ability to use NFT (non-fungible token) profile pictures on their Twitter accounts in early 2022, thanks to a partnership between Twitter and OpenSea. This feature allowed users to link their wallets to their Twitter accounts and select a profile picture from their collection of NFTs. This marked the beginning of a trend towards using hexagonal profile pictures.
Meta And NFTs
At the SXSW festival in Austin Texas in 2022, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta (the company that owns Facebook), announced that his company was planning to introduce NFTs to Instagram in the near future. However, he did not provide any further details about this announcement. The announcement sparked speculation about which blockchain the NFTs will be deployed on, how they will be purchased, and whether Instagram will become a marketplace for NFTs, potentially competing with existing platforms like OpenSea, Rarity, and Nifty Gateway. Many artists, musicians, and fashion designers use Instagram as a platform to showcase their work, and if Meta allows each image on a user’s Instagram page to be sold as an NFT, it could significantly disrupt the market currently dominated by OpenSea, which operates using the Ethereum blockchain. In August, Instagram released a statement about a collaboration with Coinbase and Dapper labs to create wallets for users to store funds from sales and purchases.
When Reddit Joined The Space
In July 2022, Reddit launched Collectible Avatars as part of the newly redesigned Avatar Builder feature. These Avatars are limited-edition digital items created by independent artists and offer unique perks for their owners, such as the ability to customize their appearance and receive special attention on their posts. The initial 31 Collectible Avatar series sold out quickly, and users were able to purchase them through the Reddit Collectible Avatars Shop using dollars. These Avatars are stored on Polygon-based digital wallets.
The VMA
The VMAs took place in August, during which Snoop Dogg and Eminem performed their latest track “From The D 2 The LBC” live in the Otherside metaverse. They used their Bored Ape avatars and incorporated cannabis references and Otherside’s Koda NFT avatars into the performance. This was the first time two major artists used their BAYC NFTs in a live performance, and the first time MTV featured the Metaverse.
NFTs Stood With Ukraine
The cryptocurrency community united to provide financial support to Ukraine after the war was announced. From February to the end of the month, individuals from around the globe donated over $13 million worth of various cryptocurrencies, including Ether, BTC, and USDT. The campaign began with a tweet from the official Ukraine account, which provided the country’s wallet addresses for donations. Influencers Pak and Zeneca, along with other notable figures in the NFT industry, also participated in the effort.
The Donald Trump Collection Sell Out
In December, a collection of 45,000 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) featuring former President Donald Trump sold out and raised over $5 million. The NFTs, which were priced at $99 each, were posted on the Polygon blockchain and sold on the Truth Social platform. Despite being ridiculed by both fans and opponents of Trump, the NFTs sold out within about 12 hours, according to OpenSea.
This year has indeed been a rollercoaster for people involved in the NFT industry. It started off strong in January but experienced a downturn in the bear market. Despite the ups and downs, we have made it through. It is uncertain what the future holds for NFTs in 2023.
Every week, the UhuruNFT team will be bringing you up to speed with a rundown of all the latest happening in the Web3 space, especially the NFT world. If you’d like to be a part of our growing community of digital art enthusiasts and lovers of black history, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Discord. We are joining hands to promote the advancement and adoption of Web3 technology in Africa while building a world that promotes the black history and celebrates African excellence.
