Sales of Nonfungible Tokens Surpassed $17 Billion 

People are willing to buy nonfungible tokens (NFTs). As a result, sales of NFTs exceeded more than $17 billion in 2021 according to a new report from NFT data company Nonfungible.com.

The report, developed in cooperation with BNP Paribas-owned research firm L’atelier, said trading in nonfungible tokens hit $17.6 billion last year, reflecting a mind-blowing 21,000 surge from 2020’s total of $82 billion.

Nonfungible tokens are tradable assets that keep track of who owns a certain digital item on the blockchain. NFTs gained popularity in 2021. 

Some people are willing to pay millions of dollars for NFTs. For instance, a token representing a collage by the digital artist Beeple sold for a record $69 million at a Christie’s auction. Besides, popular collections like the Bored Ape Yachts Club attracted celebrity buyers from Jimmy Fallon to Snoop Dogg. 

Nonfungible tokens and main findings 

The company’s number for total NFT transactions in 2021 is lower than some other estimates. An earlier projection from Chainalysis put the figure at more than $40 billion. 

Nonfungible.com is using its own methodology for measuring legitimate volumes of NFT trades. The company’s data rules out transactions involving bots and wash trading, a practice where investors simultaneously buy and sell an asset to artificially inflate market activity. 

While supporters believe nonfungible tokens to be a valuable way of proving, opponents say the market has attracted predatory behavior. 

Millions of crypto wallets belonged to people holding or trading nonfungible tokens in 2021, up from just 89,000 in 2020. Moreover, the number of buyers jumped to 2.3 million from 75,000. 

Besides, people got better at making money from NFTs, according to the report. In 2021, investors generated a total of $5.4 billion in profits from sales of NFTs.