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Our 2021 NFT Yearly Report is out!

You were waiting for it, we did it. Here is our 2021 annual report on NFTs with everything you need to know about NFTs in 2021!

besancia ·  · 03/09/22 ·  4 min

Since 2018, we have been committed to bringing the clearest, most complete and understandable information to everyone interested in the NFT ecosystem.

NonFungible.com has worked for several years producing the most comprehensive and detailed reports ever published in the history of NFTs and this year is no exception to the rule.

Why are we doing this report?

All our reports are designed to cater for curious newcomers as well as experienced investors.

We thought 2020 had been a crazy year but in the end it was just a warm-up!

2021 was the year to beat all the records in the NFT ecosystem, and it did for us too. It’s a real pleasure for us to compile these illuminating reports from our data and witness the incredible growth we wished for all these years.In a few figures below we highlight our efforts in providing you with our largest and most in-depth report on NFTs to date:

  • More than 1,000 hours of work.
  • 5 people mobilized for nearly 4 months.
  • 188 pages
  • More than 70 metrics including a large number of metrics never published before
  • 15 interviews
  • 4 languages (English, French, Korean, Chinese)

So, this year, we wanted to think big, this year the report boasts 188 pages of exclusive and in depth content, offering the reader a truly global vision of the NFT Markets. The report has also been translated into several languages for further accessibility.

We hope you enjoy this report and all the insights you’ll gain about NFTs and their environment!

In summary, what will you find in this report?

sneak peak free report

First of all, here’s the summary of the report :

  • The Fundamentals
  • The Report in 5 minutes (Pro version)
  • Looking back on 2021
  • Global Market Performance
  • Detailed Market Performance (Pro version)
  • Who are the buyers and collectors of NFTs? (Pro version)
  • Estimate the value and buy your first NFT
  • How to sell NFTs? (Pro version)
  • The profit generated in the NFT Market (Pro version)
  • Focus : Art – Collectibles – Gaming – Metaverse – Utility & Finance
  • New jobs (Pro version)
  • The next big challenges
  • Our predictions for 2022 (Pro version)
  • General conclusions

We mentioned it above, and you must have noticed it last year, the market just boomed over the past year.

Before looking at all these figures, it is important to know that we have separated “legitimate” activities from activities that can be related to wash trading. 

We have identified a global volume of nearly $ 56 billion in NFT activity over 2021, a large part of which corresponds to “unqualified” volume (no project attached to Smart Contract, wash trading, NFT as financial collateral …).

This report is focused on the volume identified as legitimate, qualified and that can be associated with an essentially human activity.

2021 NFT Global market activity

NFT yearly report 2021 global stats
NonFungible.com Yearly Report 2021 – Global NFT Activity

As we can see, there has been an explosion of NFT activity in 2021. It is interesting to note that compared to previous years, NFTs were kept for less time.

The total value of all NFT transactions (which includes sales and all other transactions such as “breeding”, “minting” and renting) increased from $82,492,916 in 2020 to $17,694,851,721 in 2021; an increase of 21,350% or more than 200x.

NFT yearly report 2021 primary secondary market
NonFungible.com Yearly Report 2021 – Primary vs Secondary NFT Market

Market activity also increased significantly. The total number of active wallets making NFT transactions, including buying, selling, holding or using them in a blockchain application increased from 89,061 in 2020 to more than 2.5 million in 2021 (2,574,302); an increase of 1,822%. 

The number of buyers rose from 75,144 in 2020 to 2,301,544 in 2021 (+2,962%) and the number of sellers increased from 31,774 to 1,197,796 (+3,669%).

NFT yearly report 2021 active wallets
NonFungible.com Yearly Report 2021 – NFT buyers vs sellers vs active wallets

Throughout this period of rapid growth there were opportunities to capitalize on the speculative nature of the market and make significant profits. 

Over $5.4 billion of total profit was generated when buying or reselling NFTs with 473 wallets generating over $1 million in profits during 2021. However, with less than 2 million active wallets buying or selling an NFT over the year, the market is still yet to reach mass adoption.

Focus on NFT segments

For this report, each segment was analyzed under a microscope. Metaverse, Video Games, Art, Collectibles or Utility/Finance have all been the subject of dedicated focus. Meaning it is possible to see the losses and profits according to these different segments.

NFT yearly report 2021 cumulative profit art
NonFungible.com yearly report 2021 – NFT Art Focus

The diagram above displays the NFT Art market but we additionally offer the different projects analyzed. Taking the example of the Collectibles segment, it appears at first glance that it was mainly the CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club collections that dominated the profit and loss indicator.

NFT yearly report 2021 cumulative profit collectible
NonFungible.com yearly report 2021 – NFT Collectible Focus

For the focus on Crypto Video Games, we have taken into account two other blockchains in addition to Ethereum: Immutable X for the game Gods Unchained and Ronin for Axie Infinity.

Most video games have ported their on-chain activity to other blockchains or a Layer 2 Ethereum solution, so these figures are to be considered lower than the actual activity of the market.

NFT yearly report 2021 activity gaming
NonFungible.com yearly report 2021 – NFT Video Games Focus

You will find in the report even more indicators for metaverse or decentralized finance.

Thank you to all of our 2021 sponsors who made this report possible

And a special thank you to our official partner

atelier bnp paribas

You will find exclusive interviews with different actors from the ecosystem, ranging from the founders of Axie Infinity to Crypto Artists such as Pascal Boyart as well as collectors recognized by the whole community like WhaleShark.

In addition this year other institutional actors have also agreed to participate in the writing of this report such as Fanny Lakoubay, Crypo-Art consultant, Shari Glazer, entrepreneur and philanthropist or Michael Bouhanna, Co-Head of Digital Art Sales at Sotheby’s.

Several topics will be discussed such as:

  • NFTs gradually creating new jobs
  • How early adopters and investors currently perceive the current state of the NFT industry
  • How Play to Earn enabled to Pro Blockchain Gaming to develop
  • Who are the people behind the creation of metaverses: from 3D designers to Metaverse founders & real estate developers

We hope you’ll enjoy this report as much as we appreciated to do it!

Read the largest and most-in-depth NFT market research ever published. Get your Yearly NFT Market Report!

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