NFT market sees 120% spike in buyers as weekly sales hold steady at $61.5m

The NFT market recorded $61.5 million in weekly sales volume, virtually unchanged from the previous week, even as unique buyers surged more than 120% during the same period, according to data from CryptoSlam.

The divergence between flat spending and soaring participation suggests traders are entering the market but making smaller purchases on average.

Participation uptick driven by breadth, not depth

Despite the flat sales numbers, the number of NFT buyers surged roughly 120.90% to 134,743 over the past week, while sellers increased nearly 98.7% to 111,756, signalling a broadening user base.

Ethereum maintained its dominance among networks, generating approximately $29 million in weekly sales, with buyer counts on Ethereum jumping over 400% during the period. Bitcoin NFTs also recorded solid participation, buoyed by a rebound in Bitcoin prices, which recently reclaimed levels near $95,000.

“It’s early days, but what we’re seeing could be a shift toward volume-driven engagement rather than pure speculative spend.” – Jamie Burke, Founder of Outlier Ventures.

Sector nuances: where growth is happening

Industry data highlights several key trends within the participation surge:

ETH-centric activity: Ethereum led in both buyers and sales, reinforcing its role as the default chain for digital collectibles.

Blockchain diversity: Binance Smart Chain, Immutable X, and Base also contributed meaningful buyer growth, though at smaller absolute volumes.

Collection performance: Blue-chip assets such as CryptoPunks still dominate high-value transactions, but a wider variety of collections are now attracting engaged participants.

The rise in participation contrasts with larger market surveys showing that sales volume in many NFT segments remains constrained or declining, a pattern also visible in other independent weekly metrics. For instance, CryptoSlam and third-party platforms have tracked periods where overall NFT sales plunged even as buyer counts climbed.

What it means for investors

The divergence between participation metrics and sales revenue raises several key considerations:

1. Market demand may be broadening, not deepening

The surge in active wallets suggests intensifying interest across a wider base, but the lack of proportional revenue growth could mean spending is distributed across smaller transactions rather than concentrated in high-value deals.

2. Liquidity vs. speculation

A larger cohort of buyers trading smaller volumes could improve market liquidity but may not yet translate into the price momentum typically associated with bull runs in the NFT space.

3. Segment-specific growth opportunities

Certain collection categories, especially utility-linked NFTs and brand collaborations, are attracting sustained attention. Linda Xie, co-founder of Scalar Capital, advises that investors should look beyond pure dollar volume to participation trends, holder retention, and utility adoption.

Looking ahead

As the broader crypto market, including Bitcoin and Ethereum prices, fluctuates, the NFT sector’s participation-driven signal warrants close monitoring.

Whether this pattern evolves into sustainably increased buying power and higher sales remains an open question for investors analyzing NFT valuations, liquidity, and trend cycles.