Will Solana NFTs Ever Come Back?

While market sentiment has turned bullish in the waning months of 2024, Solana’s languishing NFT market has continued its steady decline. 

The Blue Chips of yesteryear are fading into insignificance and the NFT trading incentives that propped up market activity are drawing to a close.

However, there might still be light at the end of the tunnel. 

Will Solana NFTs rise again?

Blue Chip Solana NFT Collections Crumble

Solana NFT fans have endured a bittersweet year. While they’ve been able to witness Solana rise from the ashes of a long and dark crypto winter, NFT holders have been forced to watch the fun from the sidelines.

Against the rising price of $SOL, the majority of NFT collections have watched their SOL valuations evaporate as the assets struggle to cling to their USD valuations. 

The floor prices of top collections like Mad Lads and Tensorians have both plummeted over 80% from their yearly highs.

But even with Solana consolidating for over six months since its yearly highs in April, NFT holders appear to be capitulating out of boredom. Step Finance data indicates that sellers vastly outnumber buyers in the markets, suggesting low demand for NFT assets.

OG collections like Solana Monkey Business have been hit particularly hard in recent months as NFT traders lose hope in NFTs ever returning. The quintessential Solana collection has tumbled over 35% in the last 30D, currently trading at its lowest SOL-denominated floor price since August 2021.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Newer collections like the Milady-inspired Retardio Cousins have endured several dramatic price swings to become one of the ecosystem’s most valuable collections.

Solana Still Most Popular Chain For NFTs

Fortunately for Solana enthusiasts, cratering floor prices and stagnant trade volumes are issues facing the entire NFT market. Additionally, past cycles indicate that NFT markets often rise to prominence after crypto prices have peaked.

Recent data indicates that Solana is still the most popular blockchain for NFT traders. According to NFTpulse.org, Solana leads all blockchains in unique wallets, suggesting that users are still choosing Solana over rival chains.

Solana’s popularity could be attributed to Magic Eden airdrop farmers attempting to boost their token allocation ahead of the marketplace’s highly anticipated TGE. However, it should be noted that Magic Eden is also available on all competing blockchains. 

Additionally, NFTPulse data indicates that the majority of unique wallets are trading on Tensor, who already airdropped their native token, $TNSR, to users earlier this year.

NFT Trends Come Full Circle

NFTs may be down, but they’re certainly not out. While the days of generative 10,000 supply collections may be over for now, 1/1 collections and exclusive communities appear to be holding their value remarkably well.

Despite a supposedly ‘dead’ NFT market, unique 1/1 collections continue to be seen as high-value pieces that provide valuable access to certain communities. Ironically, both utility-backed and hype-driven NFT collections have paled in significance to the original use case of NFT assets.

While markets may be suffering, NFTs still have a unique role to play in the wider blockchain ecosystem. Additionally, onchain data implies that NFT traders still prefer to trade on Solana over other networks, meaning that the glory days of Solana’s NFT markets may one day return.

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