Did you know that monthly NFT trading volume in February reached a record not seen since May of last year? What drove this growth and what’s the state of NFT marketplaces?

A short thread 🧵👇

1/ The Blur Effect

Following a relatively subdued second half of 2022, NFT trading volume was range-bound in January 2023 but saw a spike in February, largely contributed by @blur_io and driven by its $BLUR airdrop.

2/ OpenSea's dominance wanes

The launch of several new marketplaces over the past year posed a serious challenge to @opensea's market dominance as witnessed by the steady decline in market share by trading volume. Notably, Blur has overtaken OpenSea to take the top spot.

3/ What drove Blur's growth?

We attributed its rise to competitive strategies relating to their product, token incentive, #airdrop design, and the team. It remains to be seen whether Blur will be able to sustain their lead when incentives taper.

4/ The Royalties War

Creators have been caught in the crossfire of the royalties war as marketplaces sought ways to increase the competitiveness of their respective platforms in this battle for market share.

5/ The Royalties War (Cont.)

In the ideal scenario, marketplaces, creators, and market participants should work out a middle ground that is beneficial for all - balancing considerations involving monetary incentives, fostering creators’ creativity, and long-term growth.

6/ The Path Forward

Given the role that #NFT marketplaces play in enforcing royalties, there is an unspoken social responsibility to foster sustainable growth of the NFT space. A down only trend is unlikely to be sustainable in the long run as they are the lifeblood of creators.

7/ The Path Forward (Cont.)

Besides competing on prices, NFT marketplaces need to focus on building a superior product to foster brand loyalty and drive long-term growth. This includes developing valuable new features, ensuring deep liquidity, and optimizing user experiences.

8/ Interested to hear more of what we have to say? Check out our full report ⬇️

https://research.binance.com/