NFT Market Roars Back: July Sales Soar to $574M – Near 2025 Peak
NFTs just flexed their staying power—July sales exploded to $574 million, marking the second-biggest monthly haul this year. Who said digital art was dead?
The comeback no one predicted
After months of sideways action, collectors and flippers suddenly woke up with diamond hands. Blue-chip projects and meme-tier PFPs alike saw wallets flying open—proving even in a bear market, degenerates gotta degenerate.
Wall Street analysts scrambling
Traditional finance still can’t decide if NFTs are ‘legitimate asset class’ or ‘greater fool theory in JPEG form.’ Meanwhile, the market keeps printing numbers that would make a hedge fund blush. Maybe they’re too busy shorting Bitcoin to notice.
The takeaway? When crypto winter thaws, NFTs melt faces first. Just don’t tell your financial advisor.
NFT Buyers Shift Toward Premium Assets as Average Sale Hits $113
Notably, the average sale value ROSE sharply to $113.08, the highest level in half a year, indicating a shift toward higher-value purchases.
A notable trend in July was the shrinking pool of buyers. Unique buyers dropped by 17% to 713,085, while unique sellers climbed 9% to 405,505.
The data points to market consolidation, with fewer buyers acquiring more expensive NFTs, while sellers continue to offload assets into the rally.
Overall market sentiment remained bullish. NFT Price Floor reported that total NFT market capitalization reached $8 billion, a 21% jump from its July 24 figure of $6.6 billion.
Ethereum’s rally also played a role. The cryptocurrency surged past $3,900 in July, gaining over 62% since early August 2024. At press time, ETH remains above $3,800.
The strength of ethereum helped lift valuations across NFT collections built on its network.
All of the top 10 NFT collections by market cap in the past month were Ethereum-based, with CryptoPunks leading in total value traded at $69.2 million. Pudgy Penguins followed closely at $55.5 million, while Polygon-based Courtyard NFTs ranked third with $23.8 million.
Pudgy Penguins showed the most notable growth among top-tier collections, posting a 65.44% increase in floor prices, outpacing even blue-chip names like Bored APE Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club.
#NFT sales rose to $574 million in July, the second highest in 2025. cointelegraph pic.twitter.com/tm6HCokSks
Ethereum dominated NFT blockchain activity with $275.6 million in sales for the month, up 56% from June.
Bitcoin and Polygon followed with $74.3 million and $71.6 million, respectively.
Cardano posted the largest percentage growth at 102%, while solana recorded a modest 8% rise. On the downside, Polygon’s volume slipped 51.1%, and BNB Chain saw a 54% drop in sales.
NFT Lending Market Crashes 97% as GONDI Surpasses Blur
The NFT lending sector has collapsed from nearly $1 billion in monthly volume in January 2024 to just $50 million in May 2025, a staggering 97% decline.
Borrowers and lenders have largely exited, average loan sizes have dropped by over 70%, and confidence in the space has eroded, according to DappRadar.
Loan durations are shortening too, with the average now at 31 days, reflecting a more cautious lending landscape.
Notably, in recent months, DraftKings, GameStop, and Bybit have all shut down their NFT platforms, with Bybit citing a steep decline in trading volumes in its April 8 announcement.
X2Y2 has also revealed plans to wind down its marketplace by April 30 to pivot toward artificial intelligence.
Back in March, Starbucks, the renowned multinational coffee chain, decided to terminate its NFT rewards program.
