CryptoPunks & Pudgy Penguins Lose Their Swagger: NFT Market Cools Amid Shifting Tides

The NFT gold rush hits a speed bump as blue-chip collections show cracks in demand.

Once-unstoppable digital status symbols like CryptoPunks and Pudgy Penguins are seeing their floors wobble—proof even crypto's most hyped assets aren't immune to gravity.

Market observers point to a cocktail of factors: collector fatigue, the 'next shiny thing' syndrome, and that pesky human tendency to realize paying mortgage money for cartoon penguins might not be sustainable wealth storage.

Meanwhile, traditional finance bros are too busy shorting coffee futures to notice their Bored Ape yacht clubs are taking on water.

CryptoPunks, Pudgy Penguins NFT sales plunged last week

CryptoSlam data indicate that total NFT sales decreased by 10% in the previous seven days, reaching $155 million. This decline happened even as the number of NFT buyers, sellers, and transactions jumped by over 20%.

The weekly decline was primarily due to CryptoPunks, whose sales decreased by 42% to $20.2 million. This decline happened after the recent sales surge. Indeed, data shows that its monthly sales jumped by 450% to over $62 million. 

CryptoPunks ETF collection has had cumulative sales of over $3.16 billion, making it the third most popular ever after Axie Infinity and Bored Ape Yacht Club.

Pudgy Penguins NFT sales also dropped by 43% in the last seven days to $4.6 million. This decline coincided with the sharp decline of the PENGU token, which entered a bear market after falling 32% from its highest point this year.

Courtyard, Bored Ape Yacht Club sales jump

Rebounds of other NFT collections helped to offset these declines. Courtyard NFT sales surged by 35% to $11.27 million, with a 23% increase in transactions. 

Bored APE Yacht Club NFT sales jumped by 10% to $6.26 million, while DMarket jumped by 77% to $4.84 million. Other top performers included collections like Guild of Guardian Heroes, SpinNFTBox, and Sorare. 

NFT sales experienced a strong performance in July, driven by notable projects such as CryptoPunks, Pudgy Penguins, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Moonbirds. 

Ethereum (ETH) NFT sales soared by over 68% to $296 million, while Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL) jumped by 42% to $77 million and 10% to $10 million, respectively. 

Polygon was the main laggard in July, as its sales dropped by 59%, primarily due to Courtyard, whose sales fell by 25%. BNB Chain, Immutable, and Mythos Chain sales tumbled by over 40%.

NFT sales are likely to be affected by the performance of the crypto market this month. 

Historically, sales tend to increase when cryptocurrencies are in a strong uptrend. For example, sales surged in July as bitcoin reached a record high, driving most altcoins to higher levels.