• NFT marketplace tokens have been gaining popularity, with cumulative trading volumes reaching a new 8-month high in January.
• Blur’s recent token airdrop is likely to extend the trend of increasing NFT marketplace token trading volumes.
• Sophisticated investors have also been accumulating NFT marketplace tokens, suggesting sustained interest in the space.
Overview of the NFT Marketplace
NFT marketplace tokens are gaining increased attention from the market and Blur’s recent airdrop could further extend this trend. Data from Delphi Digital showed cumulative monthly volumes reaching an eight-month high above $1 billion in January 2021. This trend was largely influenced by Blur’s ‘care package’ airdrop which allowed users to redeem tokens starting February 14th at 12 pm ET. Since its launch last year in Q3 2022, Blur’s trading volume has surpassed that of OpenSea, the current market leader in the space.
Impact of Airdrops on Trading Volumes
Airdrops often create excitement among users who receive free money as well as FOMO amongst those who miss out on them. As such, it is likely that Blur will continue to utilize liquidity mining campaigns similar to Optimism in order to retain its userbase and trading volume. On top of this, other opportunities within the space will continue to attract users away from Blur and towards other platforms such as LooksRare (LOOKS) and X2Y2 (X2Y2).
Accumulation by Whales and “Smart Money”
The price increase experienced by LOOKS and X2Y2 since January suggests that buyers are paying more attention to these tokens than average – with LOOKS seeing an increase of 100% and X2Y having seen an increase of 260%. Additionally, on-chain data indicates that Taureon Capital has been accumulating NFT marketplace tokens, with Ethereum wallets identified as “smart money” by Nansen substantially increasing their holdings of both LOOKS and X2Y .
Analysis Of Platforms: X2Y & LOOKS
X2Y is currently ranked third for Ethereum based NFT trading volumes. It launched its own token back in February 2022 and has distributed platform trading fees amongst XTY stakers since then – incentivizing trading through incentives provided when using XTY on their platform. Meanwhile LOOKS launched their native token back in July 2020 – providing rewards for holding them but also introducing decentralized finance products that use their native token as collateral or governance asset alongside it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it appears that investor appetite for NFT marketplace tokens is continuing to grow – with whales increasingly investing into this emerging asset class as evidenced by both Taureon Capital’s accumulation efforts along with ‘smart money’ wallets significantly increasing their holdings of both LOOKS & XTY across the board over recent months
