After weeks of declining sentiment, the global NFT market has posted a rare upswing in trading activity, signaling renewed resilience among leading blockchains and collections.
Global NFT market volume breaks three-week slide
The global non-fungible token space continues to show resilience despite the prolonged crypto and NFT downturn, with many NFT collections still trading more than 60% below their January 2025 peaks. However, over the past seven days, on-chain data shows a clear rebound in activity.
According to figures compiled by CryptoSlam, a multi-chain market data aggregator, the crypto NFT market recorded $69 million in trading sales volume in the last week. That total represents a more than 10% increase week-over-week and ends a downtrend that had persisted for over three weeks.
The upswing arrives in the middle of an extended NFT winter that began in November and has pushed many floor prices below 5 ETH. Moreover, the latest data suggests sentiment is stabilizing even as overall valuations remain depressed compared to the last cycle.
Shift from speculative hype to utility-focused NFTs
Industry observers note that the current environment differs markedly from the speculative peaks of 2021 6. In 2025, the main motivation for buying NFTs has shifted from short-term flips to longer-term utility and more predictable ownership structures.
That said, the broader NFT art market has not disappeared. Instead, it is evolving into more sustainable ecosystems where gaming assets, tokenized real-world items and access passes coexist with digital art. This transition is a key pillar of ongoing nft market development and helps explain why volumes can rise even as prices stay far from previous highs.
Seen through this lens, the latest jump in global NFT trading sales volume highlights how user engagement and on-chain activity, rather than pure speculation, are increasingly driving the sector.
Ethereum leads weekly NFT market blockchain rankings
Ethereum, which still hosts the majority of NFT collections, remained the dominant chain by volume over the past week. Ethereum-based NFT series generated $27 million in trading sales, a 29% increase compared with the previous week and a sign of renewed interest in blue-chip collections and established marketplaces.
While Ethereum nft sales continue to set the benchmark, other ecosystems showed a mixed performance. BNB Chain, a high-performance network focused on low-cost, fast transactions, was the second most traded blockchain for NFTs during the period but moved in the opposite direction.
BNB Chain NFTs amassed $8.4 million in trading volume for the week, marking a 24% decline versus the prior seven days. However, BNB Chain still retained a strong position in the ranking, underlining the chain’s importance for cost-sensitive NFT users and emerging gaming projects.
Bitcoin, Polygon and Mythos Chain show divergent trends
Bitcoin, which underpins Runes, BRC-20 assets and Ordinal inscriptions, ranked as the third most traded NFT blockchain this past week. Bitcoin-based NFT series posted $9.1 million in trading sales volume, representing a 36% surge from the previous week and evidencing continued interest in Bitcoin ordinal NFTs.
Polygon, the popular Ethereum scaling solution, also demonstrated solid momentum. Over the past 30 days, Polygon NFT activity reached $5.1 million in trading sales, while weekly volume jumped 54% compared with the previous period. Moreover, part of that increase stems from growing adoption of Polygon RWA NFTs tied to real-world assets.
Mythos Chain, a Polkadot-based ecosystem geared toward Web3 gaming, rounded out the top five most traded NFT blockchains. Mythos Chain-based collections amassed $4.5 million in trading sales over the week, up 69% from the previous period. This strong performance underscores the role of Mythos Chain gaming assets in driving niche demand.
Top NFT collections by weekly sales
At the collection level, a familiar name topped the charts. DMarket, which represents in-game virtual items from several online titles, ranked as the number one series by weekly sales. It generated $4.4 million in trading volume, up 71% compared with the previous week, reinforcing the influence of gaming-linked assets.
Milady Maker came in second among the top NFT collections, posting $4.2 million in sales, a 40% week-over-week increase. Courtyard, a Polygon-based collection featuring randomly generated digital items, placed third with $4 million in trading sales, climbing 71.92% from the prior week.
Guild of Guardians Heroes, connected to the multiplayer mobile game Guild of Guardians, recorded $2.1 million in trading sales, up 11.29% on a weekly basis. However, not all collections advanced: Yes Bond, hosted on BNB Chain, notched $2 million in trading sales but slipped 2.59% from the previous week.
Biggest individual NFT sales of the week
Beyond aggregate volumes, several single collectibles also drew attention. Token Vesting Plans #4585 was the week’s top sale, changing hands for $671,387. The second-largest transaction involved gUSDC #534, which sold for $400,000 and highlighted continuing demand for high-value tokenized positions.
In third place, Wang.btc fetched $362,729, while Strike Perp Position recorded a sale of $37,867. These figures, although well below peak bull-market valuations, still signal that deep-pocketed buyers are active across select segments.
Such headline trades often influence short-term sentiment. However, analysts emphasize that broader liquidity and user growth remain more important indicators than isolated big-ticket deals when assessing the overall health of the NFT market.
Outlook for the NFT market into 2026
Despite the recent uptick, few analysts expect a rapid return to the frenzied heights seen in 2021 6. The NFT sector reached its lowest monthly trading sales volume of the year in November, when turnover dropped to $320 million, down 49% from October’s $629 million.
Even so, several market researchers suggest that the current consolidation could lay the groundwork for a more measured recovery. Some forecasts indicate that the sector may stage another hype phase before the end of Q1 2026, especially if macro conditions stabilize and new consumer applications emerge.
In summary, the latest data paints a picture of an industry in transition rather than collapse, with resilient volumes across multiple chains and use cases supporting a more mature, utility-driven future for NFTs.
Source: https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2025/12/26/nft-market-rebound-ethereum/
