In this week’s newsletter, the non-fungible token platform Magic Eden is launching its own token to expand its business, the Runes protocol on Bitcoin has generated $162.4 million in fees in four months, and find out how Web3 professionals feel about the recent sale of the most expensive CryptoPunk. In other news, weekly NFT volumes have turned positive.
Bitcoin Runes records 15.6 million NFT transactions in four months
Runes, an NFT protocol on Bitcoin, generated $162.4 million in fees with over 15.6 million transactions in four months. Dune Analytics data shows that the protocol often exceeded 300,000 daily transactions in the first two months.
On April 23, Runes users accounted for 81.3% of the total Bitcoin network bandwidth, as investors had over one million transactions by minting, etching, transfers and having edicts.
Magic Eden to launch ME token for cross-chain trading
NFT marketplace Magic Eden announced the launch of its native token, which aims to enhance cross-chain trading, integrate decentralized applications and drive the expansion of its NFT platform. The NFT platform claimed that the token is designed to improve DApps by facilitating cross-chain trading.
The NFT trading platform also plans to integrate the token to drive the growth of its ecosystem. They also said users will be incentivized to trade assets on the biggest chains.
$24 million CryptoPunk sale shows either “NFTs are over” or “this is the bottom”
After the most expensive CryptoPunk NFT changed hands, Web3 professionals speculated that the piece lost much value. Executives unanimously expressed that the NFT was sold at a loss, as the seller did not disclose the trade details.
Because of the underperformance of one of the most prized NFT collections, some believe it spells the end for digital collectibles. Andreas Brekken, CEO and founder of trading platform SideShift.ai, believes that at this point, it’s either “NFTs are over” or “this is the bottom.”
NFTs show signs of life as weekly volumes turn positive
Despite the negative comments, NFT collections’ seven-day sales volumes had an upward tick after a series of drops this year. On Aug. 26, CryptoSlam data showed that NFTs on the top five blockchains performed well. Ethereum, Solana, Polygon and Mythos Chain saw increased weekly sales volumes.
However, Bitcoin had a slight downward trend. The weekly sales volume of NFTs based on Bitcoin decreased by 7.01%.
In addition, there was a surge in weekly buyers of NFTs. Data showed over 500,000 NFT buyers in the week before Aug. 26, representing a 37% boost.
Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.