NFT & Gaming – 📈 NFT market saw a 6-month high in sales volume; 76ers and Crypto.com launched a Web3 mobile game  

The NFT market marked a six-month high in sales volume. The Philadelphia 76ers and Crypto.com released a Web3 mobile game. Pudgy Penguins launched its PENGU token.

Quick Take

• The NFT market hit a six-month high in sales volume.
• Notable news: The Philadelphia 76ers and Crypto.com unveiled a Web3 mobile game; Shiba Inu launched early access to ‘SHIB: The Metaverse’; Pudgy Penguins’s native token, PENGU, fluctuated during the launch.

Chart of the Week

In 2024, the total NFT sales volume amounted to US$8.8 billion, 1.5% higher than that in 2023, according to data from CryptoSlam. This coincided with a recovery of the broader cryptocurrency market in Q4. Bitcoin recorded $3.1 billion in sales volume in 2024, a 72% increase year-on-year. Ethereum and Solana saw $3.1 billion and $1.5 billion in sales volume, representing a 38% decline and a 32% increase, respectively. 

In December 2024, NFT sales surged to $891 million, marking an eight-month high and a 59% increase from November. This was mainly driven by notable collections such as Pudgy Penguins, which saw a 700% rise in sales coinciding with its PENGU token launch, and Azuki’s of around 650%.

The following table shows selected top games by weekly volume in USD:

Gaming Token Performance

The total market capitalisation for gaming tokens now stands at $38.65 billion, increasing by +18.56% over the past 14 days.

New Projects Spotlight

News Highlights

• The Philadelphia 76ers and Crypto.com unveiled ‘Spectrum Sprint’, a Web3 mobile game,  on 22 December. Players can earn digital collectibles in a Web3 locker and win exclusive 76ers prizes. This is part of a series of Web3 games centred around the 76ers’s 2024-25 Nike City Edition uniform and the iconic Philadelphia Spectrum.
• Shiba Inu launched early access to ‘SHIB: The Metaverse’. The metaverse consists of 100,595 plots of land, with 36,431 available in the current phase. Users can participate in land customisation, create avatars, and socialise. It is powered by Shibarium, Shiba Inu’s Layer-2 blockchain. 
• Avalanche strengthened its partnership with gaming blockchain Beam Network by minting $500,000 worth of Beam Node tokens and committing to run validator nodes upon completion of Beam Network’s upcoming Horizon upgrade. This announcement came after Avalanche’s recent Etna upgrade, which enables permissionless validation and delegation. 
• Web3 information platform Kaito AI launched its Genesis NFT collection. The 1,500 NFTs went live in three phases from 20 to 24 December; 66% was allocated to Kaito’s early users and supporters in Phase 1, 33% to eligible users who added their wallet on Yaps in Phase 2, and the remaining to the public in Phase 3. 
• Pudgy Penguins’s native token, PENGU, debuted at a market capitalisation of around $2.8 billion on 17 December and subsequently fell by more than 50% in the first few hours of trading. The NFT collection’s floor price rose above 34 ETH before the token issuance and then dropped to 16 ETH the day after. At the time of writing, PENGU is trading at around 46% below its all-time high and the NFT collection’s floor price is 22 ETH, according to CoinGecko.

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Disclaimer

The information in this report is provided as general market commentary by Crypto.com and its affiliates, and does not constitute any financial, investment, legal, tax, or any other advice. This report is not intended to offer or recommend any access to products and/or services. While we endeavour to publish and maintain accurate information, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information in this report nor do we adopt nor endorse, nor are we responsible for, the accuracy or reliability of any information submitted by other parties.

This report is not directed or intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity who is a citizen or resident of, or located in a jurisdiction, where such distribution or use would be contrary to applicable law or that would subject Crypto.com and/or its affiliates to any registration or licensing requirement.

The brands and the logos appearing in this report are registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Nothing in this report is intended to suggest that NFTs are investment products, nor securities, nor anything similar or “financial” of any description. NFTs are to be reserved for fun only and NOT with any expectation of “value”, “profit”, “yield” or “investment”. You are also aware that NFTs are not a store of value, are not a generally accepted medium of exchange, and are considered very illiquid and volatile.

We’re all ears.

Your feedback helps make our reporting more insightful. Tell us how we can improve this newsletter by taking the survey below. It will take less than a minute of your time. Thank you!

Authors

Research and Insights Team

Get the latest market, DeFi & NFT updates delivered to your inbox:

Be the first to hear about new insights:

Disclaimer

The information in this report is provided as general market commentary by Crypto.com and its affiliates, and does not constitute any financial, investment, legal, tax, or any other advice. This report is not intended to offer or recommend any access to products and/or services. While we endeavour to publish and maintain accurate information, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information in this report nor do we adopt nor endorse, nor are we responsible for, the accuracy or reliability of any information submitted by other parties.

This report is not directed or intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity who is a citizen or resident of, or located in a jurisdiction, where such distribution or use would be contrary to applicable law or that would subject Crypto.com and/or its affiliates to any registration or licensing requirement.

The brands and the logos appearing in this report are registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Nothing in this report is intended to suggest that NFTs are investment products, nor securities, nor anything similar or “financial” of any description. NFTs are to be reserved for fun only and NOT with any expectation of “value”, “profit”, “yield” or “investment”. You are also aware that NFTs are not a store of value, are not a generally accepted medium of exchange, and are considered very illiquid and volatile.