PEPE, an Ethereum-based meme cryptocurrency featuring the iconic green frog image, has surged in value to surpass the combined market capitalization of every other major NFT project across various blockchains.
Currently valued at $6.2 billion, PEPE's market capitalization has slightly dipped from its recent peak of $6.9 billion on May 27, as reported by CoinGecko. Meanwhile, many top NFT projects have struggled to regain attention from traders and have seen declines in value over the past year.
In comparison, a group of NFT projects including Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), CryptoPunks, Pudgy Penguins, Autoglyphs, Mocaverse, and MadLads, among others, collectively just crosses the $4 billion mark in market capitalization.
The market cap of the leading NFT projects is also highly concentrated. CryptoPunks leads with a market cap of $1.2 billion, followed by Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) with $488 million, and Pudgy Penguins with $365 million.
NFTs in the Final Stages
The fact that PEPE comes out ahead of significant collections simply serves to support the theory that the NFT market is in its lowest point.
The top 500 collections are tracked by CryptoSlam's 500 NFT Index, which is down 40% year to date and has lost 95% of its value since the platform started keeping track of pricing.
Based on a Dune dashboard, users who are actively trading NFTs have also been in a substantial decline. Weekly traders on OpenSea, which was once the largest marketplace, have decreased by more than 90%, from 187,000 in June 2022 to just under 10,000 at present.
The destiny of OpenSea is shared by most other NFT systems. The interest of traders has also waned on Blur, Magic Eden, and LooksRare, and the overall number of weekly traders across all platforms has fallen from 201,000 in June 2022 to 24,300 today.
May 2024, Cryptoniteuae