Between January 2021 and February 2022, the number of cumulative non-fungible token (NFT) minters rose from approximately 500 to 1.2 million as sales topped $25billion.
This is according to Nansen‘s latest ‘minters report‘, which examines new insights into the correlation between minting NFTs and market demand, as well as the connection between the minting of NFTs and the overall profitability for the people minting them.
Nansen is a SIngapore-based blockchain data analytics platform, and the release of its report has turned its spotlight towards the changing behaviours of NFT minters.
From cartoon apes to celebrity portraits, sales of NFTs reached some $25billion in 2021 as the crypto-asset exploded in popularity. While mainstream participants were primarily buying and selling digital works of art, trends among minters provide the most accurate overview of the demand and profitability of NFTs.
According to the report, one in three minted NFTs has a higher trading floor price than minting cost, while one in three NFTs ends up as a dead collection with little to no trading activity.
While this data emphasises that minting does not guarantee profits, this doesn’t seem to be deterring minters from the market.
Between January 2021 and February 2022, there was a 239900 per cent jump in the number of cumulative NFT minters in the market; shooting up from 500 to 1.2 million.
Data goes on to reveal that the average minting cost peaked in May 2021 at 0.56 ETH, but dropped to a low of 0.06 ETH in June 2021. Since July 2021, the average NFT mint cost ranged between 0.07 ETH to 0.1ETH.
This trend suggests that NFT minting has become increasingly competitive with more projects being introduced to the market, pushing the average mint cost down.
The profiles of NFT minters also reflect a gradual rise in retail or ‘non-whale’ minters. Since 2022, the largest group in the market has been occupied by minters who have spent 1 to 5 ETH.
Even though the number of minters has increased, their participation has not necessarily translated into positive market sentiment in the short term, as the broad financial market remains highly volatile.
Since the start of 2022, the amount of ETH spent on minting has gradually declined and in the last 30 days, trends point to a slight correction in the NFT market.
Nansen adds that its own NFT-500 index fell by -5.23 per cent when denominated in ETH and -0.89 per cent when denominated in USD.
