Ornella Hernandez

<div id="highlights-block_633713150f67c" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>NFT-collateralized lending has become a popular financing tool for blue chip NFT holders</li>
 <li>Sales of rare MAYC and Ape Punk NFTs prove Yuga Labs’ market dominance</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The NFT ecosystem has been waning in terms of monthly trade volumes since May’s crypto market downtown, and especially compared to all-time highs in January of this year.



However, this week in particular saw some significant trading activity, and Wednesday takes the cake for the highest daily volume of NFTs sales, measured in ether (ETH), in September and in the past 30 days.



Sept. 28 saw 12,565 ETH, or $16.6 million, transacted that day. While Sept. 20 recorded a lower volume amount in ETH — 12,549 ETH — the USD amount of $17 million was higher due to the fluctuating price of ether.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



This week’s spike can likely be attributed to a $16.75 million generative art sale, a $1.3 million Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) lending deal and a $4.45 million CryptoPunks sale.



Tyler Hobbs, the creator of the popular Fidenza project on Art Blocks, and Archipelago co-founder Dandelion Wist released mint passes for their new collection, QQL, dropped via a Dutch auction on Wednesday.



This generative art experiment sold out 900 mint passes using a rebate mechanism so that all buyers ended up paying the same price once it settled. While the auction closed out at 14 ETH, the QQL project collected around 12,600 ETH, or approximately $16.7 million.



Claiming it “empowers the collector as co-creators,” QQL pass holders can use the algorithm to pick the output of the on-chain art they mint.



Many QQL collectors may already be collectors of other generative art pieces or of Hobbs’ Fidenzas, a collection that recently saw one holder <a href="https://twitter.com/ab_fidenza_bot/status/1572596400436776962?s=20&amp;t=yMCYpjAW36GG8j2ewHEj6A" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">scoop up</a> seven NFTs worth $912,741 within 24 hours.&nbsp;



The success of generative art NFTs has contributed to the growth of the NFT art sector, and the Art Blocks NFT platform is at the front of the pack thanks to collections such as Fidenza, Chromie Squiggles and Ringers, to name a few.&nbsp;



Art Blocks, which is approaching its two-year anniversary in November, is also known for its curated collections consisting of a series of projects that individual artists or collaborations can submit to.



Its eighth and latest series will also be the “last of its kind,” Art Blocks <a href="https://twitter.com/artblocks_io/status/1574488794958528512?s=20&amp;t=y0KQWVeitdvYJ0-F0eITSg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> this week. Any future curated projects won&#8217;t belong to a numbered series.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Mega Mutant Apes-collateralized loan</h3>



A mega NFT lending deal made a big bet on Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFTs.&nbsp;



Fragment — a company “creating rich stories and worlds for the metaverse,” according to its Twitter — took out a 1,000 ETH loan, worth about $1.3 million, via NFT lending platform Arcade on Tuesday to purchase Mega Noise, one of the rarest NFTs in the MAYC collection.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">1000 ETH was borrowed against two mega mutants today on <a href="https://twitter.com/arcade_xyz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@arcade_xyz</a>! The payback is set to be 1,044 ETH in 90 days (18% APY). Additionally the borrower (<a href="https://twitter.com/fragmentxyz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@fragmentxyz</a>) has bought a third mega mutant from <a href="https://twitter.com/machibigbrother?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@machibigbrother</a> <a href="https://t.co/0dkWIVOGYo">pic.twitter.com/0dkWIVOGYo</a>&mdash; 0xTIGΞR (@PltTiger) <a href="https://twitter.com/PltTiger/status/1574818578083483648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



The collateral is two other Mega Mutant Apes — Mega Electric and Mega Swamp — that Fragment will lose if it does not repay the loan within 90 days.&nbsp;



Nexo served as originator of the loan, financing it through Arcade, while Meta 4 NFT Lending Fund sourced and structured it as the underwriter of the loan, assuming the liability in the event the borrower defaults.&nbsp;



“This type of activity is significant, not just because of the sticker-shock on the assets, but because it&#8217;s a really lovely example of tokenized finance — where we&#8217;re operating at the intersection of DeFi and NFTs,” Brandon Buchanan, Meta4’s founder and managing partner, told Blockworks.&nbsp;



“Deals like this come with a lot of complexity because you are valuing assets with little transaction history or comparables,” Buchanan added. “You want to be assured that custody solutions are safe, and need alternative forms of financing from sources that can tolerate the perceived risk.”



This purchase of Mega Noise ups Fragment’s Mega Mutant count to five NFTs. Only a dozen or so Mega Mutant Apes exist, spun off from Bored Ape Yacht Club using “mutant serum.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Rare Ape CryptoPunk</h3>



Daniel Maegaard, also known as seedphgrase.eth, sold his rare Ape CryptoPunks NFT for 3,300 ETH, or $4.28 million, to an unknown buyer.



That makes it the highest ETH value sale for a non-alien punk in history. It is also the fourth-highest Punks sale of all time and second-highest sale in 2022 after another Ape Punk sold for 2,501 ETH, or $7.8 million, in February.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Punk 2924 bought for 3,300 ETH ($4,451,633.94 USD) by 0x9045de from 0x1da533. <a href="https://t.co/bh7Rjs9Aob">https://t.co/bh7Rjs9Aob</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cryptopunks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#cryptopunks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ethereum?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ethereum</a> <a href="https://t.co/PT9v9bCC5s">pic.twitter.com/PT9v9bCC5s</a>&mdash; CryptoPunks Bot (@cryptopunksbot) <a href="https://twitter.com/cryptopunksbot/status/1575238937081221128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



CryptoPunks is one of the OG NFT projects, and it continues to demonstrate massive interest and major sales, especially since its <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tiffany-co-turns-cryptopunks-into-12-5m-luxury-jewelry-sale/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$12.5 million luxury jewelry sale with Tiffany’s &amp; Co</a>.&nbsp;



CryptoPunks and MAYC collections operate under parent company Yuga Labs, which was valued $4 billion in March — the largest valuation of any NFT company to date.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



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Mutant Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks Among This Week’s Record-breaking NFT Sales

<div id="highlights-block_62cdf471849b1" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Art Blocks’ Chromie Squiggle is among the top 10 blue-chip collections</li>
 <li>Gaming NFTs are down more than 59% year to date</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Consumers are continuing to show interest in NFTs in the face of agitated markets, with art and blue-chip collections among the highest performing sectors of the market, a new report from Nansen shows.



The blockchain analytics platform’s quarterly report on the state of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) analyzes Nansen’s six NFT indexes: Nansen NFT-500, Nansen Blue Chip-10, Nansen Social-100, Nansen Gaming-50, Nansen Art-20 and Nansen Metaverse-20. The indexes are weighted by market capitalization and denominated in ether (ETH).



Nansen’s NFT-500 index, which aggregates the performance of the leading 500 NFT collections on Ethereum, was up 49.9% on the year as of March 31. However, the index gave up most of those gains in Q2, clocking an 8.5% year-to-date change by the end of the quarter.



All NFT sectors recorded a bounce in terms of ETH-denominated sales in June, except for gaming NFTs, which are down more than 59% year to date.&nbsp;


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="468" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Screenshot-2022-07-13-at-13.44.31-1024x468.png" alt="" class="wp-image-24285" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Screenshot-2022-07-13-at-13.44.31-1024x468.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Screenshot-2022-07-13-at-13.44.31-1024x468.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Screenshot-2022-07-13-at-13.44.31-1024x468.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Screenshot-2022-07-13-at-13.44.31-1024x468.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Screenshot-2022-07-13-at-13.44.31-1024x468.png?w=2048 2048w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Screenshot-2022-07-13-at-13.44.31-1024x468.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Screenshot-2022-07-13-at-13.44.31-1024x468.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Screenshot-2022-07-13-at-13.44.31-1024x468.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Screenshot-2022-07-13-at-13.44.31-1024x468.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Screenshot-2022-07-13-at-13.44.31-1024x468.png?w=50 50w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Nansen NFT Indexes Performance; Source: <a href="https://pro.nansen.ai/nft-trends?platform=All" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nansen</a></figcaption></figure></div>


Blue-chips led the way in the larger NFT market’s upward movement at the beginning of June — the top 10 collections reported a 23.6% increase in market capitalization at the end of the quarter and a 17.9% increase in June alone.



Yuga Labs’ Meebits reclaimed its spot in Nansen’s Blue Chip-10 index, and Chromie Squiggle from Art Blocks also joined the leaderboard, replacing the NFT Worlds and World of Women collections.



There is little evidence to support a continued uptrend due to limited liquidity, the report suggests — the inflows into blue chips still mark “risk off” sentiment by NFT market participants.



However, an analysis of NFT buyers on Ethereum shows a strong recovery in returning buyers in June and a slight recovery for first-time buyers.&nbsp;


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/BrRdqe1xF9s6jwJ0UA2FUlwjXICTY8k7oXSeMWggl45K7K68T0UNUcuYjyKfp94fBcPlKNxMYjdVIISQj9MDhxLFa_BDIjpaeAFzcF-BfHNKYTcXBinEtp-WKqjsLF2Hxu59NOweSarhbsJw-LA" alt=""/><figcaption>Nansen NFT Trends: NFT Returning vs. First-time Buyers (Monthly); Source: <a href="https://pro.nansen.ai/nft-trends?platform=All" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nansen</a></figcaption></figure></div>


The active buyer count indicates the continued growth of the market and the development of NFTs as a sector, according to Nansen.&nbsp;



Recent free mint events, such as those of GoblinTown and Moonrunners, could be a possible explanation for the recovery in buyers, the report suggested.



Nansen analysts also found that art NFTs demonstrated the biggest increase of the month, with a 33.1% boost. This sector encapsulates physical and digital art, plus generative art NFTs, which accounted for 92% of market capitalization in the Art-20 index.



In addition to consistent transaction volume and significant buy-in for Chromie Squiggle, an art NFT collection that performed consistently in Q2 was The Currency by Damien Hirst, a collection of 10,000 NFTs, each corresponding to a piece of physical artwork.



While the Art-20 index saw a decrease in volatility, Blue Chip-10, Social-100, Game-50 and Metaverse-20 indexes showed an increase in volatility, in line with the broad market. The metaverse NFT sector remains the most volatile, a conclusion Nansen also reported in its previous quarterly analysis.



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