How NFTs Forecasted A Crypto Recovery, Nansen Report Claims

Crypto research firm Nansen published a report shared with NewsBTC, on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and their performance amid the persistent bearish trend across the industry. NFTs have been a hot sector since 2021 as they facilitated broader adoption of digital assets but have taken a toll as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies trend to the downside.

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According to Nansen, their NFT Blue Chip-10 and NFT 500 Indexes displayed strength last month. At that time, Bitcoin and larger cryptocurrencies were on the brink of recording yearly lows. BTC’s price crashed to a multi-year low of around $17,500.

In the meantime, the Nansen Blue Chip-10 reported a 23.6% increase as early as June 2022 and possibly hinted at a decrease in selling pressure for the industry. In June, the crypto market saw a capitulation event as major crypto investment firms became forced sellers as they defaulted on standing debt obligations.

NFTs operated as an indicator of future activity for the crypto market. As Nansen’s Indexes trended in the opposite direction throughout June, the positive performance extended and hinted at the formation of a local bottom for Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The report claimed the following on the general sentiment across the crypto market and how NFTs have been outperforming even in periods of turmoil and persistent selling pressure:

Blue Chip NFTs led the trend reversal in June (…). Although the last week of June saw a bear market rally within the broad crypto market, it appears that this uptrend started earlier in the NFT market. All Non-Fungible Token (NFT) sectors recorded a bounce in June (when measured in ETH), except for Gaming NFTs at the end of Q2 2022.

In July, the crypto market has seen some relief with the price of Bitcoin trading above its 2017 all-time high, north of $20,000. However, BTC’s price has been losing steam and seems poised for another period of sideways movement and consolidation.

Additional data provided by Nansen claims the recovery in this sector might be unsustainable. Despite the positive performance in June, these digital assets record a decrease in trading volume, transaction count, and active users, as seen below.

This decrease in sector activity corresponds with NFTs investors reducing risk and adapting to current macro-economic conditions. Nansen noted:

(…) Within the Ethereum (ETH) DeFi sector, we are witnessing a dramatic deleveraging event with a sizable investor base realizing historically significant losses. A ‘risk off’ sentiment is still highly evident in the NFT market and the limited liquidity in the NFT market hints that this uptrend might not sustain (…).

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However, the sector records an increase in first-time buyers and a decrease in its Buyers-Seller Ratio. This metric is used to measure the general sentiment across NFT investors which seems to be more optimistic than in the overall crypto market and, according to Nansen, “highlights the development of NFTs as a sector”.