Sebastian Sinclair

November’s combined NFT sales volume across the five top marketplaces clocked roughly $394 million, the lowest recorded this year.&nbsp;



Data provided by DappRadar and compiled by NFT gaming platform Balthazar DAO show volume across OpenSea, Magic Eden, X2Y2, LooksRare and Solanart dipped more than 20% collectively compared to the previous month of October.&nbsp;



November <a href="https://bltzr.gg/balthazar-nft-marketplace-update/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">extended</a> the declining trend as the demise of major exchange FTX shook faith in digital assets at the beginning of the month, which also rocked spot market prices.



Marketplaces were chosen based on the highest all-time volume recorded, Balthazar said. Representatives for all five marketplaces did not immediately respond to requests for comment.



Magic Eden, the only outlier of the five recorded platforms and Solana’s largest marketplace, managed to ride out the turmoil with a 60.9% increase in sales volume month over month.



“Blue-chip Solana-based NFT projects, including DeGods and y00ts, have seen positive price appreciation for the year, spotlighting the faith that traders and investors have in this sector of the NFT market,” an analyst at Zerocap told Blockworks.



Interestingly, the less popular Solana-based NFT marketplace, Solanart, was the worst affected among the top five — declining 93% from $6.25 million in October to just <a href="https://dappradar.com/solana/marketplaces/solanart" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$410,000</a> by November.



While sales overall have been on the decline, John Stefanidis, Balthazar’s CEO and co-founder, remains upbeat on the nascent technology, which took off in earnest toward the end of last year.



“What we&#8217;ve seen is obviously a decline in sales largely for…images and art, but what we’re starting to see is really cool and different applications of NFTs,” he said in a statement.



Macroeconomic factors including rising interest rates, contracting disposable incomes and market volatility were affecting people’s decisions to wait for future NFT use cases, which ultimately translated into fewer sales, Stefanidis added.



The shift in market sentiment since a historic rise in late 2021 and early 2022 — where the value of the entire NFT sector sat around <a href="https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/chainalysis-web3-report-preview-nfts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$40 billion</a> — has also impacted the market share of some of its biggest players.



<h2>Who’s who in the NFT zoo</h2>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="570" height="300" src="https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NFT-November-2022-Sales-Volume.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-41166" srcset="https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NFT-November-2022-Sales-Volume.jpg 570w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NFT-November-2022-Sales-Volume-300x158.jpg 300w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NFT-November-2022-Sales-Volume-428x225.jpg 428w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NFT-November-2022-Sales-Volume-470x247.jpg 470w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NFT-November-2022-Sales-Volume-389x205.jpg 389w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NFT-November-2022-Sales-Volume-80x42.jpg 80w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NFT-November-2022-Sales-Volume-50x26.jpg 50w" sizes="(max-width: 570px) 100vw, 570px" /><figcaption>Source: Balthazar, DappRadar</figcaption></figure></div>


Marketplace OpenSea, which had thrived on the success of its early mover advantage, witnessed a 1.6 percentage point decline in its market share for November when compared to the prior month. It still commands a dominant lead at 44%, DappRadar and Balthazar data shows.



Magic Eden and LooksRare, meanwhile, snatched up 12.1 and 2.5 percentage points respectively to increase their share of November’s sales volume.



To kick off December, unique active wallets engaging with all five platforms have also dipped considerably. OpenSea has witnessed a 47% decline in user activity while Magic Eden is down about 12.5% in the first days of the month.&nbsp;



Solanart’s UAW has dipped 25% in the previous four days, while LooksRare and X2Y2 have dropped 41% and 64% respectively, representing a slow start to the last month of the year.



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NFT Sales Volume Drops 20% in November

Ornella Hernandez

<div id="highlights-block_635c2589cdb9b" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Smartphone maker Vertu launches Web3 Android to rival Solana Saga phone</li>
 <li>LooksRare plans to divert 25% of protocol fees directly to creators</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Reddit’s nascent NFT marketplace made a splash in the digital collectibles market by <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/reddit-makes-pfp-nfts-cool-again-marketplace-trading-volume-surges/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">onboarding nearly 3 million</a> new users to Web3 by pitching NFTs to users — rivaling OpenSea’s numbers in the process.



And for those who own a Bored Ape or a CryptoPunk NFT and live in Switzerland, fintech bank <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/swiss-bank-seba-now-custodies-blue-chip-ethereum-nfts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SEBA offers to custody those NFTs</a> just like any other customer deposit. This will test if users prefer to trust a bank with their NFTs, instead of keeping them in their own wallets.&nbsp;



Here are other notable stories that caught the eyes of the Web3 Watch.&nbsp;



<h3>Twitter’s potential crypto wallet&nbsp;</h3>



Twitter is officially in the hands of Elon Musk, who formalized his new role by changing his Twitter bio to “Chief Twit” after a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-faithfuls-await-elon-musks-blockchain-plans-for-twitter/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$44 billion acquisition</a>.



In the lead up to the takeover, researcher Jane Manchung Wong tweeted out some juicy developing details about Twitter’s potential plans to launch a crypto wallet.



<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">Twitter is working on a “wallet prototype” that supports “crypto deposit and withdrawal”&mdash; Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) <a href="https://twitter.com/wongmjane/status/1584616567530483712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Wong is known for testing out tech products and new features on social media platforms, including the Twitter edit button for Twitter Blue members.&nbsp;



Since reporting on Oct. 24 that Twitter may be working on a wallet prototype that supports crypto deposits and withdrawals, no other details have been made available.



Musk previously <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/elon-musk-teases-crypto-integration-at-his-first-twitter-all-hands/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> that “it would make sense to integrate payments into Twitter so that it’s easy to send money back and forth, and if you have currency as well as crypto,” during his first Twitter all-hands meeting in June.



<h3>The royalties domino effect</h3>



First, X2Y2 and SudoSwap NFT marketplaces made the move toward optional creator <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/nft-royalties-sometimes-they-work-sometimes-they-dont/">NFT royalties </a>during the summer. 



Then, Solana giant Magic Eden <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1581101016686399491?s=20&amp;t=yLNKcqyOxYxi4zGVRpq34w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">followed</a>, because “royalties are not enforceable on a protocol level,” and due to shifting market dynamics. Notably, <a href="https://pro.nansen.ai/nft-trends?platform=MagicEden&amp;network=solana" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nansen data shows</a> that there’s been a slow exodus of return Magic Eden buyers per day, while the number of first-time NFT buyers has increased since the announcement on Oct. 15.



Read more: <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/nft-royalties-sometimes-they-work-sometimes-they-dont/">How NFT Royalties Work – And Sometimes Don’t</a>



Now rival NFT marketplace LooksRare has also eliminated creator royalties, but buyers can still opt-in to pay optional royalties at checkout.



The marketplace will instead share 25% of the LooksRare protocol fee with creators and collection owners. It claimed to be the first zero-royalty marketplace to do so.



In a blog post, LooksRare <a href="https://docs.looksrare.org/blog/looksrare-offers-zero-royalty-trading-shares-protocol-fees-with-creators-instead" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">acknowledged</a> that the trend of zero-royalty marketplaces has “eroded the general willingness to pay royalties throughout the NFT space.” While this may be good for traders, most creators are left without an important source of passive income, it said.&nbsp;



The plan to divert protocol fees directly to creators hopes to achieve 0% seller fees through a rebate on protocol fees paid.&nbsp;



Protocol fees were previously 2%. Now, 1.5% of each trade goes to LOOKS stakers and 0.5% goes to collections if they’ve set up a receiving address.&nbsp;



Additionally, the trading rewards distribution ratio has been updated so that 95% of trading rewards go to sellers and 5% to buyers. As for listing rewards, the leaderboard now ranks by OpenSea rolling 24-hour volume only.



Time will tell if killing royalties, a revenue stream for many creators, disincentivizes them from providing ongoing utility. What would motivate them to add value to their NFTs if they can’t benefit when new buyers enter?



<h3>The latest Web3 smartphone</h3>



Would you buy a $41,000 phone? The latest Web3-marketed phone can cost as much as that.



Smartphone maker Vertu <a href="https://medium.com/@republicofvertu/vertu-is-ready-to-start-a-new-journey-37b4551f0b22" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">launched</a> its latest Android device called Metavertu that can run its own blockchain node and turn photos and videos into NFTs “with one click.”



Metavertu runs on the standard Android operating system while enabling users to switch to Web3 mode. Some benefits of Web3 mode include “instantaneous NFT generation, self-contained peer-to-peer encrypted communication” and access to decentralized applications (dapps), Vertu said.



<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">What makes the world’s first METAVERTU so unique? Take a look at it now! A quick view to know <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/METAVERTU?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#METAVERTU</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VERTU?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VERTU</a> is ready to start a magical journey into the world of Web3. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/web3phone?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#web3phone</a> <a href="https://t.co/IcQj4m2pS6">pic.twitter.com/IcQj4m2pS6</a>&mdash; REPUBLIC OF VERTU (@republicofvertu) <a href="https://twitter.com/republicofvertu/status/1585587113252118529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Additionally, Metavertu has a concierge service that offers an NFT membership pass with access to blockchain courses and early access to a high-value whitelist.



The entry-level model is priced at $3,600 and comes with a carbon fiber finish, 12GB RAM and 512GB internal storage. The high-end model, on the other hand, has 18GB RAM and 1TB storage, and comes wrapped in &#8220;Himalaya Alligator leather,&#8221; 18K gold and diamonds for $41,000.&nbsp;



Previously, Solana Labs’ subsidiary Solana Mobile <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/solana-branches-out-to-hardware-development-with-web3-mobile-phone/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">launched</a> its own Android-powered smartphone — Saga — in June that is integrated with the Solana blockchain network. The Solana Saga costs $1,000, in line with the price of an iPhone, and plans to deliver in early 2023.



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Web3 Watch: Twitter’s Potential Crypto Wallet, and a Royalty-optional LooksRare

Morgan Chittum

<div id="highlights-block_61dc8f7303368" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>LooksRare, an NFT marketplace, launched on Monday with a vampire attack on OpenSea as a grab for industry marketshare </li>
 <li>OpenSea announced a fresh funding round of $300 million last week</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The NFT space saw plenty of action last year, with total trading volumes across 14 major marketplaces accumulating $19.6 billion. However, OpenSea saw blockbuster success as the largest non-fungible token marketplace with monthly trading volume at $3.42 billion alone at its&nbsp; all-time high.&nbsp;



Additionally, OpenSea secured <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/opensea-polygon-nft-sales-on-track-to-hit-2-2m-by-end-of-january/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$300 million in Series C funding</a> earlier this month, bringing its post-money valuation to $13.3 billion.



“In 2021, the world woke up to the potential of NFTs to unlock utility and economic empowerment across a vast set of industries, communities and creative categories,” Devin Finzer, CEO of OpenSea, told <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/opensea-polygon-nft-sales-on-track-to-hit-2-2m-by-end-of-january/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Blockworks</a> in an email when the company announced the capital raise. “Our vision is to be the destination for these new open digital economies to thrive.” 



<h3>Competitive threats</h3>



However, the industry titan’s capital raise hasn’t stopped other marketplaces from trying to get an edge on the start-up. One marketplace called LooksRare went live on Monday with a vampire attack on OpenSea.&nbsp;



For the uninitiated, a vampire attack occurs when an emerging platform tries to replace an incumbent by offering incentives to investors to move their liquidity to an alternative platform. In this case, LooksRare is deploying an airdrop of the LOOK token. Users must have at least one NFT on LooksRare’s marketplace for sale prior to claiming the reward.



LooksRare aims to bring in big spenders from the NFT kingpin by letting investors claim free tokens if they’ve previously traded over 3 ether (or $9,600 worth of ETH) on OpenSea.&nbsp;



Despite LooksRare’s grab for marketshare, OpenSea still has a “first mover advantage” as one of the oldest NFT marketplaces in the industry, said Martha Reyes, head of research at Bequant.



“OpenSea took off so quickly that it will be hard for other players to catch up. It will take time. [Other platforms] will have to invest in teams [and] in the right technology,” Reyes said. “There&#8217;s a brand name attached to it that&#8217;s quite strong. They&#8217;ve had dominance in this space for quite a while now.” 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="568" src="https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screen-Shot-2022-01-10-at-1.58.56-PM-1024x568.png" alt="OpenSea monthly NFTs sold (Ethereum)" class="wp-image-13694" srcset="https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screen-Shot-2022-01-10-at-1.58.56-PM-1024x568.png 1024w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screen-Shot-2022-01-10-at-1.58.56-PM-300x166.png 300w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screen-Shot-2022-01-10-at-1.58.56-PM-768x426.png 768w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screen-Shot-2022-01-10-at-1.58.56-PM-428x237.png 428w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screen-Shot-2022-01-10-at-1.58.56-PM-470x261.png 470w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screen-Shot-2022-01-10-at-1.58.56-PM-389x216.png 389w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screen-Shot-2022-01-10-at-1.58.56-PM-80x44.png 80w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screen-Shot-2022-01-10-at-1.58.56-PM.png 1400w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>OpenSea monthly NFTs sold (Ethereum) by @rchen8, Dune Analytics</figcaption></figure></div>



<h3>Space to share</h3>



Tapping into the surging popularity of crypto collectibles, Coinbase Inc. (COIN) could also topple OpenSea as the industry’s largest marketplace.&nbsp;



The company <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinbase-plans-to-launch-nft-marketplace/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> a forthcoming marketplace called Coinbase NFT on Oct. 6. The product offering will allow investors to purchase, mint and showcase various NFTs, according to a blog post from the firm. The waitlist has exceeded <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4478780-coinbase-big-nft-tailwind-market-missing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2.6 million as of Dec. 29,</a> which is more than OpenSea’s total active traders. However, the marketplace has not gone live despite the product being slated to launch by Dec. 2021.



“I think there&#8217;s plenty of space for OpenSea to continue to grow without anyone coming in to take away market share from them,” Reyes said. “The industry is growing so quickly that there&#8217;s space for [everyone.]”



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