Solana Flips Ethereum in 24HR Trading Volume, NFT Season Incoming?

After dominating DEX trading volumes throughout July, Solana’s long-dormant NFT market is finally starting to wake up. Trading volumes have spiked throughout Solana’s NFT ecosystem, with several collections recording significant price appreciation.

What’s driving this newfound interest in Solana NFTs?

Confidence Returns to Crypto Markets

Digital assets across the crypto space have flourished over the last week. Confidence has returned to the markets following positive catalysts like Ethereum ETF approval and the end of the German Government’s BTC sell-offs.

Currently trading at $181.21, Solana remains one of the market’s best-performing altcoins. Up 18.58% since this time last week, based on Step Finance data, Solana outperformed leading Layer 1 rivals like Ethereum and Cardano.

But this zeal and enthusiasm wasn’t limited to SOL price alone. Solana’s long-suffering NFT market witnessed considerable inflows this week, finally flipping Ethereum in 24HR trading volume to become the leading blockchain for NFT activity, according to CryptoSlam data.

Further reinforcing the notion that Solana is becoming the first port of call for NFT activity, the network supports significantly more traders than its competitors. Based on NFTPulse data, Solana hosted over 3x more NFT traders than Ethereum in the last 24 hours.

This milestone isn’t due to an isolated event, like the flurry of activity following the launch of Blinks-based Send It NFTs. Based on Step Finance data, Solana’s surging NFT volume has been elevated for several days, suggesting that a new trend may be forming.

Solana Monkey Business, Retardio Cousins Lead Volume

Solana’s surging NFT volume over the past 24 hours is largely attributed to two collections. A Solana ecosystem stalwart, Solana Monkey Business has enjoyed the highest volume across all collections, witnessing over 5K SOL in volume and accounting for 22.4% NFT market share, based on Tiexo data.

Retardio Cousins, another strong contributor, has also catapulted into Solana’s top collections. A Solana-based alternative to Ethereum’s popular Milady and Remilio collections, Retardio Cousins have performed consistently throughout July, rising over 180% to peak at 30SOL.

However, while Solana Monkey Business trading volumes have been consistently high, it should be noted that this collection imposes no royalty fees. This makes it a popular collection for farmers looking to maximize their Tensor points and Magic Eden diamond allocations.

The fierce battle for market dominance between Tensor and Magic Eden rages on. Based on Tiexo data, Magic Eden has a slight lead on Tensor over the last 24 hours, capturing 51.59% of total market share compared to Tensor’s 45.63%

Has a Bottom Formed?

Typically, a rising SOL price causes NFT floor prices to drop, with SOL-denominated prices falling to maintain consistent USD values. On this occasion, NFT floor prices have remained relatively stable.

According to Step Finance’s NFT Blue Chip Index, an index tracking the value of top collections, the SOL value of the ecosystem’s Blue Chip collections has maintained consistent SOL pricing. Notably, the USD value of collections has increased in correlation with Solana’s strong performance. 

The bulk of NFT holders aren’t racing to undercut floor prices. This potentially indicates seller exhaustion and suggests that a bottom may have formed on top collections.

Despite increasingly consistent volumes and seemingly stable prices, NFT markets remain notoriously unpredictable. NFTs generally flourish when crypto markets trend sideways, with traders looking for ways to grow their capital while the prices of base assets like SOL and ETH consolidate.

With Ethereum ETFs set to go live this week and the Presidential candidate Donald Trump attending the Nashville Bitcoin Conference, market participants should expect volatile conditions.

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