In December, Bitcoin emerged as the leading blockchain for non-fungible token (NFT) sales, outpacing Ethereum for the second time in as many months. According to CryptoSlam data, Bitcoin’s NFT sales reached $881 million, surpassing Ethereum’s $353 million.
The shift in dominance began in November when Bitcoin’s NFT sales exceeded Ethereum’s by nearly 10%, marking a historic reversal in their respective volumes.
This surge in NFT activity on the Bitcoin network is attributed to renewed interest in inscriptions and Ordinals. The heightened engagement led to a significant milestone on December 16th, with the Bitcoin network recording a single-day high of $10 million in fees for minting inscriptions, according to Dune Analytics.
The increased activity surrounding Inscriptions and Ordinals on the Bitcoin network also drove up demand for blockspace. As of December 18th, AZC News reported that inscription-related activity accounted for 39% of the virtual blockspace on the network.
Interestingly, despite Ethereum lagging behind in sales volume compared to Bitcoin, it experienced a higher transaction count in December. AZC News discovered that the total number of NFT transactions on Ethereum during the 31-day period reached 698,201.
Contrastingly, Bitcoin recorded only 493,516 transactions during the same period.
Related: Record-Breaking NFT Sales on Bitcoin in December 2023
As we enter the fourth day of the new trading year, the Bitcoin network maintains its lead in NFT sales transactions. The chain has already marked a sales volume of $61.08 million, outpacing Ethereum, which has recorded $27 million in NFT sales, as per CryptoSlam data.
Despite the robust activity on the Bitcoin network, the broader NFT market has experienced a retracement in the past week. NFTGo’s data indicates a 10% decline in NFT sales volume, with the general market reaching a total of $116 million during the last seven days.
Additionally, the NFT market capitalization has contracted by 3% within the same timeframe.