The NFT market has continued to drop, reaching its lowest point in over a year, suggesting a long winter in digital collectibles ahead. The sales volume of the sector fell to $823 million in the second quarter of 2025, a drop from $4 billion over the same period in 2024, according to a report by DappRadar.
It represents a 19% drop from the first quarter of this year and the fifth consecutive quarterly decline. This development paints a bleak picture for digital collectible investors and creators. So far, 2025 has proved to be one of the worst years in NFT history, with no recovery in sight.
Most parts of the industry are affected, including well-established collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and newer and smaller projects vying to prove their worth and utility. Several reasons have been pinpointed to be behind the decline. According to experts, interest has dropped among retail traders who, in recent months, moved to digital collectibles in search of a quick buck.
In addition, an increase in gas fees on Ethereum, a drop in media attention, and increased skepticism about the long-term value of NFTs have also contributed to it. In other words, fewer people buy, sell, or talk about digital collectibles.
NFT platforms lose users as hype fade
In this golden age, trading volume in digital collectibles soared past $50 billion a year, and some crude cartoon images changed hands for more than $500,000 apiece. However, the gold rush didn’t go on forever because just as rapidly as NFTs ascended, they began to tumble.
Prices began to tumble in mid-2022, erasing billions in value. Collections that once commanded high-profile attention now sell for a fraction of their peak prices. Numerous investors are now left clutching essentially worthless assets. The decline in traffic and trading activity has impacted even major NFT marketplaces like OpenSea, once the dominant platform for collectors.
Others, including LooksRare and Blur, are dangling heavy incentives to keep users to little avail. In addition, brands and celebrities that were once most aggressively promoting digital collectibles — from basketball players to internet stars — are making much noise. Many projects launched during the hype period are either dead or claimed to be scams. With buyer sentiment down, the mood around digital collectibles has turned to cautious optimism and even skepticism.
Trump’s digital collectibles fail to lift the tide
One of the last high-profile figures still pushing digital collectibles is United States President Donald Trump. Since taking office again, he has released four NFT collections, all dedicated to bold and sometimes humorous interpretations of himself, images of himself in superhero outfits, clutching gold bars, or even appearing to hug the cryptocurrency Bitcoin symbolically.
But even Trump’s celebrity draw hasn’t reversed the broader tide. The Bitwise Blue-Chip NFT Collections Index, which measures the performance of top NFT art and collectible projects, has dropped 52% since January 2024, when Trump’s re-election campaign started to heat up. This tells us that though stock drops from new infections may cause an initial blip of interest, they don’t seem to move markets back sustainably.