According to Chainalysis, more than 80% of all non-fungible tokens (NFTs) transactions in 2021 were from retail buyers, as they were worth less than $10,000. However, the report stated that while most transactions were small, the large volumes were mainly driven by institutions and collectors, accounting for 1% and 19%, respectively.
Chainalysis issued a report on Monday titled “The 2021 NFT Market Explained” which detailed NFT transaction trends for the year, considering the period between January and October 2021. The report revealed that the number of collector-type transactions increased by 13% between March and October. According to Chainalysis, this suggested a marked increase in the number of collectors and their activities in the year. In addition, although institutional-sized transactions only comprised less than 1% of executed transfers, they accounted for 26% of the actual trading volume.
Put in perspective, a retail-sized transaction is worth less than $10K, while a collector-type transaction is worth between $10K and $100K. According to the research, institutional transactions are those that top $100K.
The researchers expatiated on their findings in the report, even juxtaposing the NFT market with the broader crypto space. According to their findings:
“The data shows that the NFT market is far more retail-driven than the traditional cryptocurrency market, where retail transactions make up a negligible share of all transaction volume.”
