Reported by The Block: The broader NFT market has suffered severe declines over the past three months, with both OpenSea and Blur experiencing significant drops in trading volume, highlighting the sector’s overall struggles.
The following is an excerpt from The Block’s Data and Insights newsletter.
At the beginning of 2022, OpenSea’s share of Ethereum NFT marketplace volume stood at a dominating around 97%. Just two years later, the platform seemed to have dwindled amid fierce competition as its market share fell to just under 20%, even falling as low as 13% in the summer of 2024.
In the 10 months since, however, the OpenSea market share of Ethereum NFT marketplace volume has steadily climbed and is standing at over 51% as of the time of writing. As impressive as this comeback story looks at face value, it does not tell the whole story.
OpenSea's "comeback" in terms of market share for marketplace volume is less about the OpenSea protocol itself doing well and more about its main competitor, Blur, underperforming on a relatively competitive basis.
Since its latest peak in December 2024, Blur’s monthly NFT volume has declined consistently, with an average monthly rate of decline of 55%. Over the same period, OpenSea's monthly NFT volume has been more varied. It declined by 48% from December to January but then increased by 20% in February, likely due to the announcement of its SEA token.
It is worth pointing out that both OpenSea and Blur saw similar month-over-month declines in March, with the former down 67% and the latter down 62%.
The takeaway is that Ethereum NFT volumes have declined significantly over the last three months, with the entire sector performing horribly. OpenSea’s resurgence in terms of market share, while somewhat notable, is likely due to Blur’s competitive relative underperformance and should not mask either platform's woes or overemphasize their "wins."
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