The global NFT market recorded $39.85 million in total sales during the seven days ending October 10, 2026. That marks a 0.90% increase from the previous week, with an average transaction value hovering around $51.22.
However, the steady dollar figure masks a steep decline in overall market participation.
Shrinking Retail Participation
The number of unique buyer addresses plummeted 85.33% to 30,332, while sellers dropped 84.45% to 30,598 addresses, according to data from CryptoSlam. Trading frequency also contracted 6.92% to 778,055 transactions.
Amid the thinning crowd, Ethereum led all blockchains with $17.6 million in sales - up 4.52% and accounting for 44.2% of the global total. The network also recorded $1.15 million in wash trading activity, a 12.45% increase from last week.
Polygon ranked second with $8.62 million in sales, up 5.76%. Unlike Ethereum, wash trading volume on Polygon reached $19.03 million - capturing a majority 68.81% share of the network’s combined activity. Bitcoin sat in third place with $3.54 million in sales, down 7.33%.
Physical Assets Lead as Pudgy Penguins Surge
Several layer-2 networks posted positive gains. Immutable volume climbed 22.06% to $2.64 million, while Base grew 27.87% to $2.40 million.
Among collections, Courtyard on Polygon claimed the top spot with $7.68 million in volume, up 6.56%. The vault-backed physical asset tokenization project accounted for 19.3% of the total global market. CryptoPunks took second place across 26 transactions totaling $2.45 million, representing a 24.45% increase.
Pudgy Penguins surged 125.66% to $1.49 million across 196 transactions, reflecting a 151.28% jump in trading frequency. This volume was driven by 94 buyers and 123 sellers. Guild of Guardians Heroes on Immutable-Zk followed in fourth place with $1.34 million, up 27.96%.
At the single-asset level, the week’s highest sale was recorded by $8888 BRC-20 NFTs on the Bitcoin network. The asset settled for 3.9989 BTC, equivalent to $327,125.
Fewer Hands in the Game
While trading volume remains in the tens of millions of dollars, the NFT market is operating with a sharply reduced participant base. With 85% of active addresses stepping away in a single week, stable aggregate figures suggest that market activity is increasingly concentrated among high-net-worth wallets.
Reported via crypto.news.
Also read: What Is an NFT and How Does It Work?
Also read: SecondFi Protocol Hacked for $21 Million - Victims Offered Only $8 Compensation per NFT
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
