NFT-related tokens soar in Q2, with PENGU leading despite decline in trading volumes
NFT-related tokens delivered the strongest sector performance in the second quarter, gaining an average of 55.4% even as dollar-denominated NFT trading volume fell to multi-year lows.
Artemis data shows that the average gains from NFT-related tokens surpassed the second-best performance, which was Ethereum’s (ETH) 37.2%, by nearly 50%.
Pudgy Penguins’ PENGU token accounted for much of the sector’s advance. Trading data showed PENGU closed at $0.01476 on June 30, up from its intraday low of $0.00387 on April 8. The move represents a gain of roughly 3.8 times in just 83 days.
Daily turnover on Binance routinely exceeds $180 million in USDT terms, indicating sustained speculative appetite. The surge helped the NFT-applications basket outpace artificial intelligence tokens (35.6%) and Bitcoin (31.4%) during the period, according to Artemis.
As Bitcoin registered a new all-time high above $118,000 on July 11, PENGU is priced at $0.229 with a 20% price increase.
Volumes shrink while transaction counts climb
DappRadar’s “State of the Dapp Industry” report shows second-quarter NFT trading volume slipped to $823 million from $1.5 billion in the first quarter, a 45% drop. The slump is more significant if compared to the $4 billion in volume a year earlier, a 79% decline.
The drop came despite a jump in sales count to 12.5 million from 7 million the prior quarter, suggesting smaller ticket sizes dominated activity.
DappRadar attributes the divergence to a market shift toward low-cost collectibles and gamified minting, which inflates transaction numbers without lifting notional value.
Market participants attributed the disconnect between token prices and marketplace turnover to speculation shifting from non-fungible assets to their related governance or meme tokens.
Artemis analysts noted that traders seeking leveraged exposure to NFT culture gravitated toward liquid exchange-listed tokens rather than illiquid JPEGs, a pattern that intensified once ETH funding rates turned negative in mid-May.
Broader sector data reinforce the split. The Bitcoin ecosystem increased by 6.2% and smart contract platforms rose by 16.2% during the quarter, but real-world asset tokens declined by 50.6% and data availability projects fell by 47.4%, according to Artemis.
Second-quarter performance has left PENGU with a market capitalization exceeding $1.4 billion and a top 82 position on major price dashboards.
The token’s outsized rally, paired with shrinking marketplace volume, illustrates the growing detachment between fungible representations of NFT brands and the underlying non-fungible assets they reference.
The post NFT-related tokens soar in Q2, with PENGU leading despite decline in trading volumes appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
Anthropic has been profitable for two consecutive quarters ahead of its IPO
Anthropic has achieved positive adjusted operating profit for two consecutive quarters, with Q2 revenue surging 14-fold year-on-year to $11.5 billion and annualized revenue reaching $65 billion. The gross margin exceeds 80%. The company has chosen to list on Nasdaq, with a potential valuation of up to $2 trillion. Dramatically, the CEO has made a rare call to slow down AI development just before the IPO. Analysts believe that balancing safety concerns with commercial competition will become the core challenge.
Anthropic signs $13.7 billion computing power agreement with "Trump-linked company" Rum Group
Anthropic has signed a $13.7 billion, six-year computing power agreement with Rum Group. The core of the agreement is a data center under construction in Georgia. Rum Group was formerly the conservative video platform Rumble, whose early investors include current U.S. Vice President Vance.
Will the midterm elections cause the US stock market to crash? 75 years of history give an unexpected answer
Currently, with less than eight weeks until the midterm elections, one of the greatest uncertainties facing Wall Street is imminent. But will the reshuffling of power in Congress lead to a stock market crash? Looking back over 75 years of history, the answer is surprising, and ultimately leans toward optimism.
Crypto prices
More
