NFT

May NFT thefts total $2.9 million; cause for concern?

The rise and dominance of stolen NFTs on the Blur marketplace highlighted security concerns. But despite declining volumes, Blue Chip NFTs continued to attract demand.

Published

1 year ago

on

  • NFT thefts amounting to $2.95 million in May raised concerns about the market’s security. 
  • Despite a decline in overall NFT volumes, Blue Chips experienced increased demand.

Recent data from PeckShield, a crypto cybersecurity firm, has revealed that in May, NFT thefts amounted to $2.95 million. This rise in stolen NFTs has raised concerns about potential repercussions for the market.

Got this NFT for a steal

Interestingly, the percentage of stolen NFTs originally sold on the Blur marketplace skyrocketed from 70% to 91%, compared to April 2023. Opensea, another prominent marketplace, accounted for 7.25% of the listed stolen NFTs.

Despite the increase in thefts, the competition amongst marketplaces remained healthy. According to Dune Analytics, OpenSea represented 51.0% of all trades, while Blur dominated in terms of volume, capturing 56.6% of the NFT trade volume.

Source: Dune Analytics

However, overall, NFT volumes have witnessed a significant decline over the past few months. CrypotQuant’s Woominkyu indicated a steady decrease in market trade volume since its peak in April 2022.

This decline suggested a cooling down of the market following the rapid growth experienced in 2021, as well as the general volatility of NFTs and cryptocurrencies.

Source: Crypto Quant

Blue Chips see green

Despite the overall decline in volume, data from NFTGO indicated a surge in demand for Blue Chips in the marketplace over the last week. Additionally, the number of holders and traders of NFT collections observed a spike in the same period.

Source: NFTGO

Notably, Bored Ape Yacht Club [BAYC] and Azuki experienced a substantial spike in terms of volume and sales, as reported by Dapp Radar.

Source: DappRadar

On the other hand, the associated token, ApeCoin [APE], did not witness significant growth. Santiment’s data revealed a continuous decline in ApeCoin’s price over the past month.

However, growing interest from whales and an increasing number of APE token holders could potentially alter the price trajectory in the future.

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Source: Santiment

The impact of NFT thefts on the market remains uncertain. While it raises concerns about security and trust within the ecosystem, the demand for high-value NFTs suggests that the market is still resilient.

However, market participants should remain vigilant and prioritize security measures to mitigate the risks associated with such thefts.

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