NFT Sales Rise 24% as High-Value Bitcoin Trades Drive Market Concentration

NFT sales rebounded over the past week, but the recovery came with a clear caveat: fewer transactions and a growing concentration in high-value deals—particularly on Bitcoin (BTC) and BRC-20-linked NFTs—suggesting the market’s upside is being driven by ‘whales’ rather than broad-based retail activity.

According to data from NFT analytics platform CryptoSlam, weekly NFT sales reached $39.48 million as of March 16 (UTC), up 24% from the prior week. The number of buyers climbed to 173,900 (+78%) and sellers rose to 171,400 (+76%), while total transactions fell to 739,100, down 31% week over week.

The divergence—more participants but fewer sales—points to rising average ticket sizes and a market structure increasingly dominated by large, infrequent purchases. In practical terms, activity is expanding, but liquidity appears to be concentrating into a smaller number of high-value trades instead of a broad rise in low-to-mid priced collecting.

By blockchain, Bitcoin led weekly NFT sales volume, posting $11.85 million—up 57%—with 8,436 buyers (+54%). Ethereum (ETH) ranked second at $7.62 million, down 18% on the week, even as its buyer count rose to 5,357 (+65%). Polygon (POL) came in third with $5.71 million in sales, a surge of 581%, alongside 5,631 buyers (+73%).

Elsewhere, Base recorded $5.05 million in volume (+31%) with 37,993 buyers (+14%). BNB Chain posted $3.13 million (–30%) with 16,766 buyers (+51%). Immutable logged $2.62 million (+9%) with 4,193 buyers (+64%), while Flow reached $971,800 (+18%) with 5,664 buyers (+38%). Blast reported $580,200 in weekly volume, with an extreme percentage jump from a minimal prior base; however, buyer counts were listed as zero, underscoring how thin or irregular the underlying activity may be.

At the collection level, ‘$X@AI BRC-20 NFTs’ was the top-selling series of the week, generating $6.81 million in volume—up 1,101% week over week. ‘Courtyard’ placed second with $4.97 million (flat on the week), and ‘Flying Tulip PUT’ ranked third at $3.92 million (+52%). Additional notable collections included ‘0xbb5ec6fd4b61723bd45c399840f1d868840ca16f’ with $3.00 million (+44%) and ‘Guild of Guardians Heroes’ at $1.38 million (+14%).

The week’s market concentration was most visible in the top individual sale. CryptoSlam data shows ‘$X@AI BRC-20 NFTs #b51707…55c9i0’ sold for $5.87 million, priced at 83.8816 BTC. The next-largest trade—‘$X@AI BRC-20 NFTs #78407b…bf9bi0’—fetched $935,241 (13.358 BTC). Several ‘$QCLAW BRC-20 NFTs’ pieces followed, each selling around $140,027 (2 BTC), reinforcing the role of Bitcoin-denominated pricing in shaping headline成交 values.

Marketplace data also suggested that the rebound in total sales did not translate into uniformly stronger platform activity. DappRadar ranked OpenSea, Courtyard, and Blur as the top NFT marketplaces by weekly volume. OpenSea posted $9.82 million in volume, down 10% from the prior week. Courtyard recorded $5.53 million (–55%), while Blur logged $1.34 million (–29%), indicating that major venues saw shrinking volumes despite the broader rise in headline sales.

Overall, the latest weekly snapshot points to a market in transition: participation is rising, but the decline in transaction count and the dominance of a handful of large Bitcoin-based NFT trades suggest a ‘top-heavy’ recovery. If this pattern persists, near-term performance may remain sensitive to a small number of high-value buyers and to continued momentum in Bitcoin-native NFT ecosystems such as BRC-20.