After a rocky start, the NFT market has picked up a bit lately, showing signs of life — especially for projects like Doodles that seem to be thriving right now. While the broader market faces challenges, Doodles has experienced a remarkable surge in sales, piquing the interest of investors and enthusiasts alike. DeliciousNFT.com dives into the factors driving this resurgence, exploring the potential impact of Doodles' native token and the overall trends shaping the NFT landscape.

Doodles' Meteoric Rise

Doodles, one of the most coveted NFT collections in history recently saw an incredible spike in sales, with some outlets reporting a 500% rise. All this incredible growth is the result of the energy and enthusiasm being created in anticipation of the DOOD token launch. Save the date for May 9th! The announcement that this token would launch on Solana has created even more buzz in the community. Solana is famous for its extreme speed and low transaction fees.

Doodles provides a short, fictitious example of how the DOOD token would work in order to entice speculators and thrill-seekers. However, a whopping 68% of the entire token supply has been set aside directly for the community. The investors are abuzz with excitement longing for potential benefits such as airdrops or exclusive access to future Doodles projects. Naturally, a lot of people are anticipating the token’s launch, so they’re clamoring to mint Doodles NFTs before time runs out. Through this maneuver they intend to raise the valuation of their digital assets.

With DOOD, the Doodles team has taken an extremely strategic move. This new initiative will increase the utility and value of their NFTs, making them more appealing within their communities. By bringing in a native token, collectible.game hopes to build a more engaging and rewarding experience for their community. This approach could serve as a blueprint for other NFT projects seeking to revitalize their collections and attract new investors.

Broader NFT Market Trends

So, though Doodles seems to be having a golden hour, overall the NFT market paints a more complicated landscape. Ethereum NFT chart Ethereum remains the most prominent player in the NFT sector, accounting for 55x more NFT volume than its nearest rival, BNB Chain. Ethereum’s dominance stems from its robust network effect. It currently has the largest and most active user base of any blockchain and the richest, most developed ecosystem of decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. OpenSea, the currently dominant NFT marketplace, has pretty firmly chained itself to the mast. Today, as of November 2023, it already reflects more than 51% of the Ethereum NFT marketplace volume.

Even with Ethereum’s dominance, the NFT market has been subject to tremendous headwinds. The trading volumes on the largest NFT trading platforms such as OpenSea and Blur have tanked. This drop further underscores the vulnerability continuing to persist in this sector. Buyer and seller participation has tanked, down a staggering 75-78%, showing a sharp drop-off in investor appetite. Annual sales counts are down by 19%. At the same time, they are down 18% from 2023—a very clear indication that manufacturers are pulling back from active market participation.

A recent study analyzing thousands of NFT collections launched in 2024 paints a concerning picture of an oversaturated market. And with an average of 3,635 new NFT projects launching every month still, plenty of projects out there are having a hard time standing out. The authors conclude that only a fraction of actively traded projects are consistently winners. This gives investors a sense of the steep challenges they are up against in this high-stakes game of musical chairs.

High-Value Sales and Investment Opportunities

Even in light of the overall market downturn, multi-million dollar NFT sales are still making headlines. Artist Murat Pak’s Merge NFT was the most expensive piece of NFT art ever sold. In December 2021, it stunned the art world by selling for an astonishing $91.8 million. Together with Beeple’s “Human One”, which took the world by storm, selling for an eye-popping $28.9 million. In stark contrast, CryptoPunk #7523 — known to the world as “Covid Alien” — sold for $11.75 million.

  • Ethereum's Network Effect: Ethereum's network effect and resulting dominance in the NFT market are evident in its numbers, with a large and established user base, and a significant amount of value locked in its DeFi protocols (24 times higher than its closest competitor).
  • Comparison with other blockchains: Ethereum's NFT market dominance is also reflected in its comparison with other blockchains, such as Solana, which has a clear edge in scalability but struggles with token inflation and fee generation.

These seven-figure sales are a reminder that even in a bear market, there’s still tremendous demand for truly one-of-a-kind NFTs. Investors looking to buy NFTs should focus on projects that have the most engaged communities. Search out those with a creative combination of use case and vision for what comes next! Although the market can be risky and unstable, with proper due diligence and a smart investment plan, the profits can be substantial.

The NFT market is a fast-moving and rapidly changing environment. And though much still stands in the way, the return of projects such as Doodles may be the first indication of brighter times ahead. Investors should carefully consider the broader market trends, emerging technologies, and the potential impact of native tokens when making investment decisions. With proper awareness and research, smart investors can address the NFT market and find lucrative opportunities for success.