3.5 Billion to 340,000 Won: The Reality of the 'NFT Bubble'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] The 'Non-Fungible Token (NFT) bubble' is becoming a reality. NFT prices, which once commanded tens of billions of won, have dropped by more than 90%, and the NFT trading volume on major exchanges is also sharply declining.

According to foreign media including CoinDesk on the 15th, the first tweet NFT by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey was listed at an auction on the OpenSea exchange for $4.8 million (58.7 billion won), but its price fell to $280 (about 340,000 won). This means the value dropped by about 99% in one year from the $2.9 million (3.55 billion won) purchase by cryptocurrency operator Sina Estavi. Estavi stated, "50% of the sales proceeds will be donated to charity," but the auction atmosphere remains cold.

The domestic market is similar. The NFT artwork called ‘Pengsoo's Day’ listed on the cryptocurrency exchange ‘Upbit’ had a desired selling price of 1,888 Ethereum (7.4 billion won), but the current highest bid is only 0.02 Ethereum (75,000 won).

Until last year, NFTs attracted great attention in the market due to their uniqueness that cannot be replicated. The NFT-related transaction volume reached $17 billion (20.8 trillion won). Highly scarce works were sold out immediately upon release, often with premiums. However, recently the bubble has been rapidly deflating.

According to cryptocurrency market research firm DappRadar, the NFT trading volume on the world's largest exchange OpenSea decreased by 67.2% month-over-month to $2.64 billion (3.2 trillion won). The number of traders also dropped by 23.31%. During the same period, the second-largest exchange, LooksRare, recorded a trading volume of $2.32 billion (2.8 trillion won), down 84.68% from the previous month, and the number of traders decreased by 51.97%, halving the user base.

An industry insider said, "With the decline in cryptocurrency values and strengthened regulations in various countries, the bubble seems to be bursting," adding, "There will be a significant adjustment for the time being, and only after that will it be possible to properly assess the value of NFTs."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.