Report: NFT trading volume fell 63% since December, AI becomes fastest growing sector

NFT trading has seen a sharp decline since December as artificial intelligence dApps continue their surge, becoming the fastest growing sector in web3.

According to DappRadar’s latest Industry Report published on Mar. 6, NFT trading volume decreased by 63% over two months, from $1.36 billion in December to $997 million in January and then to $498 million in February. February saw a 16% drop in sales as well, reflecting a weaker market.

However, some collections remain active. Sales of Pudgy Penguins increased by 25% despite price reductions. Doodles, another collection, made headlines when it revealed its upcoming Solana-based DOOD cryptocurrency.

Meanwhile, AI-powered NFT collections like Kaito Genesis have gained traction, with its floor price reaching 7.65 Ethereum (ETH) after partnering with Azuki.

According to the report, AI dApps are now the fastest-growing web3 category. February saw a surge in unique active wallets, with platforms like LOL attracting 5.1 million users (+40%) and Evermoon growing 988%. AI-generated content is also thriving, with Fractal Visions seeing a 721% spike in adoption.

Similar to NFTs, the decentralized finance industry has taken a hit, shown by the decline in total value locked. TVL went from $217 billion to $168 billion between January and February. A decrease in liquid staking activity caused Ethereum’s TVL to drop 27% to $97 billion.

The largest drop was experienced by Solana (SOL), whose TVL shrank 33% to $15.4 billion, mostly as a result of decreased activity on Raydium (RAY) and Jupiter (JUP) exchanges.

Berachain’s (BERA), on the other hand, managed to achieve $5.05 billion in TVL despite the downturn. One of the other few chains to register growth, Aptos (APT), saw a 6% increase in TVL to $1.83 billion.