Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) floor price has doubled in the past month, soaring from around 5 ETH to over 10 ETH each. In dollar terms, the floor price increased from $14,300 on April 10 to $25,156 on May 10, marking a 75.87% rise. This surge has also impacted other notable collections, including CryptoPunks, Pudgy Penguins, and Mutant Ape Yacht Club.
Meanwhile, the overall NFT market saw a trading volume of approximately $238.54 million over the past 30 days, a decline of 54.89% compared to the previous period.
In the last 30 days, the market capitalization of the BAYC collection reached $251 million, supported by a 30-day sales figure of $13.42 million, significantly surpassing CryptoPunks' $7.78 million.
The price of CryptoPunks rose from $62,500 to $73,200, while Pudgy Penguins climbed from $9,500 to $12,900. Meanwhile, BAYC's sister collection, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, saw the largest increase, jumping from $1,500 to $3,960, a rise of 164%.
Despite the upward trend in blue-chip prices, NFT trading volume has dropped by 54.89%. This phenomenon is attributed to a decrease in the number of participants and the quantity of individual pieces purchased, even as prices rise, indicating a lack of new investors entering the market.
The number of unique holders of BAYC stands at 5,676, with holders remaining relatively stable within the fixed supply of 10,000 pieces. This suggests that the same group of holders is trading among themselves at higher prices without attracting new wallets.
In collections outside of BAYC, CryptoPunks, Pudgy Penguins, and MAYC, trading volume performance has also been relatively consistent, failing to show similar increases. Notably, franchise IP collections such as Panini America, NBA Top Shot, Anome OG, and Guild of Guardians have seen an increase in secondary market trading volume, indicating different market conditions compared to generated avatar art.
Michael Figge, CEO of Yuga Labs, noted in an interview with CoinDesk on May 10 that the recovery of BAYC is more due to valuation adjustments rather than new speculative behavior. He stated, “From the perspective of blue-chip digital collectibles, it’s clear that they were undervalued for a period. Prices experienced significant compression, but if you look at the unique holder chart, it has actually increased.”
Figge also directly acknowledged opposing views: “Skeptics would say that while prices have doubled, the number of unique holders has not. This is really just a recovery from a period of disproportionately low prices.” He further mentioned issues of capital flow, pointing out the current pressures in the DeFi News space and the trend of declining lending.