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December is faring even worse with just $73 million in sales in the first 10 days. If the same downward trend continues, it will be the worst close of a calendar year since 2021. NFTs and the larger digital collectible market are currently fading away into the backdrop after missing the entire 2024-2025 bull(ish) season.
Here is the graph of the NFT performance over the years:
The black line shows the actual sales activity of these digital collectibles for the last 5 years, while the blue and orange lines represent unique buyers and unique sellers, respectively. It is clear that the NFT market is contracting exponentially, and barring a major price action, it could be relegated to the backdrop of the Web3 revolution. It had its major heyday in 2021-2022, with peak monthly sales of $6 billion in January 2022, but now it is only a fraction of that. Interest has plummeted to new lows, one after the other.
NFT Market Capitalization
Here is the graph of the total market capitalization of NFTs:
 
Currently, the NFT market is worth around $3 billion, down from its 2022 high of $17 billion, a 82.35% drop. The market cap has also lost 62% since the start of the current calendar year, which is another bearish sign. The only silver lining of the long-term NFT trend is that several blue-chip NFTs like Crypto Punks, Infinex Patrons, and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) have retained value over the years.
Will We Witness an NFT Boom in 2026?
Following a dismal 2025 performance, NFTs are looking to the incoming calendar year for a bullish reset. An anticipated roadmap is in place for that to happen. In many ways, the digital collectibles market is tied to the performance of altcoins, as historically, profits from the secondary crypto market have trickled down to NFTs.
However, altcoins have had a year to forget, as most top coins (except BNB) remain in deep bearish territory. If we experience a major altseason in 2026, the NFT market is likely to have its belated hurrah.