NFT On-Chain Special Report: Ethereum Captures 97% of High-End NFT Sales, Punk Rallies Over 45% from Lows
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NFT On-Chain Special Report: Ethereum Captures 97% of High-End NFT Sales, Punk Rallies Over 45% from Lows
In the past 30 days, the total NFT trading volume across the top four blockchains exceeded $300 million.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: OurNetwork
Translation: TechFlow
NFTs
Mad Lads | Pudgy Penguins | NodeMonkes | CryptoPunks | Milady Maker
Ethereum maintains absolute dominance in the high-end NFT market, capturing 97% of sales volume
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In the past 30 days, the total NFT trading volume across the top four blockchains exceeded $300 million. Ethereum accounted for 42%, Solana 23.5%, Bitcoin 18%, and Polygon 16.5%. Although Ethereum's market share has declined compared to previous years—representing around 70% in 2023—it remains dominant in the premium NFT segment. For instance, among the top 30 sales during this period (excluding 1-of-1 NFTs), Ethereum occupied 29 spots, with only one on Solana. Notably, the top three Ethereum-based sales were all CryptoPunks—one with ape traits and two with zombie features—each selling for over $1 million.
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By contrast, in the past 30 days, only one of Solana’s top 30 sales exceeded $100,000. Thirteen percent of sales fell between $30,000 and $40,000, while 84% ranged from $10,000 to $15,000. On Bitcoin, the top four sales were priced between $60,000 and $65,000, 20% of sales occurred between $25,000 and $40,000, and 66% hovered around $20,000.
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Among last month’s top 30 sales—excluding 1-of-1 types—23 originated from Larva Labs, with Dmitri Cherniak and Tyler Hobbs each contributing one. These two artists frequently rank among the top sellers in the 1-of-1 collectibles space. According to NFT Price Floor’s artist ranking—which sorts by market cap of an artist’s collection—NFT artist XCOPY rose to the top four after achieving a 13% increase in market cap.
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Trading highlight: XCOPY’s ascent in the NFT Price Floor artist rankings reflects collectors’ and decentralized autonomous organizations’ (DAOs) enthusiasm for specific artists and styles. A notable example is Artifaction² recently purchasing The Doomed for 55 ETH, making it one of the ten most expensive sales on Known Origin. Such transactions have driven XCOPY’s market growth, further cementing his status as a leading figure in the NFT space.
Mad Lads
Mad Lads prices peaked at $29,400 in March, with 38% of holders being long-time Solana users who also own Claynosaurz.
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In the first month following Mad Lads' launch in April 2023, 3,900 buyers generated 946,000 SOL in trading volume—approximately $137 million at current prices. From mid-2023 onward, Mad Lads prices dropped from a high near 100 SOL but rebounded in March 2024 to a median price of 185 SOL (then ~$29,440), before declining again in August 2024 to stabilize at 61 SOL (~$8,200). Currently, Mad Lads are trading at 6.25 times their initial monthly price in USD terms.
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38% of Mad Lads holders purchased using wallets created prior to acquiring their NFT—indicating that a significant portion of buyers are long-term Solana users, reflecting strong loyalty and deep engagement with the network.
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Analyzing other NFT collections held by Mad Lads owners reveals a 21.67% overlap with the Claynosaurz collection. Other notable overlaps include Lily, Tensorians, The Heist, and Okay Bears, ranging between 14% and 18%.
Pudgy Penguins
Pudgy Penguins currently account for one-tenth of all NFT trading volume
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Pudgy Penguins is currently the third-largest NFT collection by market cap across all chains. Since launching in July 2021, Pudgys have steadily grown their market share, consistently accounting for 5% to 15% of NFT trading volume denominated in ETH since December 2023. This corresponds with a price peak of 20 ETH, followed by a pullback. Since April 2024, the floor price has remained around 10 ETH—a significantly higher percentage off its all-time high compared to other "blue-chip" NFT collections.
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Over the past 12 months, substantial sales have occurred at the 10 ETH mark, indicating strong market consensus around the current floor price. Minor clustering also appears near 5.9 ETH and 19.9 ETH, showing secondary price concentrations.
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Many holders’ cost basis is far below the current price (black line), suggesting most are sitting on profits. Some holders have much higher cost bases, reaching up to 40 ETH, indicating they acquired "rare" Pudgys.
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Trading highlight: A Pudgy sold for 150 ETH in March 2024, marking one of the top five sales in the collection’s history and the largest sale this year.
NodeMonkes
NodeMonkes rebound 80%, leading the Ordinals recovery
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Summer was tough for Ordinals, with leading collections seeing drops of 70% or more—some exceeding 80%. However, signs suggest a bottom may have formed—NodeMonkes led a rally within Ordinals, rising 94% from a local low of 0.095 BTC on September 6. They now trade at 0.18 BTC, the highest level since June 20—effectively recovering all summer losses.
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Cross-chain NFT transaction metrics reflect demand for NodeMonkes. According to Cryptoslam data, NodeMonkes ranked sixth in NFT trading volume over the past 30 days, with $8.6 million in volume. They are the most traded collection on Bitcoin, leading the second-place by 58%, and rank just behind CryptoPunks among all Ethereum NFTs.
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Not only is the floor price at a local high, but so is trading volume. NodeMonkes achieved nearly $1 million in single-day volume on September 23—specifically $983,057—the highest daily volume since June 28 and nearly a three-month high.
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Trading highlight: NodeMonkes prices continue to trade above floor. Eleven days ago, a single-trait NodeMonke sold for 1.02 BTC ($57,600), eight times the then-floor price. Over the past month, four additional NodeMonkes sold for 0.4 BTC ($26,000) or more, ranging from 0.4 BTC to 0.714 BTC. Three of these featured the sought-after "golden" skin trait, while the 0.714 BTC NodeMonke is considered the 8th rarest in the collection. These above-floor sales demonstrate genuine collector demand and signal overall health for NodeMonkes.
CryptoPunks
Punks up over 45% from early-August lows
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CryptoPunks hit a local low of 19.7 ETH on August 4, following a difficult year for both the Punk collection and the broader NFT market. However, by September 22, the floor price had rebounded 46.6% to 28.89 ETH. The collection remains down nearly 75% from its all-time high of 113.9 ETH set in October 2021.
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In the past 30 days, several notable Punk sales occurred, including an Ape Punk sold for 620 ETH (over $1.6 million)—the first Ape sale since September 2022. A Zombie Punk with a hoodie was bought and resold within three days for a 75 ETH profit. Additionally, crypto market "whale" 0x_b1 acquired a Hoodie Punk with 3D glasses for 300 ETH.
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Over the past 30 days, a total of 164 Punk sales took place, amounting to over $18.5 million. The busiest day was August 20, with sales exceeding $3.5 million. Transactions spanned all tiers—rarities, mid-tier, and floor—with reasonably priced mid-tier pieces receiving particular attention.
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Trade spotlight: An unexpected CryptoPunk transaction saw Ape Punk #2386 sell for just 10 ETH. The asset was originally fractionalized on the now-defunct platform Niftex, where the buyer exploited a buyout clause priced at 0.001 ETH per share. After a 14-day shareholder rejection window passed without objection, the proposal was approved. This transaction highlights the risks of holding fractionalized assets when oversight is minimal, making it one of the most talked-about Punk trades recently.
Milady Makers
Down approximately 45% from peak prices since discovery
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The NFT airdrop trend—the concept that holding certain NFTs qualifies holders for future token airdrops—significantly boosted the Milady NFT series. Within just two months, Milady qualified for three major airdrops from Ethena, Omni, and zkSync (and also Pudgy Penguins), driving up prices as buyers anticipated more "free tokens." However, it has been nearly three months since Milady holders last received a free token airdrop, which may be contributing to the decline in the series’ price and trading volume.
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Despite the sharp drop in floor price, the top 100 Milady holders appear unfazed, having not reduced their holdings over the past 30 days.
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Since peaking early this year, Milady’s trading volume and number of unique buyers have steadily declined. However, the Remilia ecosystem token $CULT raised $20 million during its presale, potentially reigniting trading activity and interest—each Milady NFT is eligible for an airdrop worth approximately 2,300 USDT.
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