Can SAND’s performance in 2022 provide some forward-looking insights

• Sandbox and its original symbol SAND are witnessing an extremely slow year
• NFT trading in 2022 witnessed reduced popularity compared to 2021

The Sandbox burst onto the blockchain and crypto scene last year as one of the most promising metaverse projects. Fast forward to the present, and the tension has subsided, while its original token has been heavily scaled down.

Read The Sandbox’s [SAND] price forecast 2023-2024

The year 2022 has not been particularly favorable for the entire crypto market. But now that the year is almost coming to an end, will we see a resurgence of metaverse hype and growth for The Sandbox, as well as SAND? Perhaps The Sandbox’s performance in 2022 can offer some perspective.

Sandkassen’s NFTs require

Sandbox recorded strong NFT demand in 2021 and this theme was observed throughout the year. However, things turned out differently this year as demand for NFTs fell sharply. The second half of the year has so far had a lower NFT trading volume than it did in the first half of the year.

At the height of NFT demand, The Sandbox commanded over $26 million in single day NFT trading volume in February. For perspective, NFT trading volumes have struggled to get above $500,000 on most days since August. A sign of how far NFT demand fell in the last 12 months.

A look at the amount of unique active addresses that bought NFTs in the last 12 months also revealed some interesting findings. For example, unique addresses that purchased NFTs worth over $100,000 were more than unique addresses that purchased NFTs worth less than $1,000.

Source: Sentiment

Furthermore, the chart also confirmed the drop in demand over the past 12 months. The number of addresses witnessed a decline, but there was some notable activity taking place. Speaking of network activity, both the number of transactions and transaction volume were highest between November 2021 and March 2022.

Source: Sentiment

Is it time to let go of SAND?

Transaction volume tipped the scale at $1.39 billion in February 2022. Transaction volume has since declined to an average of less than $20 million in H2 2022. The number of transactions has been more active, especially during periods of higher volatility.

For example, SAND’s transaction figures recorded a large increase in the second week of November this year.

All of the above observations, including the drop in volume and lower network activity, reflected the state of the market. Many crypto projects have also gone through the same during the market crash.

Sandbox’s strong initial performance may have had a leg-up thanks to the metaverse hype. Will we see a resurgence in demand when the next bull market starts?

The fact that The Sandbox still has some volume (albeit a fraction of its former glory) can be considered a good sign. However, market cycles bring about changes in investor appetite and preferences. It remains to be seen whether the market will still have a preference for SAND and The Sandbox.