May NFT thefts total $2.9 million; cause for concern?
- NFT thefts of $2.95 million in May raised concerns about market security.
- Despite a decline in overall NFT volume, Blue Chips experienced increased demand.
Recent data from PeckShield, a crypto-cybersecurity firm, has revealed that NFT thefts in May totaled $2.95 million. This increase in stolen NFTs has raised concerns about the potential impact on the market.
#PeckShieldAlert In May 2023, valued at ~$2.95 million #NFTs were stolen, a decrease of 8.7% compared to the previous month.
Within 130 minutes, half of the stolen NFTs were immediately sold on various marketplaces.
The percentage of stolen NFTs that were originally resold @blur_io… pic.twitter.com/vzQrR6zrif— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) 1 June 2023
Got this NFT to steal
Interestingly, the percentage of stolen NFTs originally sold on the Blur market rose from 70% to 91%, compared to April 2023. Opensea, another prominent marketplace, accounted for 7.25% of listed stolen NFTs.
Despite the increase in thefts, competition between marketplaces remained healthy. According to Dune Analytics, OpenSea represented 51.0% of all trades, while Blur dominated in terms of volume, taking 56.6% of NFT trading volume.
Source: Dune Analytics
However, overall NFT volumes have witnessed a significant decline in recent months. CrypotQuant’s Woominkyu indicated a steady decline in market trading volume since its peak in April 2022.
This decline suggested a cooling of the market after the rapid growth of 2021, as well as the general volatility of NFTs and cryptocurrencies.
Source: Crypto Quant
Blue Chips look green
Despite the overall decline in volume, data from NFTGO indicated an increase in demand for Blue Chips in the market over the past week. In addition, the number of holders and dealers of NFT collections observed an increase during the same period.
Source: NFTGO
Especially the Bored Ape Yacht Club [BAYC] and Azuki experienced a significant increase in volume and sales, as reported by Dapp Radar.
Source: DappRadar
On the other hand, the associated token, ApeCoin [APE], did not witness significant growth. Santiment’s data revealed a continuous decline in ApeCoin’s price over the past month.
However, growing interest from whales and a growing number of APE token holders could potentially change the price trajectory in the future.
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Source: Sentiment
The impact of NFT thefts on the market is still uncertain. While raising concerns about security and trust in the ecosystem, demand for high-value NFTs suggests the market remains resilient.
However, market players should be vigilant and prioritize security measures to reduce the risk associated with such thefts.
