NFT vaskehandel recorded its fourth increase in a row in February
Non-Fungible Token (NFT) wash trade volume recorded its fourth consecutive growth during the month of February, according to a recent CoinGecko report.
The total trading volume for NFT washing increased to $580 million, as the CoinGecko report cited. NFT marketplaces X2Y2, LooksRare and Blur recorded the highest volumes in NFT wash trading in February.
NFT washing trade
Wash trading is an illegal practice where investors buy and sell their assets at the same time for the same price. Laundry trade does not provide a financial return. However, it increases market volume, which can be used to manipulate price levels. NFT wash trading can take place between two NFT holders who agree on the terms or a single NFT holder who sells from one address and buys from another.
In February, NFT wash trade volume across the six main NFT marketplaces reached a combined value of $580 million – marking a 126% increase from January’s $250 million.
The last time NFT wash trading volume recorded a decline was in November 2022, when it fell to as low as $190 million from October’s $330 million. Since then, the total trading volume for NFT wash has grown.
Regardless of the steady increase, the current volume of NFT wash trading seems very small compared to a year ago – when it was as high as $11,560 billion in January 2022.
Platforms
Among the six largest NFT marketplaces, LooksRare, Blur and X2Y2 contributed the most significant shares of NFT wash trade volume.
X2Y2 single-handedly accounted for nearly half of NFT wash trades by registering $280 million in wash trade volume – accounting for over 49% of the total.
Blur and LooksRare also contributed $150 million and $80 million – accounting for 27.7% and 15.1% of the total volume, respectively. OpenSea also contributed $42.57 million, while Magic Eden added another $590,000 to the total NFT wash trade in February.
The NFT market
The NFT market proved to be one of the most resilient crypto fields of the recent crypto winter. The NFT sphere has been on a recovery path in recent months, except for the current hit it received from the US banking crisis. Despite this, recent data revealed that the NFT market returned to pre-Luna crash levels in February.
The CoinGecko report also noted that the increase in NFT wash trade volume is consistent with the overall increase in NFT trade volume. According to the data, NFT trading volume has steadily increased since October 2022.
However, the growth rate of the increase has been considerably more prominent in the last three months. Moreover, the figures prove that Blur is one of the main contributors to the increase in NFT trading volume.
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