The NFT market has played a crucial role in the broader crypto industry, with trading volumes of $12.6 billion and $8.4 billion in Q1 and Q2 of 2022 alone. However, there has been a notable decline in trading volume and sales count between Q1 of 2022 and Q3 of 2023.
This significant dip in crucial market indicators suggests potential shifts in the landscape and a reassessment of interests within the NFT space.
Despite this shift, investors still see promising opportunities in the industry. This is evident in the substantial investments of top venture capitalists (VCs) in projects such as OP3N, GOALS, and Mocaverse, attracting the highest funds in Q1, Q2, and Q3, respectively.
Q1 2023:
OP3N is a comprehensive NFT super app platform offering various services, including creation, minting, marketplace, and community engagement. The platform successfully raised $28 million to fund its vision in the NFT market.
Following OP3N’s success, DressX, a digital fashion platform collaborating with renowned partners like Roblox and H&M, attracted $15 million in a Series A funding round.
Another notable company, Few and Far, a Near Protocol-based NFT marketplace with a unique twist of trading rewards, received $10.5 million from investors.
Spatial Labs, a technology infrastructure company specializing in Augmented Reality, Blockchain, Omnichannel, and Immersive experiences, raised $10 million.
Lastly, Createra, a User-Generated Content (UGC) metaverse engine empowering creators to develop, distribute, and engage in MetaFi games, secured $10 million in funding.
Q2 2023:
In the year’s second quarter, GOALS took the lead with a $20 million fund. This online multiplayer football game incorporates self-play mechanics for in-game NFT assets.
Close behind is AlienSwap, which raised $12 million to enhance its membership-based NFT marketplace. AlienSwap offers aggregated liquidity, bulk trading, and gas savings features.
Other projects that ranked top in the Binance Research include Tabi with $10 million, Pudgy Penguins with $9 million, and UBOX with $7 million.
Q3 2023:
Q3 saw a significant shakeup in the rankings, with Mocaverse, Gondi, Afterparty, TrLab, and fxhash taking the top five spots. Notably, Mocaverse, a member of the Animaco Brands family, successfully secured an impressive $20 million in funding.
Conversely, Gondi is an NFT lending protocol that managed to gather a respectable $5.35 million in investments. Afterparty, a Web3 firm with a strong focus on infrastructure and community building, also fared well by securing $5 million in funding.
TRLab, known for being a fine art NFT platform, and fxhash, an open forum dedicated to minting and collecting Generative NFTs, raised a commendable $5 million.