NFT (non-fungible token) collectors have sent over $37 billion in value to NFT marketplaces so far in 2022 as of 1st May, almost surpassing last year’s total amount.

The findings from Chainalysis show that $40 billion worth of crypto was sent by investors to smart contracts linked to NFT collections and marketplaces during 2021.

Since the start of last year, there has been a substantial rise in NFT transaction volume, yet overall industry growth has been inconsistent. 

The Chainalysis report reveals NFT transaction volume occurs intermittently and has suffered a downturn since the middle of February, Cointelegraph reports. The market rallied briefly from mid-April – predominantly due to the hype surrounding the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s metaverse project, known as Otherside. 

The number of people across the globe buying and selling NFTs is strong, despite the short-term fluctuations in NFT transaction volume. In the first quarter of this year, 950,000 unique addresses were buying or selling NFTs.      

At the beginning of this month, 491,000 unique addresses have transacted with NFTs so far this quarter, indicating the market is on course for continued growth. 

The data also showed that NFT users located in Central and Southern Asia were in pole position in major NFT marketplaces, followed by North America and Western Europe. 

The Chainalysis report goes on to add: “In terms of transaction value rather than number of transfers, we see that NFT collectors make up a majority of activity. Institutional investors are nipping at their heels, and even make up the majority of activity in certain weeks when extremely large purchases have been made. For instance, during the week of October 31, 2021, institutional transfers made up 73% of all activity, largely due to the purchase of several NFTs in the Mutant Ape Yacht Club collection. More institutional-sized transfers followed in subsequent weeks, and since then, institutional transfers make up 33% of all activity.”