The NFT market staged a powerful comeback on Monday, with total market capitalization climbing from $5.1 billion to $6.3 billion a 20% increase within 24 hours, according to data from CoinGecko.
Fueling the resurgence was renewed investor interest in Ethereum-based collections, particularly CryptoPunks. A major catalyst came from on-chain activity traced by Lookonchain, which showed that a newly created wallet, 0x1bb3, spent 2,082 ETH (around $5.87 million) to acquire 45 CryptoPunk NFTs in rapid succession. This aggressive move triggered significant buzz on OpenSea, where the wallet’s holdings now exceed 1,700 ETH in value, or roughly $6.5 million.
The NFT market cap just pumped 17% in a day from $5.1B to $6.0B.
Which NFTs are you holding? pic.twitter.com/yIauTicwpy
— CoinGecko (@coingecko) July 21, 2025
As a result, CryptoPunks led the market rally, with floor prices rising 14% to $175,320. The collection topped the 24-hour sales leaderboard with over $14.7 million in volume, marking an extraordinary 11,143% jump in daily sales, according to CryptoSlam.
The ripple effect was felt across other major Ethereum collections. Moonbirds surged by 31.1%, Bored Ape Yacht Club gained 6.9%, and Pudgy Penguins rose 2.7%. Even niche collections such as Infynex Patron recorded a 9.4% increase, pointing to a broader uplift in sentiment.
This rebound signals a shift in investor focus back toward high-value NFT assets after months of stagnation. Ethereum maintained a dominant position in NFT trading, generating $32 million in sales over 24 hours, a 339% spike. Meanwhile, other blockchains like Solana, Bitcoin, and BNB Chain lagged behind, each reporting sales between $1.3 million and $2.1 million.
However, this renewed enthusiasm in trading contrasts sharply with the state of the NFT lending market. According to a May report from DappRadar, transaction volumes in NFT lending have collapsed by 97%, falling from a $1 billion high in January 2024 to just $50 million by May 2025. The report suggests that while NFT trading is reviving, the lending sector remains in steep decline, a sign of ongoing structural challenges in certain corners of the digital asset space.
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