# 1-3. Key Market Status

NFT art is now the fastest-growing sector of the NFT market at 1.3 times the semiconductor market and 2.3 times the sound source market, proving itself a mega-market resilient to recessions, inflation, and even a pandemic. 

The art market experienced its worst recession in more than a decade in 2020 due to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. And yet, in 2021, NFT art was one of the few markets globally that rallied back to reach levels even higher than before. According to the *2022 Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report*, aggregate sales by dealers and auctioneers soared 29%, reaching $64.4 billion despite growing inflation.

 NFT-based art broke all records in March 2021, when Beeple’s digital collage *“Everydays: The First 5000 Days”* sold at Christie’s New York for $69.3 million. That sale was the tip of the spear as non-fungible token art continued to reshape the market over the next year.

**| Today’s Global Art Market**

Three countries dominate 88% of the global art market, with the United States remaining the largest single market, with sales rising by a third in 2021 to just over $28 billion (44%). Greater China’s sales grew even more at just over a one-third, lifting it to the number two spot with $13.4 billion (21%). The UK market also grew by 14%, reaching $11.3 billion, but slipped from its previous ranking against China (19%).

 

**| NFT Art Revolution**

In the Before Times of 2019, sales of NFT art and collectibles on popular blockchains, including Ethereum, totaled $4.6 million – a respectable number, considering most people in the art world couldn’t explain what NFT stood for then. But by the end of 2021, that number skyrocketed to $11.1 billion (which isn’t part of the $64.4 billion figure for the art market as a whole). Art-related NFT sales expanded more than a hundredfold to $2.6 billion, fueled by other significant sales. For example, a Tyler Hobbs work sold for $3.3 million in August 2021. (Collectibles also peaked that month, with two *CryptoPunks* selling for more than $4 million.)

**Of the high net worth (HNW) collectors surveyed, a whopping 74% reported buying art-based NFTs in 2021**

<figure><img src="https://3339673613-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FHpQroY4Ic0HieFo9nGns%2Fuploads%2F5MrLLlyOWD9L4JUiZqfU%2F1-3_%EB%8C%80%EC%A7%80%201%20%EC%82%AC%EB%B3%B8%2010.jpg?alt=media&#x26;token=319d8cdf-97d9-405f-ae9e-ee1b709f729b" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

**| Fastest Growing NFT Art Markets**

The Asian NFT art market emerged as a top-three global leader during the NFT craze, with transactions in Central and Southeast Asia accounting for 35% of the $22 billion in global NFT traffic in 2021 (2022, Chainalysis, Inc.).

Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines (9.5%), Thailand (7.9%), and Malaysia (10.5%)  took top spots on the global NFT traffic list. In comparison to the United States (3.9%), the UK (3.3%), Canada (6.2%), and Germany (3.4%), Asia has a significantly higher transactional rate.

<figure><img src="https://3339673613-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FHpQroY4Ic0HieFo9nGns%2Fuploads%2FyBX410oPldzDzAlzav8f%2F1-33_%EB%8C%80%EC%A7%80%201%20%EC%82%AC%EB%B3%B8%2011.jpg?alt=media&#x26;token=f6709991-1eea-473e-a17d-c9e0d21a9205" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

**| NFT Service Features**

**Differentiation and development around specialized services.**

*OpenSea* is the most dominant and comprehensive NFT platform, though there is a strong trend toward vertical platform services. *Super Rare* selects artists in fields pertaining to sports cards, game items, and NFT art and operates mainly on high-value transactions centered on NFT quality. *Raible* is a community-based DAO service.

**Ethereum-DApp-centric platform**

Currently, most NFT platforms are built and serviced by the DApp platform of the Ethereum blockchain. As a result, the burden of high fees (gas costs) incurred when using the Ethereum network has increased.

**Auction and price-based pricing.**

On most NFT platforms, the initial price is set mainly for artists, and the price is determined at auction, thus excluding the market or user for the NFT valuation. As a result, there are frequent cases of sharp price drops during the 2nd sale, which has raised skepticism about the resale value of NFTs.