NFT Market Cap Surges to Over $9.3 Billion Amid Ethereum Price Rise

According to Cointelegraph, the non-fungible token (NFT) market has experienced a significant surge, reaching a market capitalization of more than $9.3 billion. This marks a 40% increase from its valuation in July, as reported by NFT data tracker NFT Price Floor. The rise in NFT market value coincides with the recent increase in the price of Ether (ETH), which has surpassed the $4,000 mark and is currently trading above $4,600. Ether's market capitalization now exceeds $557 billion, according to CoinGecko. The Ethereum blockchain plays a crucial role in the NFT market, as many NFT collections are based on its mainnet. Consequently, the bullish momentum in Ether often leads to higher valuations and increased activity within the NFT space. At present, the top ten NFT assets by market capitalization are all Ethereum-based. Among these, CryptoPunks remains the leading NFT collection, with a market capitalization of approximately 526,900 ETH, equivalent to about $2.4 billion. Over the past week, CryptoPunks recorded nearly 4,200 ETH in trading volume, amounting to almost $20 million, with 90 sales averaging $217,331 per NFT. Following CryptoPunks, the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) ranks second with a valuation of $602 million, while Pudgy Penguins closely follows with $591 million. Despite BAYC's higher valuation, Pudgy Penguins leads in seven-day trading volume, recording $8.7 million compared to BAYC's $6.3 million, as per DefiLlama data. In a recent interview with Cointelegraph, Pudgy Penguins CEO Luca Schnetzler, also known as Luca Netz, highlighted the collection's expansion into a physical toy brand, which helped the company avoid bankruptcy in 2022. Since then, Pudgy Penguins has emerged as a prominent NFT brand, competing with other blue-chip collections. This week, blockchain company BTCS Inc. announced the addition of three Pudgy Penguins to its corporate treasury. In addition to these collections, other top NFT collections by market capitalization include Art Block’s Chromie Squiggle by Snowfro, Autoglyphs, Fidenza by Tyler Hobbs, Lil Pudgys, Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), Moonbirds, and Milady Maker. The NFT market's growth reflects the broader trends in the cryptocurrency sector, driven by the increasing adoption and valuation of Ethereum-based assets.