Non-fungible token (NFT) sales in Q3 2023 were the worst the market has seen in roughly three years.

According to a Binance Research report, the NFT sector recorded $299 million in sales in Q3, attributed to a slump in the price of ether (ETH) and the floor prices of most collections.

Binance researchers said September was the worst month on record for the decline in NFT sales since January 2021. The floor prices of major collections like Azuki, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Mutant Ape Yacht Club fell by more than 25% quarter-on-quarter. Gaming and metaverse-related NFT collections declined the most last quarter, plummeting more than 40%

The average sales price in September was $38.17, dropping significantly from an August 2021 peak of $791.84. The average number of daily unique NFT buyers also plunged by 14% quarter-on-quarter to roughly 53,000. Analysts attributed this to a challenging market environment and low liquidity.

Despite the decline in NFT sales volume in Q3, Ethereum and layer-2 scaling solution Immutable experienced increased market shares. Ethereum saw a 6% increase, while Immutable witnessed a 4% growth. The latter hosts popular blockchain games like Gods Unchained, and they topped the chart for sales count in Q3.

Gaming NFTs increased in popularity, with the top five collections in terms of transaction count being Gods Unchained, Axie Infinity, NBA Top Shot, NFL All Day, and Mythical Beings.

Analysts noted that amid the drop in sales, Q3 saw overall growth, possibly due to lower fees and moderate ETH prices.

Crypto Market Cap Decreased in Q3

From a broader perspective, the total crypto market capitalization plunged by 8.6% in Q3 despite the rallies that followed the legal victories of Ripple Labs and asset management firm Grayscale.

Crypto fundraising activity declined further in Q3, recording the lowest amount raised since Q4 2020, with fundraising rounds and raised funds falling by 24.9% and 21.4%.

On the brighter side, bitcoin (BTC) surged 63.1% in year-to-date gains amid the frenzy around spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) filings from major traditional finance players. Other assets like Ripple (XRP) and Solana (SOL) also recorded significant gains. Institutional adoption continued with top traditional companies dipping their feet into the waters.