OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace in the world, has managed to report nearly $144 million in fees collected during the third quarter of 2022 (Q3/2022), despite the crypto winter. This is an impressive performance since the crypto market has been locked in a bear market which continues to increase the risk of NFTs.
OpenSea LLC Bagged $35 Million In Revenues
According to data from Token Terminal, a crypto asset platform, OpenSea collected a tune of $143.8 million in transaction fees between July and September 2022. The renowned NFT marketplace was third behind the now proof-of-stake Ethereum platform, which collected $264.7 million, and Solana $145.3 million in fees.
The data also revealed that OpenSea posted some $34.8 million in revenues. It appears that OpenSea is the only top 10 platform among those tracked by Token Terminal to post positive earnings amidst a market downturn. The only other leading platform with positive earnings was MetaMask, ranked 11 in terms of fees generated, with $9.9 million in earnings posted over the last quarter.
The positive numbers posted in the third quarter are good news for the NFT company and the millions of NFT creators who depend on the platform to sell their tokens.
In an October 2 tweet, Token Terminal appreciated the positive earnings by OpenSea, saying that of the almost $144 million collected in fees, $35 million went to OpenSea LLC while the remaining went to the creators. The tweet read:
“Users of @opensea paid $144.5M in fees over the past quarter. $35M went to OpenSea LLC. Where did the rest of the money go to? The creators.”
Apart from the OpenSea investors and founders, NFT creators who sell their artwork on the marketplace had a reasonably good third quarter in 2022.
Meanwhile, it is essential to note that the quarter three results for the world’s pioneer NFT marketplace are significantly lower than the platform posted before the crypto market crash that started in May this year. In January 2022, OpenSea reported a record monthly sales volume of $4.857 billion in Ethereum (ETH), according to data from crypto analytics firm Dune Analytics.
NFT Trading Volume on OpenSea Still At Record Lows
Despite the positive revenues, data from DappRadar reveals that NFT trading volume on OpenSea has been dropping over the last quarter. OpenSea processed approximately $8.38 million worth of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on September 30, tanking about 97% from its record high of $405.74 million reached on May 1. This is still 95% below the $193.27 earned on January 26. This was the highest NFT trading volume recorded in January.
Similarly, the number of users has plummeted from around 49,500 in January to 24,590 on September 30. Daily transactions have also plunged 35.9% from 85,500 to 54,000 over the same period.
The massive declines in daily trading volumes, number of users, and transactions suggest that the value and interest of NFTs have diminished over the last three months due to the crypto market downturn.
The declining NFT trading volumes come at a time when cryptos and U.S. equities are struggling with recovery as investors drop off risky assets over fears that increased interest rates and runaway inflation would force world economies into a recession. In the meantime, OpenSea and the creators that use the platform can enjoy the earnings made in Q3/2022.
