NFT Market Surpassed $40 Billion in 2021, New Estimate Shows

(Bloomberg) -- Nearly $41 billion worth of cryptocurrency was sent to two types of Ethereum smart contracts associated with NFT marketplaces and collections from the beginning of 2021 through mid-December, according to a new estimate from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis Inc. 

The metric revises an estimate the firm included in a December report on NFTs that was based on data through mid-October, said Maddie Kennedy, a spokeswoman for Chainalysis. 

Read more: NFT Hype Sparks a Rush by Finance Pros to Mimic Hot Market

The popularity of NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, exploded in popularity last year with recording-breaking, multimillion-dollar sales and celebrities, such as singer Shawn Mendes, socialite Paris Hilton, and former first lady Melania Trump jumping on the bandwagon.

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