May Blue-Chip NFT Recap

May witnessed a seismic 35% MoM drop in trading volume for Ethereum's blue-chip NFTs, from $608m to $394m. Azuki, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Mutant Ape Yacht Club together accounted for a substantial 65% of this volume.

Against expectations from April’s recap, May's trading volumes didn't surge following the debut of Blur's Blend protocol. Instead of stimulating trade, Blend appears to have redirected liquidity from secondary marketplaces, causing a shrinkage in blue-chip collections' trading volumes. In fact, lending through Blend now represents 30-50% of total secondary marketplace volume, underscoring a notable liquidity shift within the NFT ecosystem.