NFTs: Not Dead, Just Getting Started
After months of silence, the charts are speaking again.
According to CryptoSlam and DappRadar, NFT sales in May 2025 jumped 15% month-over-month to $430 million, breaking a year-long downtrend. Transaction volume hit a 2025 high of 5.5 million, and unique buyers surged by 50%, topping 936,000 for the first time since October 2024.
The headlines are calling it a rebound. At Metaversal, we see it as a reset—a necessary clearing of noise that makes room for substance. The underlying technology hasn’t stalled; it’s gotten stronger, more secure, more expressive. What still needs to catch up are the use cases that NFTs make possible: programmable ownership, cultural permanence, and the architecture of a new financial system.
Conviction > Cycles
According to CryptoSlam, the number of unique NFT sellers dropped to approximately 284,600 in May 2025—the lowest monthly figure since April 2021. This sustained decline, paired with a surge in buyer activity, reflects a growing imbalance between demand and supply that could put upward pressure on valuations. But at Metaversal, we’re not here to speculate on short-term price action. We’re here to build the infrastructure that will support NFTs for the long haul.
As Itay Tuchman said on Reimagine Ownership: From Wall Street to Web3:
“When you stop thinking of NFTs as assets to flip and start thinking of them as infrastructure, everything changes. You stop trading the hype, and you start building through it.”
Watch the full episode here.
The Changes in NFT Lending—and What Comes After
According to data from DappRadar, total NFT loan volume has plummeted 97%, falling from over $1 billion in early 2024 to just $50 million by May 2025. Average loan sizes have contracted sharply—from $22,000 in 2022 to $4,000—while loan durations have shortened considerably, signaling a more cautious, short-term mindset among participants in the NFT finance space.
But this is exactly the kind of reset we anticipated. As Conor Moore of MetaStreet put it on our podcast:
“We had to flush the leverage. What’s left is quality collateral and long-term thinking. That’s the real unlock for NFT lending.”
Listen to Unlocking Liquidity for a deeper dive into how NFT-backed loans will rebuild from first principles.
From JPEGs to Assets That Matter
The signal in the noise is clear: the market is shifting to NFTs with cultural gravity and economic substance.
Collections like Pudgy Penguins and Doodles are outperforming not because of speculation, but because they’re building ecosystems and IP. Meanwhile, other NFT-native assets like CryptoPunks, BAYC, and art NFTs are dominating loan collateral.
As Tor Bair said in Privacy, Culture & the Future of Web3:
“NFTs are becoming vessels for decentralized value. Not just culture for its own sake—but culture with teeth. With governance. With liquidity. That’s what excites me.”
Hear the full conversation here.
What This Means for Us
At Metaversal, we’re not surprised by the data. We’ve been underwriting the next chapter of NFTs from day one—as a medium for ownership, not just speculation.
We said it before: NFTs aren't going away. They're going to work.
And if the NFT resurgence of May 2025 marks the beginning of that shift, we’re ready—with the infrastructure, the assets, and the patience to help shape what’s next.