Did Blue Chip NFTs Crash?
Blue chip NFT floor prices have crashed from their all-time highs (ATHs), with Ethereum (ETH) collections plummeting by an average of 82.8% (or 34.6 ETH) as of July 19, 2023. Floor prices have experienced slightly higher losses in USD terms, at an average of 87.3% ($122,188). This highlights how NFT value is closely correlated with and affected by the native currency of its chain.
The crash in blue chip NFT floor price comes amid the first NFT winter, and mirrors the drop in metaverse land prices. Given that NFT trading volume fell by 35.0% in 2023 Q2, blue chip NFTs will find it challenging to recover in the short term.
Which Blue Chip NFT Collection has Lost the Most Value?
Across the 11 blue chip NFT collections examined here, Moonbirds experienced the worst floor price crash for both ETH and USD, at 95.7% and 97.3% respectively. Moonbirds was one of the most high-profile NFT launches, as the flagship profile picture (PFP) collection from entrepreneur Kevin Rose’s PROOF Collective.
Meanwhile, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and CryptoPunks recorded the highest absolute losses. Compared to their ATH floor prices, BAYC lost the most native currency value (-120.2 ETH), and CryptoPunks lost the most USD value (-$383,244). Despite their floor price crashing, BAYC and CryptoPunks continue to be among the most expensive and sought-after NFT collections.
On the other hand, Pudgy Penguins experienced the least severe crash, with its floor price dropping by 45.9% (3.3 ETH) or 38.9% ($4,645) from its ATH. This is largely because Pudgy Penguins was less swept up in the NFT euphoria and has the lowest ATH among the blue chip collections. Pudgy Penguins has also enjoyed a more resilient floor price due to serial entrepreneur Luca Netz’s acquisition and effort to make the collection a web3 intellectual property (IP) brand.
Overall, the blue chip NFTs crash ranges from -45.9% to -95.7% for ETH floor prices, and -38.9% to -97.3% for USD floor prices. In absolute terms, blue chip NFTs’ floor value have lost between 3.3 ETH to 120.2 ETH, or between $4,645 to $383,244 when considering the ETH/USD conversion rate.
Is it Too Late to Invest in Blue Chip NFTs?
As a result of the NFT crash, blue chip collections are currently far more affordable, at prices that are better aligned with the value they offer to holders. Blue chips with stronger fundamentals will also be more easily identified and are likely to emerge stronger from the NFT crash, while weaker NFT collections may lose their blue chip status. In other words, the NFT crash does not mean it is too late to buy into blue chip NFT collections, and may instead create a window of opportunity for new investors.
The top 5 blue chip NFT collections with the highest current floor price, also performed the best amid the NFT floor price crash. CryptoPunks, BAYC, Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), Azuki and Pudgy Penguins saw their ETH floor prices drop by 45.9% to 84.6%, as compared to the rest of the blue chip NFTs, which dropped 90.5% to 95.7%. The same was true for the USD floor price crash.
This suggests that the remaining 6 NFT collections might be at risk of losing their blue chip status, namely VeeFriends, Clone X, Moonbirds, Doodles, Cool Cats and World of Women. Unlike the top 5 blue chip NFTs’ healthier floor price movement, these 6 collections have suffered a steady decline in floor price and thinner liquidity since their ATH.
That said, it is important to note that all 11 blue chip NFTs mentioned here are PFP collections, which was the most popular type of NFT in the first bull market. This means that the next NFT bull run may be led by a different NFT narrative. Therefore, investors might be late to PFP blue chips, but can potentially be early investors for new blue chip NFT collections.
Blue Chip NFTs Floor Price Losses (2023)
How much 11 blue chip NFT collections’ floor prices have dropped, by comparing their ETH all-time high to July 19, 2023:
| Ranking | NFT Collection | ETH Floor Price Drop from ATH |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moonbirds | -95.7% |
| 2 | World of Women | -94.6% |
| 3 | Cool Cats | -94.5% |
| 4 | Doodles | -93.2% |
| 5 | Clone X | -91.3% |
| 6 | VeeFriends | -90.5% |
| 7 | Mutant Ape Yacht Club | -84.6% |
| 8 | Azuki | -82.7% |
| 9 | Bored Ape Yacht Club | -78.2% |
| 10 | CryptoPunks | -60.1% |
| 11 | Pudgy Penguins | -45.9% |
How much 11 blue chip NFT collections’ floor prices have dropped, by comparing their USD all-time high to July 19, 2023:
| Ranking | NFT Collection | USD Floor Price Drop from ATH |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moonbirds | -97.3% |
| 2 | Cool Cats | -96.8% |
| 3 | World of Women | -96.5% |
| 4 | Doodles | -95.5% |
| 5 | Clone X | -95.3% |
| 6 | VeeFriends | -94.9% |
| 7 | Azuki | -90.5% |
| 8 | Mutant Ape Yacht Club | -90.0% |
| 9 | Bored Ape Yacht Club | -84.9% |
| 10 | CryptoPunks | -80.2% |
| 11 | Pudgy Penguins | -38.9% |
Blue Chip NFTs’ All-Time High Floor Price
In its native ETH terms, the blue chip NFT collection’s all-time high daily floor price and date achieved, are as follows (as of July 2023):
- CryptoPunks reached an all-time high floor price of 125.00 ETH, on August 29, 2021.
- Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) reached an all-time high floor price of 153.70 ETH, on May 1, 2022.
- Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) reached an all-time high floor price of 40.00 ETH, on May 1, 2022.
- Azuki reached an all-time high floor price of 31.80 ETH, on April 3, 2022.
- Pudgy Penguins reached an all-time high floor price of 7.10 ETH, on December 28, 2022.
- VeeFriends reached an all-time high floor price of 19.97 ETH, on October 9, 2021.
- Clone X reached an all-time high floor price of 19.50 ETH, on April 6, 2022.
- Moonbirds reached an all-time high floor price of 38.50 ETH, on April 22, 2022.
- Doodles reached an all-time high floor price of 23.95 ETH, on May 3, 2022.
- Cool Cats reached an all-time high floor price of 15.10 ETH, on January 31, 2022.
- World of Women reached an all-time high floor price of 13.37 ETH, on March 22, 2022.
In USD terms, the blue chip NFT collection’s all-time high daily floor price and date achieved, are as follows (as of July 2023):
- CryptoPunks reached an all-time high USD floor price of $477,924, on October 18, 2021.
- Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) reached an all-time high USD floor price of $420,430, on May 1, 2022.
- Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) reached an all-time high USD floor price of $116,666, on April 25, 2022.
- Azuki reached an all-time high USD floor price of $109,464, on April 3, 2022.
- Pudgy Penguins reached an all-time high USD floor price of $11,933, on April 6, 2022.
- VeeFriends reached an all-time high USD floor price of $71,072, on October 9, 2021.
- Clone X reached an all-time high USD floor price of $68,630, on April 5, 2022.
- Moonbirds reached an all-time high USD floor price of $114,900, on April 22, 2022.
- Doodles reached an all-time high USD floor price of $68,507, on May 3, 2022.
- Cool Cats reached an all-time high USD floor price of $49,298, on October 6, 2021.
- World of Women reached an all-time high USD floor price of $38,903, on March 23, 2022.
Methodology
The study examined blue chip NFT daily floor prices at their all-time high and on July 19, 2023, in both ETH and USD, based on CoinGecko data. Blue chip NFTs were determined using floor price, market capitalization, trading volume and reputation or name recognition. Floor prices stated here may differ from other trackers due to calculation methods and marketplaces. CoinGecko currently aggregates floor prices from OpenSea, LooksRare, and the CryptoPunks marketplace.
USD floor prices are calculated according to the ETH conversion rate at the time.
This study is for illustrative and informational purposes only, and is not financial advice. Always do your own research and be careful when putting your money into any crypto or financial asset.
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Curious to find out more about our previous research studies & statistics? Check out this one we did on the most expensive crypto domains.
Yuqian is a crypto research analyst at CoinGecko, covering a range of topics from NFTs to ETFs, crypto adoption and interest, and beyond. She's especially fascinated by the philosophical and socioeconomic aspects of crypto. She holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences with Honors from the National University of Singapore. Follow the author on Twitter @solosbrqt
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