rewrite this title NFT Sales Rise by 15% in May, Marking 2025’s First Upswing

After months of steady decline, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) recorded a 15% increase in sales in May, signaling early signs of a market recovery. The rise in the number of buyers and the decline in sellers are seen as encouraging indicators for the NFT space.

According to data from CryptoSlam, NFT sales reached $430 million in May, up from $373 million in April. This marks the first monthly increase in 2025, following a five-month downturn since the peak of over $900 million in December 2024.

CryptoSlam also reported that May saw the highest number of transactions in 2025, with 5.5 million transactions recorded.

More Buyers, Fewer Sellers in the NFT Market

The rise in NFT sales appears to be linked to the growing gap between unique NFT buyers and NFT sellers. While the number of buyers continued to rise in May, the number of sellers declined.

May witnessed a sharp increase in unique buyers. The number of users purchasing NFTs grew by 50%, from approximately 622,000 in April to over 936,000 in May. This is the highest number of buyers since October 2024, indicating increased investor participation.

Meanwhile, the number of unique NFT sellers continued to fall, dropping to around 284,600 — the lowest figure recorded on the CryptoSlam platform since April 2021.

This divergence between rising buyer interest and declining seller activity may create room for more competitive offers and potentially lead to higher valuations in the NFT space.

NFTs Prepare for a Comeback in 2025

CryptoSlam strategist Yehudah Petscher stated that the market is gearing up for a rebound but is displaying a more cautious outlook compared to previous highs.

“The NFT market will likely see a return shortly after Bitcoin reaches its cycle peak,” Petscher said, suggesting that momentum in digital collectibles will follow broader crypto market trends.

Despite the growing optimism, Petscher warned in a comment to Cointelegraph that this rebound may not resemble the hype cycles of 2021 or 2022:

“Don’t expect a repeat of the 21/22 NFT frenzy.”

In parallel, DappRadar analyst Sara Gherghelas noted in her May 27 report that new catalysts are needed for a full recovery of the sector. She pointed to real-world assets (RWA) tied to NFTs as a potential driver to revive the NFT lending market.

RWA-linked NFTs had already shown promise earlier in the year. In April, digital collectibles on the RWA marketplace Courtyard helped drive Polygon-based NFT sales to $22.3 million, allowing the blockchain to surpass Ethereum in weekly NFT sales.

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