NFT prices and trading activity fell sharply after the 2021 boom, but “biggest losers” depends on what is measured. On CoinGecko’s comparison of 11 selected blue-chip collections, Moonbirds had the steepest reported U.S.-dollar floor-price decline: 97.3% from its recorded high to July 19, 2023. That is a collection-level listing metric—not proof that every owner sold at a loss. A token’s estimated value, a weak resale bid, and a completed sale at a loss are different evidence.
What “biggest NFT losers” means
This article uses three distinct measures: collection floor-price declines, modelled estimates for individual tokens, and evidence of attempted resale. A floor price is the lowest listed price in a collection at a particular time; it does not establish that a buyer paid that price or that every holder could sell at it. An estimator’s value is not a transaction, and a low bid is not a realized loss unless a sale is completed.
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The available comparisons are historical, with different endpoints and currencies. They show the scale of the downturn but do not establish present-day prices or individual holders’ profits and losses.
How the NFT boom turned into a contraction
2021: a boom with no single agreed sales total
Reuters reported three different estimates of 2021 NFT sales: DappRadar put the figure at $24.9 billion, CryptoSlam at $18.3 billion, and NonFungible.com at $15.7 billion. These are provider estimates, not interchangeable counts: DappRadar said it tracked ten blockchains, while the cited NonFungible.com figure covered Ethereum. Reuters also noted that some off-chain auction transactions may not appear in tracker totals. The spread is a reminder that “the NFT market” depends partly on what a data provider counts.
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2022: trading activity and average sale prices fell
Reuters reported OpenSea monthly volume of nearly $5 billion in January 2022, $2.6 billion in May, and $700 million in June. Those are marketplace-volume figures. Separately, NonFungible.com’s average NFT sale-price measure, as reported by Reuters, fell from $1,754 at the end of April to $412 by late June 2022. The two series track different things: trading volume measures activity and sale price measures the average transaction value.
The deterioration was also visible in a famous attempted resale. Reuters reported that the Malaysian businessman who had bought an NFT of Jack Dorsey’s first tweet for $2.5 million struggled to attract bids above a few thousand dollars when he tried to resell it in April 2022. That account documents difficulty finding a buyer at the requested level; it does not establish that the NFT sold for a few thousand dollars.
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2023: a partial rebound, not a return to the peak
CryptoSlam data reported by Reuters showed Ethereum NFT sales at $780.2 million in January 2023, up from $546.9 million in December 2022. The January figure was still far below roughly $5 billion in January 2022. Reuters described the increase as a bounce from a November low, not a restoration of boom-era activity.
A separate comparison by The Block found that BAYC and CryptoPunks floor prices fell 57.6% and 13.8%, respectively, from January 1 to November 28, 2023. Those declines use a January 2023 starting point, so they are not directly comparable with all-time-high-to-July declines below. The Block also reported that the two collections remained prominent among the year’s most expensive NFT sales; that does not mean their floor prices had recovered.
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Which selected collections had the largest floor-price declines?
CoinGecko compared the daily floor-price highs of 11 selected blue-chip PFP collections with their floors on July 19, 2023. The table ranks them by the reported U.S.-dollar decline. Its ETH-denominated declines differ because the dollar value of ETH changes over time.
| Collection | USD floor-price decline | ETH floor-price decline |
|---|---|---|
| Moonbirds | 97.3% | 95.7% |
| Cool Cats | 96.8% | 94.5% |
| World of Women | 96.5% | 94.6% |
| Doodles | 95.5% | 93.2% |
| Clone X | 95.3% | 91.3% |
| VeeFriends | 94.9% | 90.5% |
| Azuki | 90.5% | 82.7% |
| Mutant Ape Yacht Club | 90.0% | 84.6% |
| Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) | 84.9% | 78.2% |
| CryptoPunks | 80.2% | 60.1% |
| Pudgy Penguins | 38.9% | 45.9% |
Source: CoinGecko’s study, which aggregated daily floor prices from OpenSea, LooksRare, and the CryptoPunks marketplace; comparison endpoint July 19, 2023. It covers these 11 selected collections, not every NFT collection. Trackers can differ in calculation methods and marketplace coverage.
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Moonbirds recorded the largest decline in this selected group in USD terms, while Pudgy Penguins had the smallest USD decline. The ETH comparison changes the ordering at the bottom: Pudgy Penguins’ ETH-denominated decline was larger than its USD-denominated decline. These are changes in collection floor prices—not market capitalization changes, total owner losses, or proof that tokens traded at the floor.
Individual NFTs: estimated losses are not confirmed sale losses
Logan Paul’s K4M-1 #03
DappRadar reported that Logan Paul bought K4M-1 #03 for $626,393 on August 23, 2021, and its 2022 article put the token’s estimated value at $8,250. That is a striking gap between the reported purchase price and DappRadar’s modelled estimate, but it is not evidence of a resale at $8,250 or a confirmed realized loss. The estimate should not be treated as a current valuation.
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Seven-token estimate
DappRadar’s 2022 article estimated a combined decline of $29,650,760 across seven NFTs, using their last sale prices and its NFT Value Estimator. The figure is an aggregate estimate produced by that method; it does not show that all seven tokens were sold at the lower estimated values.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why reported NFT losses and market figures differ
- Coverage varies. Trackers may include different blockchains, marketplaces, or transaction types. Reuters’ three 2021 totals illustrate why there is no single uncontested sales figure.
- Off-chain activity can be missed. An auction or transaction that does not appear in the data captured by a tracker may not be reflected in its reported volume.
- Metrics answer different questions. Sales volume describes transaction activity; average sale price describes transaction values; a floor price reflects the lowest listed item; a modelled estimate is an analytical valuation; and a realized loss requires a completed sale below the owner’s cost.
- Time windows and currencies matter. An all-time-high-to-July 2023 comparison cannot be read as the same measure as a January-to-November 2023 change. USD and ETH percentage declines can also diverge as exchange rates move.
- Liquidity is not guaranteed. A listing or estimate says what a seller or model indicates, not that an available buyer will transact at that price. The Jack Dorsey tweet NFT resale attempt is an example of bids failing to match the seller’s expectation.
What contributed to the downturn?
Reuters connected the slump with the simultaneous cryptocurrency bear market, rising interest rates, and a broader retreat from risky assets. Those factors provide context, not proof of a single cause. NonFungible.com co-founder Gauthier Zuppinger told Reuters that the crypto bear market had an impact on NFTs and described the market as having seen extensive speculation and hype.
There were also questions about what some NFTs offered beyond the possibility of resale. Technology research firm L’Atelier CEO John Egan told Reuters that many gamers preferred games without NFTs or “play-to-earn” components. He also argued that some assets attracted extraordinary prices despite generating no cash flow. These comments are attributed assessments, not evidence that every NFT project had the same design or prospects.
What later reporting does—and does not—show
A March 2026 El País article attributed to DappRadar a 93% fall in NFT sales value from the 2021 peak to early 2025, citing $197 million for 2024 and $23.8 million for the first quarter of 2025. This is a secondary report of DappRadar figures; those values have not been reconciled here with the differently scoped totals above. They should not be treated as a harmonized market-wide measure or as a reading of the market in October 2026.
The historical sources cited here do not establish October 2026 market-wide sales, current floors for the named collections, or transaction-level losses across holders. A floor-price drop can show how far the lowest listed price moved; it cannot tell a particular owner’s outcome without that owner’s purchase and sale records.
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