NFT sales climb 66.58% to $76.56M thanks to Bitcoin dominance

The non-fungible token (NFT) market recorded a dramatic increase of 66.58% over seven days, reaching $76.56 million in volume, according to data from CryptoSlam. This growth, observed between October 17 and 24, 2026, is driven by the dominance of Bitcoin (BTC), whose BRC-20 collections, such as $X@AGI, generated over $25 million in sales, illustrating the growing influence of the flagship blockchain on this segment. Context The NFT market, after a period of slowdown in 2025, is experiencing a resurgence of activity in 2026, supported by the emergence of new technical standards and increased liquidity on major blockchains. Bitcoin, traditionally perceived as a reserve asset, has seen its ecosystem expand with the adoption of BRC-20 tokens, digital assets inscribed directly on its blockchain via protocols like Ordinals. This evolution has allowed the network to capture a growing share of NFT volumes, to the detriment of Ethereum, historically the leader in this segment. Before this rise, the NFT market showed signs of gloom, with weekly volumes fluctuating between $40 and $50 million since the beginning of the year. Bitcoin's dominance over NFT sales, for the first time in several months, marks a turning point, as investors seek digital assets that are more accessible and less exposed to Ethereum's high fees. This rebound comes within a macroeconomic context marked by a stabilization of interest rates and a recovery of confidence in risky assets. The Facts According to CryptoSlam data, NFT sales volume increased by 66.58% between October 17 and 24, 2026, to reach $76.56 million. This performance is mainly attributable to the BRC-20 collection $X@AGI, which generated $25.09 million in sales, or 32.8% of the overall volume. The Bitcoin blockchain dominated the market with $31.07 million in sales, up 268.06% over seven days, representing 40.6% of the total. The main market indicators, as reported by CryptoSlam, are as follows: The number of selling addresses increased by 53.09% to reach 135,930, while the number of transactions rose to 764,169, compared to 565,849 the previous week. Bitcoin outperformed Ethereum, which recorded $24.64 million in sales (+32.59%), with a gap of $6.43 million between the two blockchains. Together, they represent nearly 73% of the weekly volume. Polygon ranked third with $8.53 million in sales (+2.82%), followed by BNB Chain ($3.35 million, -18.96%) and Immutable ($2.30 million, -16.67%). Data from CryptoScore Pro, as of October 24, 2026, at 10:44 AM UTC, indicate that the price of Bitcoin stood at $80,666.01, down 1.31% over 24 hours, with a market capitalization of $1.62 trillion. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, measuring market sentiment, showed a neutral level (51/100). Among the most active collections, $X@AGI concentrated 80.8% of sales on Bitcoin, with only three transactions involving three buyers and three sellers. The five largest individual sales, all linked to this collection, represented amounts ranging from $14.63 million to $1.87 million. In contrast, data on the geographical distribution of buyers and sellers, as well as address concentration, were not disclosed. Understanding Key Concepts BRC-20 Tokens BRC-20 tokens are digital assets created on the Bitcoin blockchain, using the Ordinals protocol to inscribe data directly into satoshis, the smallest unit of Bitcoin. Unlike Ethereum's ERC-20 tokens, which rely on smart contracts, BRC-20s leverage Bitcoin's base layer, making them simpler but less flexible. For example, the $X@AGI collection is a BRC-20 NFT, where each token represents a unique asset inscribed on the Bitcoin blockchain. Liquidity and Transaction Fees Liquidity refers to the ease with which an asset can be bought or sold without significantly affecting its price. In the case of NFTs, increased liquidity reduces transaction fees and attracts more buyers. For example, the rise in sales on Bitcoin is partly explained by lower transaction fees than on Ethereum, where costs can reach several dozen dollars during periods of congestion. This difference encourages collectors to favor more economical blockchains. Wash trading Wash trading consists of buying and selling the same asset between entities controlled by the same actor, in order to artificially inflate volumes and create an illusion of demand. According to CryptoSlam, the wash trading volume on Bitcoin amounted to 105,237 dollars during the period studied, while it reached 19.4 million dollars on Polygon. These practices, although monitored, can distort the assessment of a market's real health. Market capitalization and volume The market capitalization of a digital asset, such as Bitcoin, is calculated by multiplying its price by the total number of tokens in circulation. It reflects the overall size of the market. Volume, on the other hand, measures the total amount of transactions carried out over a given period. For example, Bitcoin showed a capitalization of 1.62 trillion dollars on October 24, 2026, with a daily volume of 941.65 million dollars, according to CryptoScore Pro. Analysis: what is at stake The 66.58% increase in NFT sales volume over seven days, driven by Bitcoin's dominance, reveals underlying economic mechanisms that deserve to be decrypted. First, the demand for BRC-20 assets, such as the $X@AGI collection, is explained by increased liquidity on the Bitcoin network, where reduced transaction fees attract collectors. According to CryptoSlam data, Bitcoin generated 31.07 million dollars in NFT sales, an increase of 268% in one week, illustrating a ripple effect between the valuation of BTC and NFT activity. This phenomenon could be part of a broader dynamic: if the correlation between the price of Bitcoin and NFT volumes is confirmed, investors could reallocate part of their capital toward digital assets that are less speculative than pure cryptocurrencies. For industry players, this trend offers opportunities, but also challenges. Collection creators could be…