2022’s ruthless bear market has dealt a blow to the overall crypto market, affecting different parts of the industry like DeFi, Web3 gaming, and even NFTs.
However, it seems that the crypto winter has been unable to deter brands and companies around the world from venturing into the exciting world of NFTs.
United States Patent and Trademark Office Attorney Mike Kondoudis shared some interesting numbers on Twitter that indicated the continued interest in NFTs.
Over six thousand applications
Kondoudis stated that since the beginning of this year, 6,366 trademark applications for NFTs and related blockchain goods have been filed.
This marks an almost 200% increase from 2021’s trademark applications, which was 2,142, roughly a third of this year’s figure.
The month of March saw the highest number of applications, 1080 to be precise. September on the other hand recorded 435 applications making it the lowest for the year.
It is important to note that the monthly application numbers have consistently gone down since March 2022.
This news comes at a critical time with the overall NFT has been struggling, filled with FUD and concerns about the valuation of popular collections.
The fact that interest in NFTs has not only sustained the bear market but also managed to overtake last year’s number, will come as a relief to NFT artists and investors.
AMBCrypto reported earlier that NFTs were making inroads in the music industry with popular names like Sony Music filing trademark applications for NFTs.
The Ford Motor Company also ventured into the NFT space by filing 19 trademark applications for all its major brands.
NFT stats
The third quarter of 2022 was nothing less than a bloodbath for NFTs. A report published by DappRadar noted that the NFT trading volume in this period dropped to $713 million, an 84% decrease from the previous quarter.
According to data from DappRadar, Solana-based NFT projects fared comparatively better in the month of September, managing to reach monthly sales of $133 million, compared to the $68.5 million from the month before.
Interestingly, Ethereum Name Service is now leading the top collections on DappRadar, in terms of volume, traders, and sales. Its 30-day volume is up by 70% reaching $31.2 million. Furthermore, its sales are up almost 50% compared to last month, 556,575 to be precise.
Meanwhile, popular NFT marketplace OpenSea has taken a brutal hit this year thanks to the ongoing crypto winter. Trading volume on the platform has dropped more than 90% from its March high. Additionally, sales on the platform have consistently dropped for five months in a row.
Kondoudis also shared that the trademark filings related to “digital or cryptocurrencies and related goods/services” had overtaken last year’s numbers. 2022 has seen 4,317 applications compared to 3547 in 2021.