The rise in Pudgy Penguins and BAYC cannot mask the shrinking NFT market, with both transaction volume and user numbers declining.

CoinFeed reported on April 27th, citing CoinDesk, that despite double-digit price increases for blue-chip NFTs, with Pudgy Penguins surpassing 5 ETH (a weekly gain of over 20%) and Bored Ape Yacht Club rising 81% in the past 30 days, overall NFT market participation is shrinking. CryptoSlam data shows that global NFT sales fell from $304 million in February to approximately $175 million in April, with both transaction volume and active user numbers declining by nearly half. Meanwhile, the average selling price more than doubled from $30.60 in March to $67.38 in April. Wash trading still accounts for about 50% of total transaction volume, and overall transaction profits remain negative.