Digital Apes Are Out, Memecoins Are In as NFT Volume Sinks 45%

Out: million-dollar monkey portraits. In: memecoin trading - and fast.

As the market for nonfungible tokens - once dominated by pricey digital collectibles like cartoon apes - continues to plunge, the platforms that powered the boom are pivoting.

OpenSea, the Miami-based marketplace that helped turn NFTs into a pop-culture phenomenon, now lets users trade cryptocurrencies directly on its platform. Magic Eden, one of its top competitors, says as much as 75% of its daily volume these days comes from users exchanging tokens like Bitcoin or Solana-linked memecoins. The idea is simple: if users still want to trade, meet them where ...