In this week’s newsletter, read about how sales volumes of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) kicked off December with a strong performance, find out about an investigation by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Virtual Currency Unit that led to shutting down 40 fraudulent NFT marketplace sites, and, in other news, how Magic Eden’s token dipped on its debut and RARI Foundation’s Jana Bertram remains bullish on NFTs. 

NFTs start December with $187 million weekly sales volume

NFTs performed well at the beginning of December, recording $187 million in weekly sales in the first week. The sales volume for December’s opening week surpassed November’s best week, which hit $181 million. 

Ethereum led the top blockchains for NFTs, with $92 million in weekly sales, marking a 44% week-on-week increase. Ethereum-based collectibles like CryptoPunks and Pudgy Penguins had strong performances, with weekly volumes and floor prices increasing. 

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Brooklyn DA shutters 40 NFT scam sites after artist loses $135,000

An 85-year-old artist was scammed out of $135,000 after a person pretending to be an art dealer convinced him to mint his artwork on a fake NFT marketplace resembling OpenSea. The scammer said that the victim made $300,000 but needed to pay a fee of $135,000 to access his earnings. 

The artist used funds from his retirement account, credit card and a loan to raise the money. However, discovering the scam left the victim “emotionally and financially devastated,” according to the District Attorney’s Virtual Currency Unit. In response to the incident, the DA’s office shut down the domains and raised awareness of the scheme. 

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Magic Eden’s ME token dips on debut as users report app issues

NFT platform Magic Eden’s new crypto token dropped in value during its debut as marketplace users complained about bugs in its mobile application and a complicated claiming process. 

On Dec. 10, the Magic Eden (ME) crypto token debuted at $6.70 and pumped to $13.10. It then plummeted to a low of $4.30, losing 67% of its value. At the time of writing, the price had recovered slightly, hovering at $5.16, according to Dexscreener data. 

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NFTs are not dead, they’re evolving: Hashing It Out podcast

RARI Foundation’s head of strategy Jana Bertram explored the state of NFTs on Cointelegraph’s Hashing It Out podcast. Speaking to Elisha Owusu Akyaw, Bertram acknowledged that NFT volumes have declined but said the technology remains valuable. 

The executive said the NFT bull market will probably return in a different form. While the hype may have diminished, Bertram said that NFTs continue to empower artists and enable use cases like real-world asset tokenization. 

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.