Record $900-million month for NFT sales as CryptoPunks go stratospheric

August is shaping up to be a record month for nonfungible token (NFT) sales, with almost $900 million spent on them over the past 30 days.

According to data from the tracking portal Nonfungible, $896 million has been spent on NFTs over the past 30 days. The number is very likely to have exceeded $900 million by the end of the month, marking a new record for the burgeoning industry.

The number more than tripled the previous best month for NFT sales, which was in May when $255 million worth was sold. August has seen sales skyrocket, and it has been largely down to CryptoPunks and Axie Infinity.

According to CryptoSlam, a record $397 million in CryptoPunk sales have occurred so far this month. The average sale price for the pixelated punks is a whopping $214,000. One of the most expensive ones ever sold was number 7523, a rare alien punk wearing a face mask that went for a whopping $11.5 million in a Sotheby’s auction in June.

Earlier this week, credit card giant Visa announced that it had purchased its own CryptoPunk for 49.5 Ether (ETH), worth just under $150,000 at the time of purchase. Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa, said:

“With our CryptoPunk purchase, we’re jumping in feet first. This is just the beginning of our work in this space.”

Chinese industry outlet Wu Blockchain reported that Chinese investors are buying up CryptoPunks like proverbial hotcakes. Cai Wensheng, founder of smartphone software firm Meitu, splashed out on CryptoPunk 8236 with 125 ETH, roughly $387,000.

Meitu was one of the first publicly traded companies in China to bet big on cryptocurrencies, purchasing $100 million in Ether and Bitcoin (BTC) earlier this year.

Chinese Internet investors have bought CryptoPunk one after another. Meitu founder Cai Wensheng bought CryptoPunk #8236 with 125ETH. Feng Bo bought CryptoPunk#7252 for 1600ETH (approximately US$5.33 million). pic.twitter.com/LyGxNRORJX

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 26, 2021

Related: Clever user makes $80K profit in CryptoPunk 'smash and grab'

NFTs have also been driving the adoption of the staking cryptocurrency Tezos (XTZ). According to a blog post earlier this year, Tezos NFT platforms have proven to be attractive for artists due to low transaction fees and a more energy-efficient proof-of-stake consensus mechanism favored by eco-conscious artists.