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Investors are rushing back into non-fungible tokens (NFTs) after a massive single-day “sweep” of blue-chip NFTs on Sunday, propped up by a crypto market rally. 

CoinGecko data shows the largest NFT collection by market cap, CryptoPunks, experienced a 15.9% spike in its floor price from 40.9 Ether (ETH) to 47.50 ETH, worth over $179,000, with 83 of the NFTs snapped up by new holders in only a single day. 

Pudgy Penguins, the second-largest collection by market cap, has spiked over 15% to 16.60 Ether ($62,597), with 100 new holders “sweeping” up the NFTs on Sunday. 

Rounding out the top three largest collections, the Infinex Patrons NFT collection, which grants holders governance voting power over the Infinex protocol, went up 9.4% to 1.4 Ether, worth $5241. 

Source: NFT Relics 

Other collections also registered huge gains, with the YOU THE REAL MVP collection, which acts as the premium membership of the Memeland ecosystem, leading the pack with a 1280% gain.

Broader NFT market on the rise

The broader NFT market cap has also jumped 21.2% in the last 24 hours to over $6.34 billion, while the total sales volume is also up 303% to $38.7 million on the day, according to CoinGecko.

Source: CoinGecko

It’s a massive change from just months ago, when Cointelegraph reported in April that NFT volumes plunged 61% in the first quarter of 2025 to $1.5 billion.

Last year was flagged as the market’s worst year for NFT trading volume and sales since 2020, which was marred by volatility and rising token prices.

NFT comeback

Users on X speculate that the surge might be a sign that the NFT market is back on the rise after years of decline following the highs of the 2021 cycle.

NFT community member “Cirrus” said in a X post on Sunday that they “saw someone buy a floor mutant and immediately change their bio to full-time Web3 adviser/consultant. We might actually be back.”

Investor and former banker Tyler Warner, who posts on X under the handle TylerD, said he thinks “a lot of you are underestimating how much the 2021 class loves NFTs.”

Blockworks co-founder Jason Yanowitz also said NFTs are “moving like there are NFT treasury vehicles on the horizon.”

Digital artist Mike Winkelmann, also known as Beeple, who sold the NFT “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” for $69 million in 2021, commemorated the price boom with a new artwork he seemingly named “Big Sweep.”

Source: Beeple

Experts were predicting an NFT rebound

CryptoSlam strategist Yehudah Petscher told Cointelegraph in May he thought the NFT market was poised for a rebound, but with a more tempered outlook than its previous highs. 

DappRadar analyst Sara Gherghelas also said in a May report that the sector has the potential to make a comeback, but needs new catalysts to fully rebound, pointing to real-world assets as a possible catalyst.

On July 9, American rapper Snoop Dogg sold out a collection of almost 1,000 NFTs on Telegram in 30 minutes, which also sparked discussions about a possible market resurgence. 

Magazine: Tyler Warner on round tripping 1,000 ETH due to ‘rock star complex’: NFT Collector