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Cumulative NFT trading volume trended higher in January and data from a recent Delphi Digital report showed monthly volumes reaching an eight-month high above $1 billion.

The key factor that influenced NFT trading was Blur token airdrop on Feb. 14. Since its launch last year in Q3 2022, Blur has rewarded users with “care packages,” which can be redeemed for tokens starting Feb. 14 at 12 p.m. EST.

Many users have tried to farm these airdrops, increasing the platform's trading volume. Since the start of 2023, Blur’s trading volume has surpassed that of OpenSea, the market leader in the NFT trading space.

Airdrops often create excitement in the market of thrilled users who receive free money and FOMO from those who missed out. It’s likely that the next step for the Blur team will be to launch new liquidity mining campaigns, similar to Optimism, to retain its volume and users. Moreover, users will also move onto other opportunities in the space, similar to Blur. 

On-chain data shows whales are accumulating NFT tokens 

The top NFT trading platforms on Ethereum with a native token are LooksRare and X2Y2. The year-to-date increase in the price of their tokens is 100% and 260%, respectively. The tokens have outperformed the market’s average gain, suggesting buyers are paying more attention to these tokens.

Cumulative nonfungible token (NFT) trading volume trended higher in January, and data from a recent Delphi Digital report showed monthly volumes reaching an eight-month high above $1 billion.

The key factor that influenced NFT trading was the Blur token airdrop on Feb. 14. Since its launch last year in Q3 2022, Blur has rewarded users with “care packages,” which can be redeemed for tokens starting Feb. 14 at 12 pm ET.

Many users have tried to farm these airdrops, increasing the platform’s trading volume. Since the start of 2023, Blur’s trading volume has surpassed that of OpenSea, the market leader in the NFT trading space.

Airdrops often create excitement in the market of thrilled users who receive free money and FOMO from those who missed out. It’s likely that the next step for the Blur team will be to launch new liquidity mining campaigns, similar to Optimism, to retain its volume and users. Moreover, users will also move on to other opportunities in the space, similar to Blur. 

On-chain data shows whales are accumulating NFT tokens 

The top NFT trading platforms on Ethereum with a native token are LooksRare (LOOKS) and X2Y2 (X2Y2). The year-to-date increase in the price of their tokens is 100% and 260%, respectively. The tokens have outperformed the market’s average gain, suggesting buyers are paying more attention to these tokens.

After twenty days of holding the $22,500 support, Bitcoin (BTC) price finally broke down on Feb. 9. Bullish traders had placed their hope on a sustained rally, but this has been replaced by a tight trading range with resistance at $22,000. 

The downtrend is even more concerning since the S&P 500 is trading near its highest level in six months, yet the wider crypto market continues to correct.

Regulatory pressure, mainly in the United States, can explain Bitcoin's recent lackluster performance. For starters, on Jan. 9, Kraken exchange reached an agreement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to stop offering staking services to U.S. clients. The crypto also firm agreed to pay $30 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties.

On Feb. 10, cryptocurrency lending firm Nexo Capital announced that its yield-bearing Earn Interest product for U.S. customers would be shut down in April. Nexo pointed to its $45 million settlement with the SEC and other regulators on Jan. 19 as the reason for the service halting.

U.S. SEC Chair Gary Gensler issued a warning to crypto companies on Jan. 10 to "come in and follow the law," explaining that their business models were "rife with conflict" and claimed they needed to "disentangle" bundled products. Gensler said that such companies are required to register with the SEC.

Bitcoin (BTC) ticked above $22,000 after the Feb. 14 Wall Street open as crucial United States inflation data delivered “mixed” results.

BTC price hits 5-day highs on CPI

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it tested multi-week lows twice on hourly timeframes before reversing upward.

The pair saw flash volatility in line with predictions as January’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers hit, something repeated at the start of trading on Wall Street.

Still within a tight trading range, however, Bitcoin’s reaction was in fact fairly muted, with up and down moves only involving several hundred dollars at a time.

That reflected the CPI data itself, which broadly conformed to market expectations. A moderate exception was year-on-year, which ran “hot” at 0.2% above the envisaged 6.2%.