The NFT market has recently experienced a notable shift, with Polygon NFT sales surpassing Ethereum for the first time. Within a seven-day period ending on April 22, Polygon-based NFTs recorded sales totaling $22.1 million, slightly ahead of Ethereum, which generated $21.8 million during the same week, according to data published by CryptoSlam.
The significant uptick in Polygon NFT activity extends beyond total revenue, as the platform also attracted more individual purchasers than Ethereum. During the past week, 39,027 unique buyers acquired NFTs on Polygon, representing an impressive surge of 81.61% in buyer numbers. Ethereum, traditionally the leading blockchain for NFTs, saw 36,544 individual buyers in the same timeframe.
A central factor propelling Polygon’s success is Courtyard, an innovative project built on real-world assets (RWAs). Courtyard accounted for the lion’s share of Polygon’s NFT sales, roughly $20 million in the past week, with almost $2.75 million generated on April 22 alone. The project offers physical trading cards tied directly to digital NFTs stored on the Polygon network, featuring sought-after collectibles including baseball, basketball, and Pokémon cards securely stored in an external vault. Additionally, Courtyard employs a virtual vending machine mechanic, allowing users to receive random collectible cards, promoting active collecting among participants.
Courtyard’s growth illustrates a broader industry trend in which Ethereum’s dominance increasingly faces challenges from layer-two networks like Polygon. This trend has drawn criticism from some Ethereum community members, who express concern that too much value is shifting to these alternative platforms. Nevertheless, Polygon continues to benefit from its strong integration and compatibility with Ethereum’s broader ecosystem, leveraging Ethereum’s decentralization, security, and EVM compatibility to maintain seamless interactions across blockchain layers.
