The number of unique non-fungible token (NFT) buyers fell below 800,000 for the first time since October, according to data.
Research from CryptoSlam, an NFT data aggregator backed by Mark Cuban, found that were 796,000 buyers on the secondary market last month, down 12% from January.
That accounted for roughly US$2.6bn worth of sales, 40% less than the previous month.
Analysts have suggested, however, that January was an unusually large month for the world of NFTs, and the decline in buyers points towards a healthy pullback.
January saw a record number of secondary buyers with over 900,000 and around US$5bn worth of sales according to OpenSea, the NFT marketplace.
However, Andrew Steinwold, the proponent and managing partner of NFT investment fund Sfermion, compared the pullback to the bull market and subsequent crash of 2017-2018, and is unsure whether interest will pick up anytime soon.
Google trends also highlighted how keyword search has also dropped significantly, with the word ‘NFT’ being searched somewhere between 60%-70% less frequently than the final week of January, according to CoinTelegraph.
Reasons for the drop-off are unclear, although OpenSea was the victim of a US$1.7mln hack in the last month.
Tensions in Ukraine and Russia have also seemingly shifted the focus towards cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, as a means of storing value, making digital payments, and raising funds.