Crypto Gloss

NFT Secondary Market

The NFT secondary market is the entire ecosystem of buying and selling NFTs after their initial mint (the primary market) — conducted through NFT marketplaces like OpenSea and Blur — where price is determined by willing buyers and sellers among existing holders, where royalties may flow back to creators on each trade, and where the vast majority of NFT trading volume and price discovery occurs throughout an NFT’s post-launch life.

Primary vs. Secondary

Primary market: The initial mint

  • Buyer → mints directly from the smart contract
  • Price is set by the project team (mint price)
  • Revenue goes to the project

Secondary market: All trades after the initial mint

  • Buyer → buys from another holder via a marketplace
  • Price is set by supply and demand between buyers and sellers
  • Revenue goes to the seller (minus fees and royalties)

The secondary market is where most NFT activity occurs; primary mints are one-time events, while secondary trading can continue indefinitely.

How Secondary Markets Work

Listing:

  • A holder lists their NFT at a desired price (or via auction)
  • Listings persist until canceled or completed

Bidding:

  • Buyers can place offers (bids) below the listing price
  • Sellers can accept or decline bids

Floor price:

  • The cheapest listed NFT in a collection = the floor price
  • Floor is the most-watched number; it sets the “minimum cost of entry”

Fees:

  • Marketplace fee: 0.5–2.5% of the sale price (Blur, OpenSea)
  • Creator royalty: 0–10% to the original project team (if enforced)

Royalties in the Secondary Market

Creator royalties have been central to the NFT secondary market debate:

  • EIP-2981 (the NFT royalty standard) defines how royalties should be paid
  • OpenSea enforced royalties early; Blur introduced optional royalties creating competition
  • The “royalty wars” of 2022–2023: marketplaces competed for volume by reducing royalties
  • Many projects moved to reduced or zero royalties due to marketplace competition

Major Secondary Market Venues

  • OpenSea — the original dominant marketplace; largest historical volume
  • Blur — professional-oriented; became #1 by volume in 2023
  • Tensor — Solana’s primary secondary market
  • Magic Eden — multi-chain; strong Solana and Ordinals presence
  • Objkt — Tezos secondary market

History

  • 2017–2020 — Early NFT secondary markets on OpenSea; low volume; mainly niche collectors
  • 2021 — NFT secondary market volume explodes; OpenSea dominant; secondary market becomes the primary economic activity of NFT culture
  • 2022 — Blur launches; professional secondary market trading emerges; royalty debate intensifies
  • 2023 — Blur overtakes OpenSea in Ethereum volume; royalty enforcement declines broadly; secondary market professionalizes further
  • 2023–2024 — Multi-chain secondary markets grow; Ordinals secondary market emerges on Bitcoin

Common Misconceptions

  • “The secondary market is only relevant for flippers.” — Long-term holders also participate in secondary markets by placing bids, accepting offers, or monitoring floor prices even if they don’t sell frequently.
  • “Secondary market trading fees go to the project.” — Marketplace fees go to the marketplace (OpenSea, Blur); royalties (a separate line item) go to the project creator. They are distinct.

Social Media Sentiment

  • X/Twitter: Secondary market price movements, floor changes, and volume data are among the most-discussed topics in NFT culture.
  • NFT community: The secondary market is so central that many people conflate “the NFT market” with “the secondary market.”

Last updated: 2026-04

Related Terms

See Also

  • Floor Price — the primary price signal of the secondary market; understanding floor price is fundamental to secondary market participation
  • OpenSea — the largest NFT secondary market; the venue where most secondary market development and culture formed
  • Blur — the professional-focused secondary market that overtook OpenSea in volume; its competition reshaped royalties and secondary market economics

Sources