Over the past two years, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) gave the crypto ecosystem the boost it needed to grab mainstream attention — owing to the involvement of prominent artists and celebrities. Despite the enormous losses suffered by NFT investors following the ongoing 10-month-long bear market, however, the ecosystem showed sustainable signs of a comeback in the last two weeks.

Since Sept. 12, the performance of blue-chip NFT collections witnessed a steady growth, inching back toward the 10,000 Ether (ETH) that was lost in mid-August 2022, according to data by NFTGo.

The performance of blue-chip NFT collections. Source: NFTGo

On Sept. 20, the market capitalization, which is derived from the floor price and the trading price of NFTs, spiked nearly 16.5% at roughly 11.25 million ETH.

Market capitalization of NFT collections. Source: NFTGo

Reciprocating the market cap breach of the 11 million ETH mark for the first time in three months, the number of NFT holders grew 32.24% along the same timeline, as shown above.

Ethereum Name Service (ENS) currently contributes the highest volume at 9.25%, which is followed by popular NFT collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and Otherdeed.

NFT market sentiment. Source: NFTGo

However, current market sentiment — calculated based on volatility, trading volume, social media and Google trends — remains cold as investors try to recoup their previous losses.

Related: Post offices adopting NFTs leads to a philately renaissance

NFT marketplace OpenSea launched the OpenRarity protocol to verify the rarity of NFTs within its platform.

The protocol aims to provide a reliable “rarity ranking” that would assist investors when considering purchasing NFTs.