According to data from NFT market analyst NonFungible, NFT sales have nearly tripled in value since Q3 2021, rising from a 7-day average of $16.8 million worth of sales, to just over $44.3 million.

The astronomical figure follows a surge in activity in the space that saw sales peak at $176 million per day earlier this year. World-renowned auction houses, Sotheby’s and Christie’s got in on the action, with the latter hosting the now-infamous Beeple Collection sale, raising a record $69 million.

Several of the largest players in the NFT space, including Cryptopunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club, continue to see spectacular sales, with Cryptopunks alone selling just under $15 million worth of NFTs on average over the past 7 days. Despite the market saturation, a new kid on the NFT block, Wicked Craniums is storming into the market, curating a dedicated fanbase. But what are Wicked Craniums and why are they so popular?

Wicked Craniums: The New Kid on the Block

Wicked Craniums are an NFT art collection hosted on OpenSea. Each piece is a skeleton-themed caricature that represents one of 10,762 “Craniums” belonging to a fictional island called Osseous. There are over 180 differentiable features that make each Cranium unique and highly collectible.

A Cranium:

Hey my fellow WC community members. ???? Super excited for this project. We are Stronger Together!! @WickedCraniums #SkullsBackSkulls #skullgang #NFTCommunity pic.twitter.com/spooyKVhoo

— LiveLoveLife (@Naughtybrites) July 15, 2021

Priced at 0.06 ETH (~$113.70 at current market rates), each Cranium affords its owners several features, including access to a members-only social platform called The Cradle, in which Craniums can share introductions, social media handles, and images. There are also a number of members-only projects that kick off as more Craniums are sold and each owner also has full commercial and use rights for each Cranium.

NFTs Roar, Wicked Cranium Sales Soar

The unique theme and combination of features has transformed Wicked Craniums into one of the best-performing NFT projects. Despite being capped at 645.72 ETH, within 48 hours of their release, all Craniums had sold out, and been re-sold, raising 4,311 ETH (~$8.2 million).

The most expensive Cranium sold, inconspicuously named Wicked Cranium #1875, raised $38,000 (19 ETH) alone, and is now being re-sold on NFT marketplace, OpenSea, for almost $200,000 (100 ETH). The Cranium itself is unique in its character, depicting a yellow-eyed, green skeleton whose joints are weakly held together. Atop its head sits a crown reminiscent of that worn by The Queen at Britain’s State Opening of Parliament.

Many more similarly extravagant Craniums are for sale on OpenSea, including an even more regal skeleton (Wicked Cranium #3622) and a skeleton depicting a member of the clergy crossed with a love-struck sailor. (Wicked Cranium #2664).

Watch This Space

These high resale prices suggest that Wicked Craniums has created something that is undoubtedly desired by a vast quantity of NFT collectors.  The attraction has even reached into the celebrity realm, with lead singer of heavy metal group Avenged Sevenfold, M Shadows, trading his signature “The Dark Knight” guitar for a Cranium named Synyster Gates.

Synyster Gates:

I ended up accepting the most insane NFT for physical trade of my career.

Matt from @TheOfficialA7X reached out to acquire the @WickedCraniums Trippy Saint for Synyster Gates.

I traded him the saint for his dark knight signature guitar and some ETH? pic.twitter.com/9axAiqusAa

— DeeZe (@DeezeFi) July 9, 2021

These milestones suggest a great future for the franchise and inevitably more record-breaking sales. For now, Wicked Cranium owners can be confident in their art collectibles as digital art based NFTs become more widely adopted by the overall online community.

Join the Wicked Cranium community on Discord and in The Cradle, and follow updates on the latest Craniums on their Website, Twitter and Instagram.