Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) caught an uptick in sales in May after months of consistent decline throughout 2025. 

Data from CryptoSlam shows that May’s NFT sales climbed to $430 million, up from $373 million in April, a 15% increase. It marks the first monthly sales increase this year, suggesting renewed interest in digital collectibles. 

This follows a five-month decline in sales since volume peaked at over $900 million in December 2024. May also had the highest number of transactions in 2025, reaching 5.5 million, according to CryptoSlam. 

The sales uptick may be attributed to the divergence between unique NFT buyers and NFT sellers. NFT buyers continued to increase in May, while sellers declined. 

Chart compiled by Cointelegraph to demonstrate CryptoSlam data on NFT monthly sales. Source: CointelegraphNFT sellers dwindle, while buyers increase

May showed a significant jump in unique buyers. The number of users buying NFTs rose by 50% to over 936,000 in May, up from around 622,000 in April.

May’s figures are the largest buyer count since October 2024, hinting at growing investor participation during the month. 

While buyers increased, the number of unique sellers continued to decline. In May, NFT sellers fell to around 284,600, the lowest amount recorded on the CryptoSlam platform since April 2021. 

The divergence between the growing buyer interest and shrinking seller activity could set the stage for more competitive bidding, which may lead to higher valuations. 

Chart compiled by Cointelegraph to demonstrate CryptoSlam data on NFT buyers and sellers. Source: Cointelegraph 

Related: Alchemy acquires no-code NFT launchpad HeyMint for undisclosed amount

NFTs set for a comeback in 2025

CryptoSlam strategist Yehudah Petscher said that the market is poised for a rebound, but with a more tempered outlook than its previous highs. 

“The NFT market will see a bounce back this year, probably just after BTC sees its top of the cycle,” Petscher told Cointelegraph, suggesting that the momentum in digital collectibles will follow broader crypto market trends. 

Despite the bullish sentiment, the strategist told Cointelegraph that the NFT comeback might not be similar to the space’s 2021 or 2022 peak. “Don’t expect a repeat of the 21/22 euphoria that we saw in NFTs,” Petscher said. 

Meanwhile, DappRadar analyst Sara Gherghelas said in a May 27 report that the sector needs new catalysts to fully rebound. The analyst said real-world assets (RWAs) linking with NFTs could reignite the lending sector of digital collectibles. 

RWA NFTs also showed potential earlier this year. In April, digital collections in the RWA marketplace Courtyard drove Polygon-based NFT sales to $22.3 million. This allowed the blockchain to surpass Ethereum in weekly sales.

Magazine: Pranksy: Inside the anonymous life of an NFT legend — NFT Collector

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) caught an uptick in monthly sales in May after months of consistent decline throughout 2025. 

Data from CryptoSlam shows that May’s NFT sales climbed to $430 million, up from $373 million in April, a 15% increase. It marks the first monthly sales increase since the start of the year, suggesting renewed interest in digital collectibles. 

This follows a five-month decline in sales since volume peaked at over $900 million in December 2024. May also had the highest number of transactions in 2025, reaching 5.5 million, according to CryptoSlam. 

The sales uptick could also be attributed to the divergence between unique NFT buyers and unique NFT sellers. NFT buyers continued to increase in May, while sellers declined. 

Chart compiled by Cointelegraph to demonstrate CryptoSlam data on NFT monthly sales. Source: CointelegraphNFT sellers dwindle, while buyers increase

May also showed a significant jump in unique buyers. The number of users buying NFTs rose by 50% to over 936,000 in May, up from around 622,000 in April.

May’s figures are the largest buyer count since October 2024, hinting at growing investor participation during the month. 

While buyers increased, the number of unique sellers continued to decline. In May, NFT sellers fell to around 284,600, the lowest amount recorded on the CryptoSlam platform since April 2021. 

The divergence between the growing buyer interest and shrinking seller activity could set the stage for more competitive bidding, which may lead to higher valuations. 

Chart compiled by Cointelegraph to demonstrate CryptoSlam data on NFT buyers and sellers. Source: Cointelegraph 

Related: Alchemy acquires no-code NFT launchpad HeyMint for undisclosed amount

NFTs set for a comeback in 2025

CryptoSlam strategist Yehudah Petscher said that the market is poised for a rebound, but with a more tempered outlook than its previous highs. 

“The NFT market will see a bounce back this year, probably just after BTC sees its top of the cycle,” Petscher told Cointelegraph, suggesting that the momentum in digital collectibles will follow broader crypto market trends. 

Despite the bullish sentiment, the strategist told Cointelegraph that the NFT comeback might not be similar to the space’s 2021 or 2021 peak. “Don’t expect a repeat of the 21/22 euphoria that we saw in NFTs,” Petscher said. 

Meanwhile, DappRadar analyst Sara Gherghelas said in a May 27 report that the sector needs new catalysts to fully rebound. The analyst believes real-world assets (RWAs) linking with NFTs could reignite the lending sector of digital collectibles. 

RWA NFTs also showed potential earlier this year. In April, digital collections in the RWA marketplace Courtyard drove Polygon-based NFT sales to $22.3 million. This allowed the blockchain to surpass Ethereum in weekly sales.

Magazine: Pranksy: Inside the anonymous life of an NFT legend — NFT Collector

Sui (SUI) is making a strong technical case for a 100% price rally in the coming weeks, helped further by a slew of optimistic updates, such as the recent Nasdaq ETF filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Gooner EMA support raises 40% SUI bounce potential

As of May 28, SUI has reclaimed the “Gooner EMA” as support on the weekly chart.

SUI/USDT weekly price chart. Source: NebraskanGooner/TradingView

Gooner EMA is a technical indicator created by trader NebraskanGooner that uses the 11- and 22-period exponential moving averages (EMA). When the price crosses above the EMA range, it often leads to further gains.

When the price closes below the EMA range, it tends to follow deeper losses.

SUI lost this support, roughly between $3.34 and $3.59, last week after a $200 million exploit hit Cetus, a decentralized exchange built on the Sui blockchain.

Related: Sui validators vote on $162M Cetus recovery plan to restore user funds

Now that SUI has reclaimed the zone, bullish sentiment is returning, according to NebraskanGooner.

He wrote:

“As long as it can hold Gooner EMA support, it can retest ATHs. Depending on market conditions — it even has a chance for a new ATH.”

SUI’s current record high is around $5.36, roughly 40% above the current prices.

Fibonacci retracement levels and SUI’s prevailing ascending channel setup project $7.56 as the new record-high target, up over 100% from the current levels.

SUI/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingViewNasdaq files for SUI ETF

NebraskanGooner’s bullish outlook for SUI appears almost a week after Nasdaq’s SUI ETF application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

21Shares already offers a Sui exchange-traded product (ETP) in Europe, listed on both Euronext Paris and Euronext Amsterdam. Since its launch in July last year, SUI’s price has surged by over 350%.

SUI/USDT three-day price chart. Source: TradingView

These listings have also helped boost total assets under management (AUM) in SUI-based ETPs to $317.2 million, according to a May 26 report from CoinShares.

Between May 16 and May 24 alone, SUI products attracted $2.9 million in inflows, ranking just behind Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP) in terms of net assets.

The regulatory approval for Nasdaq’s SUI ETF remains uncertain, akin to most crypto ETF applications.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has partnered with Telegram to integrate its AI chatbot Grok across the messaging platform, according to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov.

Telegram and xAI have agreed to a one-year partnership to distribute Grok to a billion Telegram users and integrate it into its apps, Durov announced on X on May 28.

As part of the agreement, Telegram will receive $300 million in cash and equity from Musk’s AI company, in addition to 50% of revenue from xAI subscriptions sold via Telegram, the CEO noted.

“This summer, Telegram users will gain access to the best AI technology on the market,” Durov said in a post on his Telegram channel.

Grok integration begins with Telegram

According to a promo video accompanying Durov’s announcement, the partnership is expected to bring a wide rollout of Grok features within the messenger.

Accessible via the search bar on Telegram, Grok will offer threaded chats, smart text editing, chat summaries, document digests, inbox agents, group chat moderation and more.

Source: Pavel Durov

Neither xAI nor Grok had confirmed the partnership independently at the time of publication.

Related: Durov blocked from attending Oslo Freedom Forum — Human Rights Foundation

Some commentators speculate that Musk will soon create his own Telegram channel following the partnership.

Toncoin spikes over 20% on a series of Telegram news

The news comes amid several Telegram-related stories published on May 28, including BlackRock’s reported participation in the messenger’s $1.5 billion bond sale and ex-Visa crypto executive Nikola Plecas joining the TON Foundation as its new vice president of payments.

Telegram works closely with the TON Foundation, picking Toncoin (TON) as the messenger’s only accepted cryptocurrency for app services in January.

Toncoin (TON) 24-hour price chart. Source: CoinGecko

Toncoin has rallied on the news, seeing a 20% spike within a few hours. According to data from CoinGecko, TON is trading at $3.60 and is currently the 19th largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of $8.9 billion.

Magazine: AI cures blindness, ‘good’ propaganda bots, OpenAI doomsday bunker: AI Eye

Update (May 28, 11:12 pm UTC): This article has been updated to add X posts from Elon Musk and Pavel Durov regarding the deal.

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has “agreed in principle“ to integrate its AI chatbot Grok across Telegram, says the messaging platform’s CEO, Pavel Durov.

Durov said in a May 28 X post that he and Musk agreed to a one-year partnership for Telegram to distribute Grok across Telegram and integrate it into its apps.

Musk replied to the post hours later, saying that “no deal has been signed,” to which Durov clarified that the deal was “agreed in principle, but formalities are pending.”

As part of the agreement, Telegram will receive $300 million in cash and equity from Musk’s AI company, in addition to 50% of revenue from xAI subscriptions sold via Telegram, the CEO noted.

“This summer, Telegram users will gain access to the best AI technology on the market,” Durov said in a post on his Telegram channel.

Grok integration begins with Telegram

According to a promo video accompanying Durov’s announcement, the partnership is expected to bring a wide rollout of Grok features within the messenger.

Accessible via the search bar on Telegram, Grok will offer threaded chats, smart text editing, chat summaries, document digests, inbox agents, group chat moderation and more.

Source: Pavel Durov

Some commentators speculate that Musk will soon create his own Telegram channel following the partnership.

Toncoin spikes over 20% on a series of Telegram news

The news comes amid several Telegram-related stories published on May 28, including BlackRock’s reported participation in the messenger’s $1.5 billion bond sale and ex-Visa crypto executive Nikola Plecas joining the TON Foundation as its new vice president of payments.

Related: Durov blocked from attending Oslo Freedom Forum — Human Rights Foundation

Telegram works closely with the TON Foundation, picking Toncoin (TON) as the messenger’s only accepted cryptocurrency for app services in January.

Toncoin (TON) 24-hour price chart. Source: CoinGecko

Toncoin has rallied on the news, seeing a 20% spike within a few hours. According to data from CoinGecko, TON is trading at $3.60 and is currently the 19th largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of $8.9 billion.

Magazine: AI cures blindness, ‘good’ propaganda bots, OpenAI doomsday bunker: AI Eye

Update (May 28, 11:12 pm UTC): This article has been updated to add X posts from Elon Musk and Pavel Durov regarding the deal.

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has “agreed in principle“ to integrate its AI chatbot Grok across Telegram, says the messaging platform’s CEO, Pavel Durov.

Durov said in a May 28 X post that he and Musk agreed to a one-year partnership for Telegram to distribute Grok across Telegram and integrate it into its apps.

Musk replied to the post hours later, saying that “no deal has been signed,” to which Durov clarified that the deal was “agreed in principle, but formalities are pending.”

As part of the agreement, Telegram will receive $300 million in cash and equity from Musk’s AI company, in addition to 50% of revenue from xAI subscriptions sold via Telegram, the CEO noted.

“This summer, Telegram users will gain access to the best AI technology on the market,” Durov said in a post on his Telegram channel.

Grok integration begins with Telegram

According to a promo video accompanying Durov’s announcement, the partnership is expected to bring a wide rollout of Grok features within the messenger.

Accessible via the search bar on Telegram, Grok will offer threaded chats, smart text editing, chat summaries, document digests, inbox agents, group chat moderation and more.

Source: Pavel Durov

Some commentators speculate that Musk will soon create his own Telegram channel following the partnership.

Toncoin spikes over 20% on a series of Telegram news

The news comes amid several Telegram-related stories published on May 28, including BlackRock’s reported participation in the messenger’s $1.5 billion bond sale and ex-Visa crypto executive Nikola Plecas joining the TON Foundation as its new vice president of payments.

Related: Durov blocked from attending Oslo Freedom Forum — Human Rights Foundation

Telegram works closely with the TON Foundation, picking Toncoin (TON) as the messenger’s only accepted cryptocurrency for app services in January.

Toncoin (TON) 24-hour price chart. Source: CoinGecko

Toncoin has rallied on the news, seeing a 20% spike within a few hours. According to data from CoinGecko, TON is trading at $3.60 and is currently the 19th largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of $8.9 billion.

Magazine: AI cures blindness, ‘good’ propaganda bots, OpenAI doomsday bunker: AI Eye

Metalayer Ventures, a crypto-focused venture capital firm led by former executives from Chainlink and Two Sigma, has launched a $25 million fund to invest in early-stage blockchain projects with a focus on stablecoins, tokenization and cryptocurrency infrastructure. 

Metalayer’s fund has already backed seven companies, the company disclosed to Cointelegraph on May 28. These include AnchorZero, a platform helping crypto founders use Roth IRAs for tax advantages, and Spark Capital, a new venture focused on stablecoin infrastructure.

Other portfolio companies include Ethena, ClearToken, Crossover Markets, Station70 and Theo — an onchain trading infrastructure project that recently raised $20 million from 17 different VC firms.

The company plans to eventually back up to 30 companies with early-stage rounds ranging from $500,000 to $1 million.

Metalayer was co-founded by Chainlink Labs’ former head of growth, Mickey Graham, and former Two Sigma executives Andy Kangpan and David Winton.

Winton developed a proprietary data platform called Moirai to help Metalayer analyze developer activity, protocol engagement and blockchain transaction patterns to uncover promising projects. 

“Moirai is our internal sourcing engine for identifying early-stage crypto startups,” Graham told Cointelegraph in a written statement. “The platform is designed to help us systematically surface high-quality startups, and it evaluates opportunities across several key dimensions,” he said.

Related: VC Roundup: 8-figure funding deals suggest crypto bull market far from over

Crypto VC deals on the rise, but there’s a catch

Crypto venture capital activity saw a notable uptick in the first quarter, with increases in both total funding and deal volume, according to data from Galaxy Digital. 

VC funding reached $4.9 billion during the quarter, though nearly half came from a single deal — Binance, which raised $2 billion from MGX, an investment firm backed by a United Arab Emirates sovereign wealth fund.

Despite the outsized impact of the Binance deal, overall market activity showed signs of improving. A total of 446 crypto funding deals were recorded in Q1, marking a 7% increase from the previous quarter.

Crypto VC deals remain considerably lower than the peak of the previous bull market. Source: Galaxy

Nevertheless, venture capital investors remain cautious about making fresh commitments to the sector, according to Robert Lee, a senior analyst at PitchBook. The first quarter was a challenging market environment as a sharp correction in crypto prices compounded investor reluctance.

In an interview with Bloomberg last month, Lee noted that many venture capital firms are still on the sidelines. 

“[M]any of the funds from the last cycle have yet to deliver meaningful DPI,” he said, referring to the private equity metric Distributed to Paid-In Capital, which measures how much capital has been returned to investors relative to what they invested.

Metalayer’s Mickey Graham believes that at least some of this drop-off is due to a much-needed transition happening beneath the surface:

“We believe the crypto industry has crossed the chasm from an early market defined by infrastructure-building to a mainstream technology sector characterized by the deployment of blockchain technology throughout the global economy.”

Although VC activity remains subdued compared to past bull cycles, Kadan Stadelmann, the chief technology officer of the Komodo Platform, told Cointelegraph that the industry has seen an “uptick in mergers and acquisitions, suggesting market maturation.”

Stadelmann indicated that pro-crypto regulations in the United States and European Union, “have given large institutions confidence to continue making investments into crypto firms.”

At a geographic level, the US accounted for more than a third of total crypto VC deals in 2024 — a trend expected to continue this year. Source: Galaxy Digital

Magazine: The secret of pitching to male VCs: Female crypto founders blast off

GameStop, the US video game and consumer electronics retailer, has confirmed its first Bitcoin investment, acquiring 4,710 Bitcoin, according to a statement posted May 28 on the company’s X account.

The company did not specify how much it paid for the Bitcoin (BTC) or when the purchases were made in the announcement, while its Form 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission also offers little detail. The amount purchased was worth around $513 million at the time of writing.

The announced acquisition is GameStop’s first publicly acknowledged Bitcoin purchase since the company disclosed plans to move into Bitcoin investment in March.

At the time, GameStop said it would fund the Bitcoin purchase through debt financing and launched a $1.3 billion convertible notes offering.

Source: GameStop

The news comes after months of speculation that GameStop was exploring alternative assets, including cryptocurrencies.

GameStop stock jumped 18% on Bitcoin investment speculation

GameStop (GME) stock shares have climbed amid the speculation, jumping 12% in March. February rumors helped fuel an 18% spike in GME stock prices.

According to TradingView, GameStop shares closed at $35 on May 27 and were trading at $36.30 in the pre-market at the time of publication. The stock is up around 30% in the past 30 days, with year-to-date gains of about 10%.

Related: Strategy bags 4,020 Bitcoin as price briefly breaks $110K

GameStop (GME) stock year-to-date price chart. Source: TradingView

Cointelegraph contacted GameStop for comment regarding its Bitcoin purchase but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Bitcoin’s corporate adoption booming

GameStop’s Bitcoin investment is the latest in a trend among companies purchasing the world’s largest cryptocurrency following the lead of Michael Saylor’s Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), which made its first BTC acquisition in August 2020.

Companies such as Japan’s Metaplanet and Brazil’s Meliuz have beefed up their Bitcoin holdings this year after adopting Bitcoin treasury strategies as well.

On May 27, Trump Media and Technology Group, the company that owns US President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform, confirmed a $2.5 billion capital raise to purchase Bitcoin after previously denying reports of the deal.

Magazine: Bitcoin vs. the quantum computer threat: Timeline and solutions (2025–2035)

GameStop, the US video game and consumer electronics retailer, has officially announced its first Bitcoin purchase, confirming multiple reports on kicking off BTC investment.

GameStop has purchased 4,710 Bitcoin (BTC), the company announced in its short official statement on X posted on May 28.

Source: GameStop

The event marks the first publicly announced Bitcoin acquisition by GameStop since the company disclosed plans to move into Bitcoin investment in March 2025.

At the time, GameStop mentioned that it planned to finance the purchase through debt financing and launched a $1.3 billion convertible notes offering.

The news comes months after online reports first suggested that GameStop was considering investment in alternative asset classes, including cryptocurrencies, in February 2025.

Amid the news on GameStop’s Bitcoin investment plans in March, GME shares showed significant growth, jumping 12%. Previous BTC investment speculation fueled an 18% spike in GME.

According to TradingView, GameStop shares closed at $35 on May 27 and were up to $36.3 on pre-market by publishing time. The stock is up around 30% in the past 30 days, with year-to-date gains of roughly 10%.

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

Magazine: Bitcoin vs. the quantum computer threat: Timeline and solutions (2025–2035)

The Open Network Foundation (TON Foundation) appointed former Visa executive Nikola Plecas as its new vice president of payments.

Plecas will be responsible for shaping and executing TON’s payment infrastructure strategy, the company said in a May 28 blog post.

He is tasked with expanding the network’s capabilities, managing financial partnerships and ensuring compliance across jurisdictions as the foundation scales services for over 1 billion Telegram users.

“Joining TON Foundation represents an incredible opportunity to shape the future of payments on a truly global scale,” Plecas said.

Related: How to use tsUSDe on TON for yield-generating dollar savings

Plecas to lead TON’s new payment strategy

Plecas will lead the push to build a payments architecture that is both globally interoperable and robust enough to handle increasing demand from developers, enterprises and end-users, per the announcement.

Plecas brings a track record from his time at Visa, where he played a central role in crypto-related initiatives, including product development and global commercialization.

He helped streamline on-ramp performance across multiple markets and developed Visa’s digital currency engagement model for European clients. He also contributed to numerous fintech and crypto issuance projects and frequently spoke on Visa’s behalf at major industry events.

Source: TON

TON Foundation CEO Max Crown noted that payments are a core pillar of TON’s roadmap. “With deep industry expertise and a clear vision for scaling payment infrastructure, Nikola brings the experience and leadership we need to accelerate TON’s global growth.”

Cointelegraph reached out to TON for comment but had not received a response by publication.

Related: TON’s Broxus launches blockchain app scalability platform TON Factory

Ethena offers USDe to Telegram users

On May 1, decentralized stablecoin platform Ethena partnered with TON to make its stablecoins available to Telegram’s user base of over 1 billion people.

The partnership will see the deployment of Ethena’s USDe (USDE) and Ethena Staked USDe (sUSDe) within the TON blockchain. The sUSDe variant will be integrated under the name tsUSDe, enabling Telegram users to access US dollar-denominated savings directly within Telegram.

Notably, the TON Foundation has also been closely collaborating with Tether, connecting TON to Tether’s USDt ecosystem with LayerZero in February 2024.

As part of its ambitious scaling plans, TON expects to connect its ecosystem to at least 100 chains, including Ether (ETH), Tron (TRX) and Solana (SOL).

Magazine: Can Off the Grid survive Steam’s crypto ban? Rage over Maplestory cheaters: Web3 Gamer