AINFT (NFT) Daily Market Analysis 18 February 2026

Based on the latest search results, here are the key developments in the NFT market:

Market Consolidation and Platform Closures

Gemini has announced it is closing Nifty Gateway, the 2018 NFT marketplace it acquired in 2019, with users having until February 23, 2026 to move USD, ETH or NFTs. Gemini will keep NFTs via Gemini Wallet as the sector shrinks.

Legal Developments

Federal prosecutors dropped their case against former OpenSea manager Nathaniel Chastain after an appeals court overturned his NFT insider trading conviction, citing flawed jury instructions that conflated unethical behavior with actual property theft.

Market Performance

NFT sales volume is down nearly 13% over the past day to $42,137,944, with buyers, sellers, and transactions all down by just above 30%. However, total NFT market capitalization dropped significantly in 2025, from about $9 billion in January 2025 to just over $2.7 billion in 2026.

Industry Acquisitions

Animoca Brands has moved to strengthen its position in digital collectibles after acquiring gaming and collectibles studio Somo. Additionally, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong confirmed the purchase of a $25 million UpOnly NFT from well-known crypto trader Cobie.

Market Outlook for 2026

As we move through early 2026, the global NFT market size is hovering around $86.23 billion, growing at a compound annual rate of nearly 41.8%. Utility NFTs focus on access, permissions, and benefits, representing a shift from speculative trading toward practical applications.

Based on the available data, AINFT (NFT) is showing mixed price performance across different sources, with conflicting 24-hour change reports. Here's the analysis:

Current Price and 24-Hour Movement

AINFT is trading at $0.063148 with a 24-hour trading volume of $15,358,938.19, though price quotes vary significantly across exchanges due to the token's ultra-low denomination. The token shows a 0.80% price increase in the last 24 hours, though other sources report more modest or negative movements, indicating price volatility across trading pairs.

Trading Volume and Market Activity

Trading volume reached $15,358,938.19 in the last 24 hours, representing an 11.70% increase from one day ago and signalling a recent rise in market activity. This surge in volume is a notable positive indicator, suggesting renewed trader interest in the token.

Market Capitalization

With a circulating supply of 990 Trillion NFT, AINFT is valued at a market cap of $311,679,388. The token is ranked #130 on CoinGecko.

Broader Market Context

Over the past 7 days, AINFT has declined 6.40%, indicating that today's modest gains represent a potential reversal of recent downward pressure. The increased trading volume combined with positive 24-hour price action suggests market participants are reassessing the token's value after the weekly decline.

Key Drivers

The primary driver of today's price movement appears to be the significant increase in trading volume, which often precedes price stabilization or recovery in cryptocurrency markets. AINFT completed its full upgrade to AINFT in October 2025, representing a major paradigm shift that reimagines the combination of AI and blockchain to create a self-evolving digital ecosystem, which may continue to provide fundamental support for the token.

NFT Market Sentiment Analysis

Overall Sentiment: Bearish with Structural Transformation

The NFT market has reset entirely, with total market cap slipping below $1.5B, levels last seen before the 2021 frenzy, as Nike offloaded RTFKT and Nifty Gateway shut down entirely. Supply surged 25% in 2025 to nearly 1.3 billion tokens, while total sales dropped 37% year-over-year to $5.6B and average prices slid below $100.

Market Capitalization and Volume Indicators

Average monthly Ethereum NFT trading volume in Q1 2026 reached $720M, indicating sustained but reduced activity compared to peak periods. Most NFTs are still well below their peak floor price, with CryptoPunks down 80% from its 2021 peak, while Bored Apes has lost 95%.

Social Media and Community Sentiment

The odds of NFTs making a comeback in 2026 have increased to 65% on the predictions platform Polymarket, suggesting a shift in sentiment surrounding the sector. However, this represents cautious optimism rather than bullish conviction. The price of cryptocurrencies and virtual assets in particular are highly influenced by the sentiment of discussions on social media.

Trader Positioning and Market Structure

The market exhibits bifurcation between speculative and utility-driven segments. Utility NFTs (e.g., gaming) dominate 38% of 2026 transaction volume, while speculative "jpegs" decline. Gaming NFTs—especially on Immutable X, Polygon, and Ronin—grew transaction counts by 140% year-over-year, proving in-game utility anchors demand.

Sentiment Shift Drivers

Investor behavior in 2026 reflects a stark departure from the short-termism of earlier cycles, with average holding periods for NFTs lengthening and investors prioritizing functional utility over speculative gains. The maturation phase weeded out low-effort cash grabs and rewarded projects solving tangible problems, with memecoin-style NFT mints vanishing while ticketing platforms and loyalty ecosystems scaled user adoption, redefining success from trading volume to active usage and recurring utility.

Institutional and Professional Activity

Blur's share of ETH NFT volume reaches 38%, reflecting pro-trader dominance. This concentration indicates professional traders have consolidated positions while retail participation has declined significantly.

Blue-Chip Collection Performance

A handful of blue-chip collections—CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Azuki—retained cultural cachet and floor prices above $10K. These represent the only segment maintaining relative stability and institutional interest.

AINFT (NFT) Technical Analysis

Current Price & Market Data

Price: $0.000000345 USD Market Cap: $341.29M 24h Volume: $13.94M Available Supply: 990.11B NFT tokens

Price Performance

Technical Assessment

Trend Analysis

The token demonstrates positive momentum over the medium term with a 9.78% weekly gain, though recent hourly action shows slight weakness (-0.20%). The 24-hour gain of 2.53% indicates consolidation within an uptrend structure.

Volume Profile

Trading volume of $13.94M against a market cap of $341.29M represents approximately 4.08% daily volume ratio, suggesting moderate liquidity. This volume level indicates sufficient trading activity for position entry/exit but with potential slippage on larger orders.

Supply Dynamics

• Circulating Supply: 990.11B tokens
• Total Supply: 990.11B tokens
• Fully Diluted Valuation: $341.29M

The token operates at full dilution with no additional supply inflation expected, eliminating dilution risk from future token releases.

Key Observations

Strengths:

• Strong weekly performance (+9.78%)
• No supply dilution risk (circulating = total supply)
• Established market cap position (rank 129)
• Multi-blockchain presence (Ethereum, TRON, BSC)

Considerations:

• Hourly weakness suggests potential pullback or consolidation
• Moderate trading volume relative to market cap
• Micro-cap price structure requires careful position sizing

Recommended Monitoring

Track the 24-hour and 7-day moving averages for trend confirmation. Monitor volume patterns during price movements to identify breakout validity. Watch for support formation near recent consolidation levels.