Ethereum-based NFTs have experienced a surge in sales, with weekly transactions reaching $304 million, contributing to a total of $771 million in December. Notable collections such as Pudgy Penguins and Azuki have led this increase. However, the NFT market is facing challenges as two individuals, both 23 years old, have been charged with fraud for allegedly scamming investors out of $22 million through fake NFT projects. Despite these issues, the overall NFT market has shown resilience, with Pudgy Penguins seeing a price increase of 27.2% and Azuki Elementals rising by 22.7% over the past week, contrasting with declines in major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which fell by 3.6% and 6.1%, respectively.