Immutable Will Be Shutting Down Its NFT Marketplace

Immutable, a blockchain company focused on gaming and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has announced it will be discontinuing its NFT marketplace to concentrate on broadening its ecosystem through new partnerships.

Key Details

The company plans to officially cease operations of the marketplace on August 13th. The marketplace was initially developed to demonstrate the capabilities of the Immutable software development kit (SDK).

Since its inception, Immutable noted that various projects utilizing the SDK have already emerged and expanded. The company also encouraged users to explore other marketplaces within its ecosystem.

Regarding user assets and listings, Immutable assured that assets will remain accessible as they are permanently recorded on the blockchain. These assets are tied to user wallet addresses and will be available regardless of the marketplace or game used.

Additionally, Immutable highlighted that its marketplace operates with a global order book. Consequently, marketplaces sharing this order book will display similar listings for buying or selling. Users need to connect their wallets to view existing listings across any marketplace.

Declining Sales Volumes

The announcement coincides with a decline in NFT sales volumes. In the second quarter of 2024, NFT sales volume fell by 45% compared to the previous quarter. While the first quarter of 2024 saw digital collectibles reaching $4.1 billion in volume, the market failed to maintain this growth. The second quarter saw a decrease to $2.24 billion, the lowest since Q3 2023.

July further exemplified this decline with the lowest NFT sales volume of 2024, amounting to just $429 million. Despite these trends, industry professionals remain optimistic about NFTs. CryptoSlam founder Randy Wasinger has stated that despite reduced volumes, NFTs are here to stay.