Kraken Will Shut Down Its NFT Marketplace By February 2025

Kraken recently revealed plans to shut down its NFT marketplace by February 27th, 2025. Starting November 27th, the exchange will suspend most services related to the marketplace, including bidding, listings, and NFT sales. However, users will still be able to withdraw their funds before the shutdown.

A Kraken spokesperson explained that this decision was made to reallocate resources toward developing new products and services. The platform assured customers that they were informed of the upcoming changes and that Kraken would assist in transferring assets to other wallets in addition to also not delisting USDT following updated MiCA regulations.

A Broad Strategy

In October, Kraken laid off around 15% of its workforce following the appointment of a new CFO and co-CEO. The NFT market, once a booming sector, has faced a challenging year. June saw a major slump, with NFT trading volumes across leading blockchains such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana dropping by over 50%, according to the crypto analytics platform Artemis.

Paul Thomas, CEO of Somnia, commented earlier this year that the initial excitement around NFTs had faded, with a growing focus on utility even for NFTs. He identified a key issue in the space, the lack of originality. Additionally, many prominent figures in the crypto industry, including billionaire Mark Cuban, began selling off their NFTs earlier this year.

Earlier on in the year, specifically in August, Deepak Thapiyal, CEO of Chain, sold a high-value CryptoPunk NFT, though some industry insiders speculated it sold for a significantly lower price than expected.

A Mixed Bag

Despite market uncertainties, a Techreport analysis on August 21st predicted that the NFT market could grow beyond $2.8 billion by 2028, with an increase in users to 14.67 million this year. In October, after months of decline, NFT sales surged by 18%, reaching $356 million. This figure was still far below the peak of $1.6 billion in March, with DMarket leading the way with over $33 million in trading volumes.

November has seen a slight rebound in activity, with Bitcoin and Ethereum seeing significant NFT sales. However, recent data by CryptoSlam indicates a 16% drop in sales volume, with Ethereum and Bitcoin experiencing declines of 29% and 35%, respectively. On the other hand, Polygon has seen a massive surge, with sales up by over 420%.