The cryptocurrency company plans to do just that Decommissioning its NFT marketplace Early next year, a decision that could have a major impact on the NFT space.
Analysts find this move by Kraken somewhat unexpected, raising questions about what the future holds for NFTs considering Kraken is a major player in this type of token.
Closing in February 2025
Cryptocurrency platform Kraken has made the difficult decision to close its market on February 27, 2025, bidding farewell to all those who patronize the market.
This was said by the officials of the cryptocurrency company Starting November 27ththe majority of the NFT market such as bidding, listing and selling of NFTs will be terminated, as the market gradually prepares to close its doors by the first quarter of 2025.
However, the cryptocurrency platform clarified that although many market services will no longer be available, its users can still withdraw their funds before February 27, 2025.
Kraken is shutting down its NFT marketplace nearly two years after launching the platform, saying it is diverting more resources into new products and services https://t.co/JNnbYqjhoL
– Bloomberg (@business) November 26, 2024
Kraken Eyes is developing new products
A Kraken spokesperson confirmed the company’s decision and the fate of its market next year.
The Kraken official said this was one of the tough choices they had to make considering how much the NFT market is part of the cryptocurrency company.
The spokesman explained this Close its market It will allow the cryptocurrency company to explore new avenues, adding that the company also wants to develop new products and services.
Furthermore, Kraken confirmed that it has informed all its customers of the ongoing changes, adding that the platform’s support team will assist NFT market users in transferring their assets to other wallets or Kraken’s self-custodial wallet.
Workforce reductions
News of the NFT market’s closure came about a month after the cryptocurrency platform cut its workforce and appointed a new co-CEO.
In October of this year, Kraken Reduced its workforce by 15% after it laid off 400 employees, saying that this was part of its organizational restructuring.
At the same time, the cryptocurrency platform has appointed a new co-CEO, seasoned Silicon Valley executive Arjun Sethi, who will help Dave Ripley co-manage the company as it moves toward becoming the world’s largest cryptocurrency platform.
recession
Analysts said that NFT markets used to boom, but this year they witnessed a decline and recorded one of the lowest levels of performance in June.
Cryptocurrency analytics platform Artemis revealed that NFT markets recorded a 50% decline in June, coinciding with a significant decline also seen in major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana.
Meanwhile, Paul Thomas, CEO and founder of Somnia, noted early this year that the hype surrounding digital collectibles was waning, suggesting that user demand for the utility of NFTs may have contributed to their slowdown.
Another problem with NFTs is “lack of authenticity,” Thomas added.
In previous months, well-known figures in the cryptocurrency space began offloading their NFTs such as billionaire Mark Cuban.
On the bright side, Techreport predicts that the NFT market could reach $2.8 billion by 2028, and its number of users could reach 14.67 million this year.
Featured image from Traders Wall, chart from TradingView
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