- Kraken has announced the closure of its NFT marketplace in 2025
- The company has stated it will prioritize other strategic projects
- Users have been urged to withdraw their NFTs promptly to avoid losing access
Kraken has revealed it will be shutting down its NFT marketplace after less than two years, marking a shift in focus as the market continues to stagnate. Trading has already been suspended, and holders have been advised to withdraw their assets before the platform ceases operations in 2025. Kraken launched its NFT exchange in 2022, but the collapse in the NFT market has seen it abandon its operations to focus on more lucrative areas.
NFT Market Has Failed to Spark
Kraken launched its NFT exchange to the public in early 2023, but this could not have been worse timed: the NFT market was already tanking and showed no signs of recovery in 2023 or this year. As a result, as an exchange spokesperson told The Block, it is pulling out:
We’ve made the decision to close our NFT marketplace so we can shift more resources into new products and services, including unannounced initiatives in-development. Clients have been informed of the changes and our team will support them as they move their NFTs to their Kraken Wallet or a self-custodial wallet of choice.
The marketplace was initially introduced as a way for users to securely trade and explore NFTs, complete with features like gas-free transactions and support for multiple blockchain networks. Despite these innovations, the company has decided its resources are better utilized elsewhere.
Kraken Advises Withdrawals
Kraken has already closed trading and has advised holders to withdraw NFTs before the shutdown, which will happen in 2025; the exchange has assured users that they will retain ownership of their assets as long as they transfer them out in time.
The NFT market has remained stagnant following its heyday of 2021 and, aside from one or two projects, shows no signs of life. This fact underpins Kraken’s move, and it will not be the last exchange that ditches its NFT branch, while NFT-only exchanges like OpenSea have been forced to restructure entirely.
