Kraken to Shut Down NFT Marketplace on February 27

Kraken, a well-known United States-based crypto exchange, has announced it will shut down its NFT marketplace to allocate resources to upcoming projects.

Hard to believe what am reading but @krakenfx is closing their NFT platform now. LOL

In Feb’23 I wrote to your PM, Kanj to embrace Ordinals ASAP as well as contacted other friends from the biz. Instead your top level mngmt invested into competition.

Kinda rekt, @jespow ? pic.twitter.com/pT1zbmppcd

— Tomas S 🥪 (@skantoshi) November 26, 2024

Recall that Kraken revealed its plan to launch an NFT marketplace in December 2021, and the platform entered beta in November 2022. Despite the initial interest, NFT sales have declined since early 2024. On the bright side, specific projects, like CryptoPunks, have experienced an increase in trading volume.

NFT Marketplace Set to Shut Down

The US-based exchange announced in an email that, beginning November 27, 2024, users will no longer be able to list, bid, or sell NFTs on the platform, though they can still withdraw their assets. The marketplace is set to shut down entirely on February 27, 2025.

“We have made the decision to close the Kraken NFT marketplace so we can shift resources into new products and services,” the exchange stated.

Kraken also assured clients that they would receive support throughout the process of transferring their NFTs to self-custodial wallets of their choice.

Kraken’s Focus on New Projects

In line with its focus on new projects, Kraken reportedly plans to launch a layer-2 blockchain, Ink, in 2025. Ink will be an Ethereum sidechain utilizing technology similar to Coinbase’s Base network and will operate on the widely adopted Optimism Superchain, a key infrastructure for Ethereum layer-2 solutions.

According to the exchange, the Ink project aims to simplify decentralized finance (DeFi) processes, making them more accessible and cost-effective for a broader range of users. The network will also allow users to trade, borrow, and lend tokens without intermediaries.

Since its founding in 2011, Kraken has expanded into various sectors. This year, it achieved significant milestones, such as acquiring Coin Meester B.V., a crypto broker based in the Netherlands, and launching a restaking feature for users outside the US.

Kraken also introduced Kraken Wrapped Bitcoin (kBTC), a tokenized asset-backed 1:1 by BTC, aiming to boost liquidity and provide Bitcoin access to decentralized applications.