Leading crypto exchange Bybit, “will discontinue operations for its NFT Marketplace, Inscription Marketplace, and IDO product pages” from April 8, 2025. The crypto exchange stated that this discontinuation will take place as part of their efforts to streamline their offerings.
As the platform will be unavailable after the specified date, Bybit urged its users to take the necessary measures to manage their assets. Users can trade or access their NFTs on the ETH chain via OpenSea, Blur, Magic Eden, while Mantle Chain NFTs will be accessible via Element Marketplace, Mintle. Moreover, the Inscription Marketplace could be accessed through Unisat and Magic Eden.
This shutdown comes in the wake of Bybit being hacked in February where the exchange lost $1.4 billion. This hack which the FBI attributed to North Korea has been considered the largest crypto theft to date.
However, Bybit is not alone when it comes to shutting down the NFT market place. A major player in the NFT market place X2Y2 stated it would wind down operations, having processed $5.6 billion in trading volume over its lifetime of three years. An X2Y2 announcement read, “I’m here to share a big decision: we’re sunsetting X2Y2 as an NFT marketplace. One month from now, on April 30, 2025, the platform will shut down completely”
Additionally, crypto exchange Kraken, Nike-owned RTFKT, have already shut down its own NFT marketplace in February and January, respectively, while the television giant, LG is planning to wind down its operations by June 2025.
Since the 2021-2022 hype, the NFT market place has been struggling to get going. An article from Binance, stated that the NFT market crashed because of overhyped expectations, speculations and market saturation, global economic conditions and lack of utility and long term value.
