Foundation, one of many better-known Ethereum-based non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces of the 2021 growth, is shutting down after the sale that was supposed to maintain it working fell aside.
Kayvon Tehranian, Foundation’s founder and CEO, took to X on Wednesday to announce {the marketplace}’s closure following a failed acquisition by the digital artwork distribution platform Blackdove.
Though Tehranian didn’t instantly point out Blackdove, he stated the unique aim of the sale was to make sure the platform would proceed working underneath new possession. “That’s not potential,” he stated, including that Foundation just isn’t able to deliver {the marketplace} again on-line.
Foundation later stated the location would briefly return so customers may delist NFTs, in a message signed by the Blackdove crew.
The shutdown underscores the continued decline in NFT buying and selling exercise because the 2021 growth, as decrease liquidity has left fewer unbiased marketplaces in a position to survive.
Foundation rose within the 2021 growth
Foundation was launched in early 2021, capturing an enormous 12 months for tokenized digital artwork, when some NFTs sold for as much as $69 million apiece.
According to Blackdove, the platform facilitated greater than $230 million in major gross sales for artists around the globe, internet hosting NFT gross sales for artists like Jen Stark, James Jean and Reuben Wu.
Foundation additionally grew to become a venue for digital artwork by US whistleblower Edward Snowden, whose NFT piece “Keep Free” sold for about 2,200 Ether (ETH) in 2021, price roughly $5 million on the time.
As broader NFT exercise cooled after peaking in 2022, platforms like Foundation confronted shrinking liquidity and fewer sustainable transaction flows. Blackdove initially introduced Foundation’s acquisition in early 2025, with the platform announcing transitioning possession a 12 months later.
NFT market consolidation deepens
Foundation’s closure provides to a rising listing of NFT platforms which have shut down or pivoted away from buying and selling digital artwork just lately, with the sector’s market cap falling back to pre-hype levels seen in 2021 as of February 2026.
Mint Blockchain, an NFT-linked infrastructure community constructed on Ethereum, additionally announced Friday that it has ceased operations and instructed customers to withdraw belongings.
This 12 months alone, at the least two different NFT platforms introduced they have been winding down operations, together with Gemini exchange-backed Nifty Gateway and the social NFT platform Rodeo.
MakersPlace shut down amid declining NFT activity final 12 months, whereas X2Y2 wound down and pivoted away from NFTs. Crypto alternate Bybit has additionally closed its NFT marketplace as buying and selling volumes fell.
Associated: Yuga Labs settles lawsuit against artists accused of copying its NFTs
OpenSea has remained the dominant NFT market regardless of the broader downturn, accounting for greater than 73% of all exercise throughout the sector at publishing time, with competitors from rivals equivalent to Blur, in keeping with DefiLlama.
Regardless of the sharp decline in NFTs, some business figures, together with Animoca Manufacturers chairman Yat Siu, predicted that the sector may recover and reach new all-time highs.
