- Early NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway will shut down February 23 after steep declines in trading activity and interest.
- Founded in 2018 and acquired by Gemini, Nifty once thrived during the 2021 NFT boom era of speculation.
- Its closure underscores the broader collapse of NFTs, as platforms shutter and volumes plunge worldwide after speculative excesses.
Nifty Gateway, one of the earliest online marketplaces for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has announced it will shut down effective February 23 amid a sharp drop in activity.
The platform has already “entered withdrawal-only mode,” according to a notification on its website, which advises members: “Please withdraw your assets by this date.” After February 23, “you will no longer be able to list, purchase, bid on, or sell NFTs on Nifty Gateway. You will still be able to withdraw your NFTs and funds,” according to the site.
Nifty Gateway was founded in 2018 by twins Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster as a platform where NFTs could be easily bought and sold using cryptocurrency or fiat. In 2019, it was snapped up by cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, founded by another pair of twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, as its first-ever acquisition. At the time, the Fosters and Winklevosses believed NFTs would play a major role in the next era of the digital economy. And for a short time, they did.
In 2021, the platform reported $300 million in gross merchandise value, its profile boosted by its partnership with Sotheby’s for the auction house’s $17 million NFT drop with Pak.
“Since launching, Nifty supported dozens of innovative drops and brought new creative experiences to life,” Gemini noted in its recent announcement. “We are incredibly proud of the work the Nifty team has pioneered and grateful to Nifty Gateway’s customers and artists for joining us on this journey.”
Beeple, Everydays – The First 5000 Days. Courtesy of the artist and Christie’s.
Interest in and prices of NFTs spiked during lockdowns, most prominently with Christie’s first-ever sale of digital artist Beeple‘s The First 5000 Days, which soared to a final reported price of $69.3 million in 2021.
The boom saw a proliferation of NFT platforms, with major auction houses launching Web3 initiatives, from Sotheby’s Metaverse to Christie’s digital art department. Brands such as Louis Vuitton and Nike got in on the action; Bored Ape NFTs were trotted out on late-night talk shows.
However, the bubble has popped. As recently detailed by the Independent, the NFT market collapsed with estimated trading volumes dropping from a peak of $4 billion to roughly $800 million within a single year. It pointed to research that found that “95 percent of NFTs are now totally worthless.”
Christie’s, which helped jumpstart the frenzy with its Beeple sale, quietly closed its digital art department last fall. The house “made a strategic decision to reformat digital art sales,” a spokesperson told Now Media at the time. “The company will continue to sell digital art within the larger 20th and 21st Century Art category.” In 2024, Sotheby’s laid off most of its Metaverse and NFT team, retaining only three staffers.
By that point, digital platforms including Async Art, KnownOrigin, MakersPlace, and LG Art Lab had already shuttered. Analysis by DappRadar noted that the trading volume of art NFTs fell from a high of $2.97 billion in 2021 to $197 million in 2024.
Current Nifty Gateway users who hold an NFT and a balance of USD or ETH will be notified by Gemini on how to move their assets off the platform and onto the Gemini ecosystem, the company said. It added that NFTs will continue to be supported through the Gemini wallet. “This decision will allow Gemini to sharpen its focus and execute on the vision of building a one-stop super app for customers,” the announcement reads.
