“Sailor’s Fury (NFT) Marketplace Closed — What Went Wrong?”

Cryptocurrency trading platform Kraken has announced plans to shut down its non-fungible token market. This drastic decision is part of a broader strategic move to redirect resources to newer and more promising projects within its ecosystem. This article will assess the fate of NFT holders following the closure.

Kraken shuts down its NFT marketplace
Kraken confirmed plans to shut down its non-fungible token marketplace in an email announcement to clients on November 26. Starting today, November 27, the NFT marketplace will enter withdrawal-only mode, launching a three-month period that will allow users to transfer their NFTs to external wallets before a final deactivation. Kraken’s NFT marketplace will be completely shut down in February 2025.

Kraken, a San Francisco-based centralized exchange, launched its NFT marketplace in June 2023. The marketplace offers over 250 unique NFT collections. The Kraken NFT marketplace supports multiple blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon. It also accepts fiat currencies, making it a user-friendly market platform for non-crypto native traders.

Kraken's exit from the NFT market shows its intention to focus on areas with greater growth potential within the crypto market. Over the past year, the Kraken NFT market has faced multiple market challenges due to a decline in the general NFT market, reduced interest, and fierce competition from niche players such as OpenSea and Blur. Kraken expects to maximize its services in the crypto market, which appears to be a less competitive and growing area.

Will Kraken’s Shutdown Affect the NFT Mania?
The NFT market has suffered a major downturn over the past few months, and some commentators have even declared the industry dead. Fortunately, the global non-fungible token sector has shown great resilience and is now experiencing a recovery in the fourth quarter of 2024. In this case, this market has come too far and is unlikely to be affected by Kraken's closure of the NFT market.
In addition, crypto market regulation has also played a major role in the decline of the NFT sector. Earlier this year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stepped up its scrutiny of collectible tokens and issued a Wells notice to OpenSea's NFT market, indicating that NFTs on its platform are illegal securities. Now that Donald Trump, who supports cryptocurrency, has been elected as the President of the United States, the crypto community hopes that he will reshape the regulatory framework for NFTs.