Kraken shuts down its NFT marketplace one year after launch

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is shutting down its NFT marketplace a year after its launch.
Kraken's NFT marketplace will switch to withdrawal-only mode from November 27th, with a three-month withdrawal period
Kraken said the decision was made to focus resources on developing new products and services.
A Kraken spokesperson confirmed the platform's closure in a statement, saying: "We are excited to announce the launch of our new product and
"We have decided to close the NFT Marketplace in order to devote more resources to our services and to unannounced projects currently in development."
"We will inform our customers of this change and allow them to transfer their NFTs to their Kraken wallet or self-custody wallet," the company said.
Kraken's NFT marketplace was officially launched after beta testing in June 2023. At the time, Kraken had over 250 NFT collectibles.
Kraken's decision comes as the NFT market is on a downward trend in 2024.
According to a DappRadar report, NFT trading volume in August 2024 was $471 million, the lowest for the year, down 16% from the previous month.
NFT trading volume in the first quarter of 2024 was $3.9 billion, down significantly from $12.6 billion in the same period in 2022.