Cryptocurrency Firm Kraken Plans to Halt NFT Marketplace Operation in February 2025

Analysts find this move of Kraken somewhat unexpected, raising questions on what the future holds for NFTs considering Kraken is a major player in these type of tokens.

Kraken, a major cryptocurrency exchange, announced plans to shut down its NFT marketplace early next year. The exchange will begin winding down the marketplace on November 27.

After that date, users will no longer be able to bid on, list, or sell NFTs. However, users will still be able to withdraw their funds from the marketplace until February 27, 2025.

The exchange said it is shifting more resources into new products and services. A Kraken spokesperson confirmed the exchange’s decision and the fate of its marketplace next year.

“This was a difficult decision, given how much we've enjoyed serving our NFT community over the past two years,” the spokesperson said.

“Closing the marketplace will allow us to explore new avenues and continue developing new products and services.”

Kraken said it has notified its customers of the ongoing changes, and the exchange’s support team will assist users of the NFT marketplace users in transferring their assets to other wallets or the Kraken self-custody wallet.

The news of the NFT marketplace closure comes just nearly a month after the cryptocurrency platform trimmed its workforce and appointed a new co-CEO.

In October this year, Kraken reduced its workforce by 15% after it laid off 400 employees, saying that it was part of their organizational restructuring.

At the same time, the crypto platform appointed a new co-CEO, seasoned Silicon Valley executive Arjun Sethi who will help Dave Ripley in co-managing the company as it navigates towards becoming the world’s largest crypto platform.