Nifty Gateway , one of the oldest and once most influential Non-Fungible Token trading platforms in the digital art market, has officially announced it will cease operations completely next month. This decision joins a growing list of digital art platforms forced to close amid a prolonged Non-Fungible Token market downturn, dwindling liquidation , and significantly reduced investor interest compared to its peak in 2021.
According to the latest announcement, Nifty Gateway has now switched to a withdrawal-only mode, allowing users to reclaim Non-Fungible Token and other digital assets before the platform completely shuts down on February 23rd. Gemini, a US-based cryptocurrency exchange and the parent company of Nifty Gateway since 2019, stated that the platform's closure is part of a long-term restructuring strategy, allowing Gemini to focus resources on building a "super app" that comprehensively serves the needs of cryptocurrency users. While Nifty Gateway will no longer exist as a standalone marketplace, Gemini affirms that it will continue to support Non-Fungible Token through the Gemini Wallet.
Following the news of the closure, many well-known Non-Fungible Token artists have spoken out to warn the community. Crypto artist XCOPY, one of the iconic figures of the early Non-Fungible Token movement, recommended that users withdraw Non-Fungible Token as soon as possible, as the process is slow and may encounter problems if left until the deadline. This warning reflects the general sentiment of the community after a series of exchange crashes and platform closures that have occurred in the crypto market in recent years.
Nifty Gateway was acquired by Gemini in November 2019, marking the first acquisition in the exchange's history. The deal attracted attention not only because of the potential of Non-Fungible Token, but also because of the remarkable coincidence that Nifty Gateway twin brothers, Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster, partnered with another well-known pair of twins in the crypto industry, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, co-founders of Gemini. At the time, Gemini believed that Non-Fungible Token would play a central Vai in the next era of the digital economy, where digital ownership and content copyrights would be clearly established on the blockchain.
