Kraken shuts down its NFT marketplace as digital tokens miss the crypto rally

Bored with the apes… and their yacht club. Kraken shut down NFT trading on its platform last week and said it planned to shutter its non-fungible-token marketplace in February, after which users will no longer be able to withdraw their NFTs. The crypto exchange rolled out its market for the digital tokens (picture: Bored Apes, CryptoPunks, Meebits) two years ago, nearly a year after NFT-trading volume peaked. Now it’s closing shop as NFTs struggle to hitch a ride on the crypto rally that’s seen the price of bitcoin home in on a record $100K.

It’s a blockchain party… and NFTs lost the invite. Bitcoin, along with alts like ethereum, Solana, and cardano, and meme coins such as dogecoin and shiba inu, have all seen big price pops in the past month. So have crypto-linked stocks, including bitcoin miners Marathon Digital, Riot Platforms, and Core Scientific. Crypto’s total market cap jumped by $1T in the past month — up to $3.3T. Helping to drive the rally:

• The Trump pump: Crypto’s been celebrating since Trump’s win a month ago. The hope: his crypto promises (think: bitcoin “stockpile,” “made in the USA” BTC) will deliver #gains.

• Friends in high places: After spending millions during the election to boost pro-crypto candidates, the industry expects friendlier regulations, especially now that SEC Chair Gensler, who led a crypto crackdown, is stepping down.

• Mainstream-ization: Mainstream exchanges like Robinhood have listed more coins, and crypto slid into TradFi’s DMs with options on spot bitcoin ETFs going live last month. (FYI: Sherwood Media is an independent subsidiary of Robinhood Markets.)