KEY POINTS
KnownOrigin, the non-fungible token (NFT) platform acquired by eBay in 2022, is about to close down within the coming weeks.
The announcement was made on July 17 via a put up on X (Twitter), the place KnownOrigin said, “After careful consideration and evaluation we can confirm KnownOrigin will continue to wind down.”
“KnownOrigin is proud of its place in the history of digital art since its inception in 2018. Thanks for all the support and helping creators emerge, grow and succeed over the years,” the thread continued.
The thread concluded with “We have always been in awe of the creativity of the CryptoArt community and we know the space will continue to innovate and go from strength to strength.”
This information follows a June announcement from KnownOrigin about modifications in its processes. At the moment, the platform reiterated its dedication to NFTs, saying, “KnownOrigin is a proud pioneer in the digital art space and we have always been committed to open source contracts and distributed data storage.”
Considerations about eBay’s NFT plans surfaced earlier this 12 months. In February, reviews advised a 30% discount in workforce at KnownOrigin, elevating doubts concerning the platform’s future. David Moore, co-founder of KnownOrigin, addressed the state of affairs, saying, “The last 7 days have been the toughest and some of the most challenging in my time at KnownOrigin/eBay.”
The choice to wind down KnownOrigin comes amidst a broader decline within the NFT market. Over the previous two years, many companies have determined to discontinue their NFT initiatives. As an illustration, in March, Starbucks shut down its NFT rewards beta program, Odyssey. GameStop additionally wound down its market, and even NFT options on X had been discontinued.
The NFT market has skilled important downturns lately. Final month, NFT gross sales dropped by 46%, persevering with a detrimental development that began earlier within the 12 months. May additionally noticed a sharp decline in gross sales, dropping by almost 50% in comparison with April, regardless of some notable particular person gross sales and standout assortment performances.
