Foundation, one of the better-known Ethereum-based non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces of the 2021 boom, is shutting down after the sale that was supposed to keep it operating fell apart.
Kayvon Tehranian, Foundation’s founder and CEO, took to X on Wednesday to announce the marketplace’s closure following a failed acquisition by the digital art distribution platform Blackdove.
Although Tehranian did not directly mention Blackdove, he said the original goal of the sale was to ensure the platform would continue operating under new ownership. “That’s no longer possible,” he said, adding that Foundation is not in a position to bring the marketplace back online.
Foundation later said the site would briefly return so users could delist NFTs, in a message signed by the Blackdove team.
The shutdown underscores the ongoing decline in NFT trading activity since the 2021 boom, as lower liquidity has left fewer independent marketplaces able to survive.
Foundation rose in the 2021 boom
Foundation was launched in early 2021, capturing a massive year for tokenized digital art, when some NFTs sold for as much as $69 million apiece.
According to Blackdove, the platform facilitated more than $230 million in primary sales for artists around the world, hosting NFT sales for artists like Jen Stark, James Jean and Reuben Wu.
Foundation also became a venue for digital art by US whistleblower Edward Snowden, whose NFT piece “Stay Free” sold for about 2,200 Ether (ETH) in 2021, worth roughly $5 million at the time.
As broader NFT activity cooled after peaking in 2022, platforms like Foundation faced shrinking liquidity and fewer sustainable transaction flows. Blackdove initially announced Foundation’s acquisition in early 2025, with the platform announcing transitioning ownership a year later.
NFT market consolidation deepens
Foundation’s closure adds to a growing list of NFT platforms that have shut down or pivoted away from trading digital art recently, with the sector’s market cap falling back to pre-hype levels seen in 2021 as of February 2026.
Mint Blockchain, an NFT-linked infrastructure network built on Ethereum, also announced Friday that it has ceased operations and instructed users to withdraw assets.
This year alone, at least two other NFT platforms announced they were winding down operations, including Gemini exchange-backed Nifty Gateway and the social NFT platform Rodeo.
MakersPlace shut down amid declining NFT activity last year, while X2Y2 wound down and pivoted away from NFTs. Crypto exchange Bybit has also closed its NFT marketplace as trading volumes fell.
Related: Yuga Labs settles lawsuit against artists accused of copying its NFTs
OpenSea has remained the dominant NFT marketplace despite the broader downturn, accounting for more than 73% of all activity across the sector at publishing time, with competition from rivals such as Blur, according to DefiLlama.
Despite the sharp decline in NFTs, some industry figures, including Animoca Brands chairman Yat Siu, predicted that the sector could recover and reach new all-time highs.
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