Foundation, an Ethereum-based NFT marketplace that rose to prominence during the 2021 boom, is closing after a planned sale meant to preserve the platform fell through. Founder and CEO Kayvon Tehranian announced the shutdown on X, saying the intended transfer of ownership — which was supposed to keep Foundation operating — is no longer possible and that the team cannot restore the marketplace to service.
A brief message posted by Foundation and attributed to the Blackdove team said the site will be brought back temporarily so users can delist NFTs. That limited window is intended to let creators and collectors remove listings and reclaim assets affected by the platform’s closure.
Foundation launched in early 2021 and was part of the surge in tokenized digital art that year, a period that included headline-grabbing multimillion-dollar sales. According to Blackdove, Foundation enabled more than $230 million in primary sales for artists worldwide and hosted drops from creators such as Jen Stark, James Jean and Reuben Wu. The platform also sold Edward Snowden’s “Stay Free” NFT for around 2,200 ETH (roughly $5 million at the time).
The shutdown underscores the longer-term contraction in NFT trading that followed the 2021 peak and a secondary peak in 2022, when liquidity and transaction volumes were much higher. As activity declined, several independent marketplaces and NFT-focused services have faced falling volumes and reduced revenue.
Blackdove first announced a proposed acquisition of Foundation in early 2025, and Foundation signaled a transition of ownership about a year later; that deal has now apparently failed, precipitating the closure.
Foundation’s exit adds to a string of recent departures and pivots across the NFT ecosystem. Other platforms and services that have shut down or moved away from NFT trading include Mint Blockchain, Gemini-backed Nifty Gateway, social NFT platform Rodeo, MakersPlace, X2Y2, and the NFT arm of crypto exchange Bybit. Against this backdrop, OpenSea has remained the dominant marketplace, accounting for over 73% of sector activity at the time of publication, according to DefiLlama data, while competitors like Blur continue to operate.
Some industry figures remain hopeful that the market could recover. Animoca Brands chairman Yat Siu and others have suggested the NFT sector might rebound and eventually reach new highs, though timing and conditions for any recovery remain uncertain.
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