NFT Marketplace Foundation Closes Operations Following Collapsed Blackdove Acquisition
After a collapsed acquisition deal with Blackdove, Foundation announces permanent closure, ending operations that generated approximately $230 million in primary NFT sales since launching in 2021.
One of the most prominent Ethereum-based non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces from the 2021 surge, Foundation, has announced it will permanently cease operations after an acquisition deal that would have preserved its continuity collapsed.
On Wednesday, Foundation's founder and CEO Kayvon Tehranian posted on X to reveal the marketplace's permanent shutdown after an attempted acquisition by digital art distribution platform Blackdove failed to materialize.
While Tehranian refrained from explicitly naming Blackdove in his statement, he explained that the intended purpose of the sale was to guarantee the platform's continued existence under different ownership. "That's no longer possible," he stated, noting that Foundation lacks the capacity to restore the marketplace to operational status.
In a subsequent message bearing the Blackdove team's signature, Foundation indicated the website would temporarily come back online to allow users the opportunity to delist their NFTs.
The marketplace's collapse highlights the persistent downturn in NFT trading volumes that has continued since the 2021 peak, as diminishing liquidity has made it increasingly difficult for independent marketplaces to maintain viable operations.
Foundation rose in the 2021 boom
The platform debuted in early 2021, emerging during an extraordinary period for tokenized digital artwork, when certain NFTs commanded prices reaching as high as $69 million for individual pieces.
Data from Blackdove indicates that the marketplace enabled over $230 million in primary sales transactions for creators globally, serving as a platform for NFT drops from artists including Jen Stark, James Jean and Reuben Wu.
The marketplace additionally served as a destination for digital artwork created by US whistleblower Edward Snowden, whose NFT work titled "Stay Free" fetched approximately 2,200 Ether (ETH) in 2021, valued at around $5 million during that period.
Following the peak of NFT market activity in 2022, platforms such as Foundation encountered declining liquidity and diminishing sustainable transaction volumes. Blackdove first revealed Foundation's acquisition during early 2025, with the platform disclosing the ownership transition a year following the initial announcement.
NFT market consolidation deepens
The closure of Foundation contributes to an expanding roster of NFT platforms that have either ceased operations or shifted away from digital art trading in recent months, with the sector's overall market capitalization retreating to pre-boom levels last observed in 2021 as of February 2026.
On Friday, Mint Blockchain, an NFT-focused infrastructure network constructed on Ethereum, also revealed that it has terminated operations and directed users to withdraw their assets.
During this year alone, a minimum of two additional NFT platforms have declared they were shutting down their operations, including Nifty Gateway, which had backing from Gemini exchange, and Rodeo, a social NFT platform.
Last year saw MakersPlace cease operations in response to declining NFT market activity, while X2Y2 shut down and transitioned away from NFTs. Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has similarly shuttered its NFT marketplace in response to falling trading volumes.
Despite the wider market downturn, OpenSea has maintained its position as the leading NFT marketplace, representing over 73% of total sector activity at the time of publication, facing competition from platforms such as Blur, based on data from DefiLlama.
Notwithstanding the dramatic decline experienced in the NFT sector, certain industry leaders, including Animoca Brands chairman Yat Siu, have forecast that the sector has the potential to rebound and achieve new all-time highs.