The Ethereum NFT marketplace Foundation has failed to sell and announced its permanent closure, ceasing all operations

The Ethereum NFT marketplace Foundation has officially announced its permanent closure. Founder Kayvon Tehranian posted on X that the original plan was to sell the platform to a buyer interested in continuing operations, but the deal ultimately fell through, and the company believes it is not worth seeking other buyers. The platform's infrastructure has been shut down, with no plans for a relaunch.

In January of this year, Tehranian transferred ownership of Foundation to the digital art display company BlackDove, stating at the time that this move was for the long-term development of the platform. However, BlackDove only conducted a complete due diligence after completing the operational handover and ultimately determined that building a proprietary marketplace was more feasible, leading to the termination of their collaboration.

Since its launch, Foundation has facilitated approximately $230 million in primary sales and has hosted iconic auctions featuring artists such as Jen Stark, James Jean, and Edward Snowden. This closure has once again raised questions about the permanence of NFTs hosted on centralized infrastructure.