Nifty Gateway, one of the earliest and most prominent NFT marketplaces, announced it will cease operations next month, joining a growing list of tokenized art platforms that have shuttered amid the sector’s prolonged downturn.
The platform has already transitioned to withdrawal-only mode, allowing users to retrieve their assets before the final closure on Feb. 23. An announcement posted by Gemini, which acquired Nifty Gateway in 2019, said the closure will allow the U.S.-based crypto exchange to “sharpen its focus and execute on the vision of building a one-stop super app for customers,” and will still support NFTs through the Gemini Wallet.
Crypto artist XCOPY advised Nifty Gateway users to begin the withdrawal process sooner rather than later. “You need to withdraw any art you have on Nifty Gateway,” XCOPY wrote on X. “It’s a slow process, don’t leave it late!”
Gemini acquired Nifty Gateway in November 2019 as its first-ever acquisition. The deal paired two sets of identical twins: founders Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster with Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. At the time, Tyler Winklevoss said the company believed NFTs would “play a major role in the next era of the digital economy.”
The platform became synonymous with the NFT art boom that peaked in 2021. Artist Mike Winkelmann, known as Beeple, sold a piece for $6.6 million on Nifty Gateway in February 2021, setting a then-record for digital art. That sale preceded his landmark $69.3 million Christie’s auction weeks later, which catapulted NFTs into mainstream consciousness. The platform also hosted drops from celebrities including Eminem, Grimes and The Weeknd during the boom years.
Nifty Gateway distinguished itself by offering a custodial marketplace with credit card payments, lowering the barrier to entry for non-crypto-native collectors. However, that same approach left it vulnerable as the market shifted toward avatar-based collections and decentralized platforms like OpenSea and later Blur.
The Cock Foster brothers departed in January 2023, stepping down from leadership during a turbulent period for parent company Gemini, which was then battling the fallout from its lending partner Genesis Global Capital’s collapse. The platform was rebranded as Nifty Gateway Studio and shut down its Discord channels in late 2024.
The closure caps a brutal stretch for NFT platforms. Kraken shuttered its marketplace in February 2025. LG Electronics closed its LG Art Lab after three years last June. X2Y2 announced its closure in March, citing a 90% decline in volume from peak levels. Even OpenSea, the former market leader, pivoted to multi-chain crypto trading in October after its NFT-focused business collapsed.
The numbers underscore the sector’s decline. NFT trading volume fell to $1.25 billion in Q4 2025, down 28% from the prior quarter, according to CryptoSlam data. December saw just $303 million in sales. Total annualized volume for 2025 stood at roughly $5.5 billion, according to The Block Research, a fraction of the more than $50 billion the market saw at its 2022 peak.
When asked for further comment, a Gemini spokesperson directed The Block toward the published statement.
© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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