Former art-focused NFT marketplace KnownOrigin have revealed the final details of their closure, updating their website to commemorate their 6-year journey.
Alongside the new static homepage, the platform has also given a final set of instructions to its supporters. This includes laying out details regarding the preservation of their assets, how to download and access records of their data and activity, and where users of their site can now interact with their tokens.
This marks – for now – the last message we’re likely to receive from the KnownOrigin team, and draws to a close their immense history in the NFT art realm.
What was KnownOrigin?
KnownOrigin was an art-focused NFT marketplace that debuted in 2018. One of the first art-focused NFT trading platforms of its kind, it exploded in popularity alongside the NFT boom of 2021, allowing it to expand its features to include early access sales, embedded NFTs and more.
The platform was acquired by eBay in June 2022. At the time, eBay was expanding aggressively into integrating NFT trading services in its own right, and there was much excitement for what this news could mean for the NFT art world.
Alas, eBay appear to have since cooled on their ambitions to support the NFT market – in spite of the recent boom in NFT popularity once again. In July 2024, KnownOrigin announced that it would be shutting down, with the team moving into other roles in the Web3 industry.
What now after the KnownOrigin closure?
Despite their closure, the KnownOrigin team have remained committed to ensuring a smooth exit for their users.
In their final statement, the team confirmed that “all KnownOrigin NFT IPFS pinning costs will be covered for at least 2 years”, addressing community concerns regarding the preservation of assets.
KnownOrigin have also offered support and guidance for users holding assets created on the legacy versions of the KnownOrigin contract, as well as Creator Contracts, token minting and more. Full details on this can be found on the KnownOrigin website.
Bullish on web3. Competitive soul.