Much-loved NFT art marketplace MakersPlace has announced its shock exit, closing down immediately after a 6-year tenure.
In a statement on January 16, MakersPlace said that; “Despite our existing runway, with these market conditions, we anticipate significant challenges in securing further investment which would make it difficult, if not impossible, to pursue our mission to champion digital art, sustain operations, and deliver meaningful returns to our shareholders.”
NFT minting, token imports and new account creation have now been disabled. Existing NFT art drops will continue as normal, but no new in-person or online exhibitions, events or sales will begin. All unused funds are set to be returned to investors, with MakersPlace stating that they will also “provide fair severance packages to employees”.
Big names in NFT art have offered their condolences, including Beeple, David Ariew, Rebecca Rose and many more.
What is MakersPlace?
MakersPlace is an art-focused NFT marketplace, built on Ethereum.
Since its debut in 2018, MakersPlace became one of the top platforms for premier NFT art. The platform attracted some of the biggest names to exhibit their work, including the likes of Banksy, Hackatao and Vakseen. Recent exhibitions have also seen notable digital artists partner with MakersPlace, including Shilly Preston, Anne Spalter and Dylan Wade.
News of this immediate exit came as a shock to many. On the surface, MakersPlace appeared to have been operating as normal over the past few months. The end of 2024 saw major updates to their MakersPlace Concierge service, an exhibition at the inaugural Miami Digital Art Fair, and a special event for Jeremy Booth at Marfa 2024.
Just days ago, we reported that celebrated artist Laprisamata – a.k.a. Luis Toledo – was set to debut his Antiflesh NFT collection exclusively on MakersPlace, though this would appear to now be cancelled.
What do I need to do?
NFT art collectors do not need to do anything. All MakersPlace NFTs are minted on Ethereum, and so they remain fully-available to access and manage on secondary NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea.
NFT artists will need to use the “Send Artworks” function to transfer any NFTs within MakersPlace custodial wallets into their own wallets. A planned update to arrive in February aims to make this a more straightforward process. NFT purchases will be disabled as of that update, and NFT transfers will cease in June 2025.
MakersPlace are looking to “ensure a smooth wind-down”. In their statement, they note that “our curators will personally reach out to artists scheduled for exhibitions to answer any questions, and our private sales team will assist key collectors with any inquiries.”
In closure, MakersPlace remark that they are “actively seeking opportunities for an asset sale of the company”, and are encouraging interested parties to get in touch.
Bullish on web3. Competitive soul.