Nifty Gateway NFT Marketplace to Close Operations by February 23

Nifty Gateway, one of the leading non-fungible token marketplaces, announced on January 24 that it will permanently cease operations on February 23, 2026, citing substantial losses amid the ongoing NFT market collapse.

The platform, which launched in 2020 and was acquired by Gemini exchange founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss in late 2019, has entered withdrawal-only mode. Users holding USD, ETH, or NFTs are being notified via email with instructions to transfer their assets off the platform before the closure date.

Nifty Gateway distinguished itself as a curated, centralized marketplace that hosted exclusive drops from prominent digital artists including Beeple, Pak, and Refik Anadol. The platform reportedly distributed over $372 million in royalties to artists from secondary sales during its operation.

The announcement has sparked concerns among artists and collectors about the fate of custodied assets. Digital artist Bryan Brinkman told Decrypt that approximately 500 works from his releases remain in collectors' custodial wallets on the platform, though he has withdrawn his personal collection of 175 pieces.

Industry observers attribute Nifty Gateway's decline to the rise of permissionless marketplaces like OpenSea and the popularity of profile picture projects, which shifted user attention away from curated art platforms. The closure adds to a growing list of NFT marketplace exits throughout 2025, including Kraken NFT, RTFKT Studio, and Bybit NFT.