Coinbase NFT stops artist falls as trading volume tanks

by James · February 22, 2023

Brian Armstrong, CEO and co-founder of Coinbase. Patrick T. Fallon—AFP/Getty Images

Monthly NFT trading volumes – even after crashing 97% from their peak in January 2022 – still amount to hundreds of millions of dollars, but not on the platform built by Coinbase, the second largest crypto exchange after Binance. Recent data shows that trades in the last 24 hours on Coinbase NFT have amounted to $149 after hovering around $108 for much of Thursday.

Perhaps that’s why Coinbase NFT announced on Wednesday that it is stopping NFT drops. In a tweet, the company clarified that its suspension of launching new NFTs with artists exclusively on Coinbase was not a death knell for the company’s foray into non-fungible tokens, and that it was pausing to focus on other “features and tools” in the marketplace in demand by artists.

“We believe these changes will ultimately bring increased focus and efficiency to the Coinbase NFT team’s ability to build a lasting product that best serves the community over the long term,” a Coinbase spokesperson said in a statement to Fortune.

The spokesperson did not provide details on the “features and tools” mentioned in the original announcement, or say when the NFT cases might resume. Coinbase continues to provide access to NFTs listed by competitors such as OpenSea, allowing users to access newly published tokens elsewhere.

We recently shared that we are pausing creator Drops on the NFT market to focus on other features and tools requested by creators.

To be clear: We are not shutting down the Coinbase NFT marketplace.

— Coinbase NFT (@Coinbase_NFT) 1 February 2023

Since launching in April, Coinbase NFT has seen a total trading volume of approximately $7.3 million, according to Dune Analytics. In addition to failing to break the $150 mark in the past 24 hours, the site’s seven-day volume was a shade below $1,500. OpenSea, by comparison, saw over $10 million in volume just on Tuesday, per DappRadar.

As publicly traded Coinbase approaches an earnings report in late February, it has struggled with setbacks. (The stock price has followed, however.) In January, the company announced it would cut over 25% of its current staff, roughly 950 employees, following second rounds of layoffs in 2022. And it recently reached a $100 million settlement with the New York Department of Financial Services for its alleged failure to protect itself against money laundering and drug trafficking, among other forms of criminal conduct.

Surojit Chatterjee, the company’s former product manager and who was reportedly responsible for the launch of Coinbase NFT, also left the company in November.

“Rest assured, our mission for Coinbase NFT has not changed and we remain optimistic about our future as we continue to build,” the company tweeted after the original announcement.

That didn’t stop members of the crypto community on Twitter from sharpening their knives.