Famous Indian crypto exchange, WazirX, has unexpectedly shut down its NFT marketplace, shocking the community. The platform had witnessed declining volume for months, and the core team had abandoned it, which led to speculations about its future. Then, out of the blue, it closed its NFT marketplace, with its website displaying, “The WazirX NFT marketplace has been sunsetted. You can still trade your NFTs on OpenSea.” Despite several inquiries, WazirX has maintained silence on the closure.
WazirX launched its NFT marketplace in March 2021, offering a range of digital assets, including artwork, music, videos, and other collectibles. The platform initially gained traction, but interest waned over time, and the need for updates and promotions from WazirX contributed to the platform’s downfall. The collapse of the crypto exchange commenced after it came under investigation for failing to comply with foreign exchange regulations and guidelines on preventing money laundering.
The sudden closure of the marketplace has disappointed several artists and creators who had listed their works on the platform. While, the lack of communication from WazirX has raised concerns about the exchange’s commitment to its users. As a result, the community has expressed disappointment and frustration on social media, urging the exchange to explain. The NFT market is still in its early stages in India, and the closure of a powerful platform like WazirX is a setback for the community.
WazirX NFT marketplace shop closed. pic.twitter.com/Tbrn5E961Y
— Kashif Raza (@simplykashif) February 22, 2023
Causes of WarzirX NFT Marketplace Closure
The closure is speculated to be due to WazirX’s focus on Shardeum, a new Layer 1 blockchain that the exchange is developing. Shardeum aims to offer scalability, security, and interoperability for decentralized applications (dApps), and the team has been promoting it heavily. Due to the shift of the team to another project, WarzirX marketplace was basically neglected.
Although the shutdown of its NFT marketplace has only affected a minor fraction of its user base, the ongoing ownership conflict with Binance may have a more substantial repercussion. As of now, it remains to be seen how this will affect WazirX’s future and services.
The ownership dispute between WazirX and Binance started in August 2020 when Binance acquired WazirX. Since then, there have been concerns about the level of control Binance has over WazirX’s operations. Binance’s recent termination of wallet services on WazirX added to these concerns and created uncertainty about the platform’s future. WazirX has made it clear that it is prepared to take action against what it considers false and misleading statements from Binance. As the situation continues to evolve, it remains to be seen how this ownership dispute will ultimately affect WazirX and its users.
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*All investment/financial opinions expressed by NFT Plazas are from the personal research and experience of our site moderators and are intended as educational material only. Individuals are required to fully research any product prior to making any kind of investment.
