Rodeo, the social NFT marketplace that launched on Apple’s iOS store last March, has announced it will be closing its doors.
The decision comes as the NFT market continues to struggle, with trading volumes remaining far below their 2022 highs.
Rodeo became the second NFT platform this week to announce its closure, highlighting the ongoing challenges for digital collectible marketplaces.
A Social Take on NFT Collecting
Rodeo was designed as more than just a marketplace.
Its core idea was to make NFT collecting social and rewarding for creators, not just focused on buying and selling.
The platform used blockchain and crypto features behind the scenes to make the experience approachable for mainstream users, aiming to combine community engagement with digital ownership.
Why Rodeo Couldn’t Sustain Itself
In a post on X, Rodeo CEO and co-founder Kayvon Tehranian explained that while the platform resonated strongly with a committed community, it didn’t scale enough to be financially sustainable.
“We believed collecting could be playful and communal—not just transactional,” Tehranian wrote.
“Ultimately, Rodeo didn’t achieve its core objective.
Because of that, continuing to operate Rodeo is not possible.”
Steps for Users to Preserve Their Assets
For current users, Rodeo has laid out a migration plan.
From now until February 10, the platform will continue functioning normally.
After that, it will switch to read-only mode, and by March 10, the platform will be fully shut down.
Users will be able to move media and metadata to the blockchain storage platform Arweave.
Rodeo will also provide an asset migration assistant to guide users in transferring NFTs stored in the platform’s smart contracts to other services.
Tehranian Shifts Foundation to New Ownership
This closure coincides with another change for Tehranian.
Ownership of the NFT artist platform and gallery Foundation is being transferred to the digital art platform Blackdove.
Foundation will continue operating normally, but under new leadership focused on the platform’s long-term future.
Since its launch, Foundation has overseen $230 million in primary sales, starting as an experiment in fair artist compensation.
The NFT Market Remains in Free Fall
Rodeo’s closure reflects broader struggles in the NFT space.
At the peak in January 2022, Ethereum hosted nearly $5 billion in NFT trading volume.
By January 2026, trading had shrunk to just $159.2 million, demonstrating how much the market has contracted since the major crash.
Nifty Gateway Updates Its Wind-Down Plan
Meanwhile, Nifty Gateway, one of the largest early NFT marketplaces, has also updated its closure plan following community feedback.
Like Rodeo, Nifty Gateway will allow users to transfer media and metadata to Arweave.
The platform extended its asset migration deadline from February 23 to April 23 and is rolling out a bulk withdrawal tool to simplify transfers for users with multiple NFTs.
Initially, Nifty Gateway did not provide detailed reasons for its closure, but the extended deadline shows a willingness to give users more time to secure their assets.
What’s Next for NFT Collectors
As platforms like Rodeo and Nifty Gateway wind down, NFT collectors are being encouraged to act quickly to safeguard their digital assets.
While the market continues to face challenges, these closures also underscore the importance of using blockchain-based storage options like Arweave to maintain control over digital collections even when marketplaces disappear.
Looking Ahead
The NFT market may see occasional speculation spikes, but sustained recovery has yet to materialize.
For now, creators and collectors alike are navigating a shrinking landscape, where platform closures are becoming part of the evolving story of digital collectibles.
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