NFT winter deepens…Rodeo announces shutdown of its platform service

According to Cointelegraph on the 28th (local time), Rodeo announced the previous day via X (formerly Twitter) that it would cease operating its platform. Rodeo, an NFT platform launched as an Apple iOS app in March last year, debuted as a social service that emphasized creator rewards and community participation rather than simple trading.

Kayvon Tehranian, Rodeo’s CEO and co-founder, said, “We believed collecting could be more than just transactions—it could be a playful, community-driven experience,” adding that “this belief guided every product decision.” He noted, however, that while the platform resonated with a loyal user base, “it did not grow to a scale that was sustainable over the long term,” making it “impossible to continue operating Rodeo.”

Ahead of the shutdown, Rodeo outlined procedures for users to migrate their assets. Users will be able to move NFT media and metadata to Arweave, a blockchain-based data storage platform, and a migration assistance tool to support transfers is also expected to be provided. Rodeo plans to operate normally from January 27 to February 10, then switch to read-only mode, and fully discontinue the service on March 10.

Tehranian also said he will transfer ownership of Foundation, the NFT artist platform he had been running, to digital art platform Blackdove. He explained that “since launch, Foundation has recorded roughly $230 million in primary sales,” and that the service will continue under a new management team.

The wave of platform closures is being attributed to a broader contraction in the NFT market. The market has failed to show a clear recovery since the sharp decline in 2022. At its peak in January 2022, Ethereum-based NFT trading volume was about $5 billion, but by January 2026 it had fallen to around $159.2 million.

Earlier, Nifty Gateway also announced plans to shut down the service earlier this week. Nifty Gateway said it will use Arweave to facilitate asset transfers, while extending the withdrawal deadline by 90 days—from February 23 to April 23—and is preparing a bulk withdrawal tool for users holding multiple NFTs.