WazirX shuts down its NFT marketplace

Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX has shut down its NFT marketplace, which it launched in June 2021.

“The WazirX NFT marketplace has been sunseted. You can still trade your NFTs on OpenSea,” says the official website for the NFT marketplace. 

WazirX said that it shut down the marketplace because it failed to get much traction.

“We regret to announce that the WazirX NFT Marketplace has been sunsetted. We are proud to have launched India's first NFT Marketplace in June 2021, which showcased the work of many creators. Unfortunately, it did not gain much traction,” the company said in a statement.

“We created a safe and secure marketplace where creators could showcase and trade their unique digital assets. NFTs are decentralised, and owners have complete control over their assets, which is why they have become so popular. Our users can rest assured that they can continue to hold their NFTs in their wallets, and these can be sold in other marketplaces such as OpenSea,” it added.

The closure of NFT marketplace follows WazirX’s move to shift assets held in the Binance wallets after an ultimatum from Binance to do so by February 3, 2023. 

Earlier, Binance, which operates the largest crypto exchange in the world, claimed that it has no control over WazirX user funds or any aspect of the WazirX exchange’s operations. 

Besides the public tussle with Binance, the Indian cryptocurrency exchange has faced multiple challenges, including regulatory scrutiny. In August 2022, Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at the premises of the company’s director and froze bank account/s to the tune of Rs 64.67 crores. 

WazirX’s trading volume plummeted 76% in the 12 months ending December 2022. The company managed over 7X growth in its scale in the fiscal year ending March 2022, thanks to a small base and the boom during most of 2021 at least.

(Update: 3:15pm IST: This story has been updated with the statement from WazirX.)