Formfunction, a Solana-based NFT marketplace specializing in single-edition artwork, is closing down a year after raising $4.7 million in seed funding. The company announced that it will shutter its platform on March 29, without providing specific reasons for the decision. Formfunction’s closure comes amid a turbulent NFT market, with falling trading volume and declining prices for assets.
Launched in February 2022, Formfunction boasted the third-largest weekly trading volume of any Solana NFT marketplace in November 2022. However, the total trading volume for Solana NFTs has been shrinking, with February 2023’s volume down over 50 percent from January and significantly lower than March 2022’s figure.
The NFT market has seen a shift in dynamics, with incumbent platforms having to compete with upstart marketplaces that have cut platform fees and artist royalties from secondary sales. This has made it increasingly challenging for NFT marketplaces like Formfunction to operate.
While sales spiked again last month, much of this surge in activity came from traders on Ethereum NFT marketplace Blur, rapidly flipping assets to gain token rewards. This type of transaction has been dubbed “wash trading” by data startup CryptoSlam, though it does not precisely fit the traditional definition of wash trades.
