Russian social network VKontakte has announced the closure of its VK NFT Hub marketplace due to increasing financial losses, as reported by Cryptonews.
Users are advised to transfer assets from the platform to external wallets by April 15 to avoid losing access. After this date, the social network will disable visual indicators on NFT holders’ avatars.
In 2024, VKontakte’s net loss amounted to 94.9 billion rubles (~$1.1 billion), nearly three times the negative financial results of 2023, which stood at 34.3 billion rubles.
According to the publication, to reduce its debt burden, the social network plans to issue shares worth $1.36 billion.
VKontakte’s decision comes amid a downturn in the NFT sector. Recently, the third-largest non-fungible token trading platform, X2Y2, announced its closure. The Bybit exchange also announced the closure of its NFT marketplace.
The peak of activity in the segment occurred in 2021, driven by celebrity endorsements and speculative investments.
According to Dune Analytics, in February 2025, NFT trading volumes fell by more than 90% compared to historical highs.
VKontakte introduced NFT support for monetizing user content and protecting copyright back in February 2022.