Bybit sunsets its NFT marketplace, IDO services

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit announced it will discontinue its NFT and Inscription marketplaces as well as shut down its IDO products.

Crypto exchange Bybit is winding down support for its marketplaces for non-fungible tokens and Bitcoin-based NFTs known as inscriptions just weeks after it lost nearly $1.5 billion in the largest theft in the crypto industry.

In an April 1 announcement on its official website, Bybit said it has decided to discontinue operations for its NFT and Inscription marketplaces, as well as its initial DEX offering products, citing “efforts to streamline our offerings.”

While the exact reason behind the move remains unclear, the decision comes as the trading platform continues to face challenges after a major security breach in late February, when Bybit lost around $1.46 billion to North Korean hackers. While Bybit’s CEO Ben Zhou reassured that the exchange is still tracking the stolen funds, it’s understood that some of the stolen crypto has become untraceable due to mixing services.

In the latest announcement, Bybit said it will discontinue supporting NFT platforms on April 8, after which users will no longer be able to access these product pages. Users are advised to take the necessary steps to manage their assets before the discontinuation date, Bybit added.

For IDO participants, Bybit recommended transferring airdropped tokens from the Bybit Web3 Cloud Wallet to a web3 seed phrase wallet or private key wallet. As crypto.news reported earlier, another NFT marketplace, X2Y2, also shut down its services, citing declining trading volume.