Market Crash! NFT Paris Canceled, Market Cap Plummets 68% as a Key Catalyst

The NFT Paris scheduled for February has been canceled, with organizers admitting that “the market crash was too severe.” The total NFT market capitalization plummeted from $9 billion in January 2025 to $2.7 billion, a 68% decline. The industry’s winter has forced platforms to pivot; OpenSea shifted to “trading everything,” while X2Y2 closed and moved into AI.

The Industry Collapse Behind the Cancellation of NFT Paris

On Monday, the official X account of NFT Paris announced that the NFT Paris and RWA Paris events scheduled for February will not be held as planned in 2026. While the organizers did not explicitly state that such events will never be held again, the message sent to attendees indicates they are “ending” this chapter of hosting conferences.

The post stated: “The market crash hit us hard. Despite significantly cutting costs and trying for several months, we were unable to succeed this year.” Such frank admission is rare among conference organizers, who usually cite vague reasons like “strategic adjustments” or “venue issues.” NFT Paris directly acknowledged that market factors made it impossible to continue, highlighting the severity of the industry’s difficulties.

Some sponsors have expressed frustration over not receiving refunds, sparking controversy. However, NFT Paris stated they will refund all purchased tickets within 15 days. This differential treatment (sponsors not refunded, tickets refunded) may reflect the organizers’ financial difficulties—sponsorship funds have been used for early preparations, while ticket revenue has not yet been fully spent, allowing refunds.

The cancellation of NFT Paris is not an isolated event but a microcosm of the entire NFT industry winter. As one of Europe’s largest NFT conferences, NFT Paris attracted thousands of participants and hundreds of exhibitors in 2023 and 2024. Its cancellation signals that even relatively low-risk business models like conferences cannot survive in the current market environment, illustrating the industry’s grave situation.

Blood-Soaked Data Showing $6.3 Billion Market Cap Evaporation

In 2025, the NFT market experienced a significant decline, with November sales dropping to about $320 million, and reports indicate December was even lower. According to CoinGecko data, as of Monday, the total NFT market cap was approximately $2.7 billion, a 68% decrease year-over-year. This means that from about $9 billion in January 2025, $6.3 billion in market value evaporated.

This rapid collapse is rare in the history of crypto assets. In comparison, Bitcoin during the 2018 bear market fell about 83% from its high, but the adjustment cycle lasted 12 months. The NFT market lost 68% of its value within 12 months with no clear signs of recovery, indicating a bubble far exceeding the ICO craze of that time.

The continued decline in monthly sales is even more concerning. $320 million in monthly sales, compared to tens of billions during the 2021 bull market peak, represents over a 90% drop. This means not only are investors leaving, but even basic trading activity has stalled. When the market lacks liquidity, even those wanting to sell NFTs find it difficult to find buyers, further driving prices down.

Four Structural Reasons Behind the NFT Market Collapse

Burst of the Speculative Bubble: High-priced transactions in 2021 were mostly hype-driven, lacking real utility; after the bubble burst, the market returned to rationality.

Liquidity Drought: Many NFTs have become “digital trash,” with buyers disappearing and sellers unable to cash out.

High Platform Fees: Ethereum gas fees during the bull market often reached dozens of dollars, making small transactions unprofitable.

Lack of Practical Value: Most NFTs are just images, with no empowerment or income, losing their holding significance.

Three Major Platform Transformations Reflecting Industry Winter

OpenSea was the leader in the NFT market in April, but CEO Devin Finzer announced in October that the platform would undergo a “transformation from ‘NFT marketplace’ to ‘trading everything’.” Finzer told Cointelegraph that this move would allow OpenSea users to trade “tokens, collectibles, cultural products, digital products, and physical goods.”

This transformation means OpenSea is abandoning its positioning as a “professional NFT platform” and moving toward a comprehensive trading platform. When the world’s largest NFT exchange no longer wants to define itself as an NFT platform, it underscores the industry’s decline. OpenSea’s decision is a rational business move but also marks the failure of NFTs as an independent asset class.

Another platform, X2Y2, announced in March that it would shut down and pivot to AI. X2Y2 was once a key competitor challenging OpenSea’s monopoly; its closure shows that even top-ranked platforms cannot survive in the current market environment. The shift to AI reflects capital flowing from NFTs into more popular sectors.

Similarly, Rarible, an important market participant, launched a new model in September aimed at redistributing tokens to active NFT traders, stating “the previous design was unsustainable.” Rarible’s honesty reveals a fundamental industry problem: early tokenomics models were built on the assumption of continuous growth. Once new users stop entering, the entire system collapses.

Does the NFT Industry Still Have a Future?

Despite the bleak market, some observers believe NFTs are not entirely dead but are undergoing a transition from speculative bubbles to practical utility. Use cases like concert tickets, membership credentials, and digital identities are being explored, but these applications’ market sizes are far smaller than speculative NFT collectibles.

The cancellation of NFT Paris is the latest sign of the industry winter. When even Europe’s largest NFT conference cannot survive, the entire industry needs to rethink its value proposition. Perhaps in the future, NFTs will exist in a more low-profile manner within specific application scenarios rather than being a global focus of speculation as in 2021.