NFT Market in 2026: Only 21 of 56 Early Marketplaces Still Alive
Blur's website goes offline on November 12, and it is far from alone. Of 56 top NFT marketplaces launched in 2017-2023, only 21 still trade.
The other 35 shut down, sold, pivoted or turned into zombies, lasting 3.9 years on average. Six exchange and retail NFT shops closed, from Coinbase to Binance.
Fees collapsed with volume: OpenSea earned $25.1M in 2025 against $1.55B in 2022, and monthly NFT sales fell 91% from December 2023 to $167.2M in September 2026.
Blur's website goes offline on November 12, and it is far from alone. Of 56 top NFT marketplaces launched in 2017-2023, only 21 still trade.
The other 35 shut down, sold, pivoted or turned into zombies, lasting 3.9 years on average. Six exchange and retail NFT shops closed, from Coinbase to Binance.
Fees collapsed with volume: OpenSea earned $25.1M in 2025 against $1.55B in 2022, and monthly NFT sales fell 91% from December 2023 to $167.2M in September 2026.
Ripple Prime Brings 24/7 RWA Perps to Institutions
Ripple Prime launched RWA perpetual swaps for institutional clients, starting with Virtu. They cover 100+ markets across stocks, indices, ETFs, metals, energy and FX, traded and settled 24/7.
For now the product runs out of Ripple Prime's BVI license, with more regions planned.
Ripple Prime launched RWA perpetual swaps for institutional clients, starting with Virtu. They cover 100+ markets across stocks, indices, ETFs, metals, energy and FX, traded and settled 24/7.
Ripple Prime trades as principal, and the swaps reference perpetual futures listed by Trade.βxyz on Hyperliquid, so clients can manage exposure on weekends too. Positions can be cross-margined against other assets Ripple Prime supports, and RLUSD works as collateral.
For now the product runs out of Ripple Prime's BVI license, with more regions planned.
US Debt, Foreign Wallets: Who Holds Tokenized Treasuries
Tokenized US Treasuries more than doubled in a year, from $6.86B to $15.42B. Chainalysis mapped holders by country, and the biggest ones aren't American.
Italy leads with 29.9% of geolocated value, then Portugal with 18.8% and Singapore with 18.2%. Together that's 66.9%. The US is fourth at 10.5%. And an interesting fact, Japan shows the biggest gap: 16.4% of all holders, but only 0.4% of the value.
Tokenized US Treasuries more than doubled in a year, from $6.86B to $15.42B. Chainalysis mapped holders by country, and the biggest ones aren't American.
Italy leads with 29.9% of geolocated value, then Portugal with 18.8% and Singapore with 18.2%. Together that's 66.9%. The US is fourth at 10.5%. And an interesting fact, Japan shows the biggest gap: 16.4% of all holders, but only 0.4% of the value.
Every foreign wallet buying a tokenized T-bill funds Washington, not its own government.
Exchanges Are Buying Licenses, Not Building Them
A crypto license can take years to get. In 2026, exchanges stopped waiting: Kraken bought Bitnomial for up to $550M to get a full US derivatives stack.
Non-exchange buyers are moving too: Mirae Asset took Korbit, IG took Independent Reserve, OKX took 19.6% of Coinone, and Naver's deal for Upbit's parent is pushed to March 2027.
A crypto license can take years to get. In 2026, exchanges stopped waiting: Kraken bought Bitnomial for up to $550M to get a full US derivatives stack.
Asia accounts for 4 of the 7 deals. SBI took bitbank in Japan for Β₯46.7B and Coinhako in Singapore, Bybit now runs NOBI as Bybit Indonesia, and Bitget is buying GMO's licensed Thai exchange, pending Thai SEC approval. Robinhood closed two deals announced in 2025: MIAXdx in the US and WonderFi in Canada.
Non-exchange buyers are moving too: Mirae Asset took Korbit, IG took Independent Reserve, OKX took 19.6% of Coinone, and Naver's deal for Upbit's parent is pushed to March 2027.
π New Bull Markets Don't Bring Back Past Winners
Crypto market cap peaks are becoming increasingly fragmented across cycles. Capital doesn't simply return to previous leaders when the market recovers.
Instead, new narratives and projects compete for liquidity, leaving many former winners below their historical highs.
Crypto market cap peaks are becoming increasingly fragmented across cycles. Capital doesn't simply return to previous leaders when the market recovers.
Instead, new narratives and projects compete for liquidity, leaving many former winners below their historical highs.
π Crypto Narratives Rise and Fall Faster Than You Think
Yesterday's winning narrative can become tomorrow's laggard. Over the past seven quarters, leadership among five crypto sectors has shifted repeatedly.
Capital keeps rotating between sectors, and even the strongest narratives can lose their lead within a single quarter.
Yesterday's winning narrative can become tomorrow's laggard. Over the past seven quarters, leadership among five crypto sectors has shifted repeatedly.
Capital keeps rotating between sectors, and even the strongest narratives can lose their lead within a single quarter.