NFT Giant Transformation: From Trading Platform to Multi-Asset Entry

Once a leader in the NFT trading space, a well-known platform became a star in the crypto market in 2021 due to its excellent user experience and strong network effects. However, with the rise of emerging competitors, the platform's market share has been steadily declining. In the overall cooling environment of the NFT industry, this platform has initiated a series of transformation measures, attempting to evolve from a single NFT trading platform into a comprehensive entry point for on-chain multi-asset trading.

The Transformation Journey from NFT Exchange to On-Chain Asset Platform

The transformation of this platform can be traced back to early 2025.

In February, the platform announced for the first time that it would issue a native token and simultaneously launch an interactive task system, allowing users to earn points by completing on-chain tasks, which could serve as qualification certificates for potential future airdrops. This initiative is seen as a response to competitors' "trading is mining" model, aiming to re-attract lost trading users.

In late May, the platform announced that the new version officially exited the testing phase and supports token trading on 19 mainstream public chains, including Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon. The new trading system integrates NFTs and crypto tokens, emphasizing "composability" and "on-chain native", and further optimizes the mobile experience.

On July 8, the platform announced the acquisition of a Web3 wallet project. This acquired wallet project focuses on a mobile self-custody wallet, integrating social features and multi-asset support. In this acquisition, the two co-founders of the wallet project will serve as the platform's CTO and Chief of Staff, directly joining the core management team.

The platform stated that this acquisition will accelerate its "mobile-first" strategy and reduce the entry barrier for users through a native wallet system, enhancing the platform's on-chain transaction closed-loop capability.

The NFT market remains sluggish, and platform business has significantly shrunk.

Despite the fast pace of transformation, the platform's fundamentals have yet to improve.

Data shows that by June 2025, the monthly NFT trading volume on the platform has dropped to about $120 million, far below its peak of over $4 billion in early 2022. In contrast, a competing platform has long dominated the high-frequency trader market with liquidity incentives and native tokens, while another platform has maintained a leading position within the Solana ecosystem.

More importantly, although a task system has been launched, it has not led to a noticeable return of users. A large number of users have shown aesthetic fatigue towards the "task points + airdrop expectations" model, and the community enthusiasm has not shown signs of recovery, with limited improvement in on-chain interaction activity.

As of now, the platform's native token has not announced a specific launch time, distribution mechanism, or economic model, resulting in limited transparency and insufficient market confidence.

Brand Restructuring and User Migration: Deeper Challenges

In addition to liquidity issues, the platform also faces deeper challenges related to brand and user structure.

NFT collectors and DeFi traders have significant differences. The former focus more on artistry, scarcity, and collectible value, preferring low-frequency trading; while the latter emphasize liquidity, depth, and efficiency, with a high trading frequency and stricter demands on user experience and technical responsiveness.

The platform previously excelled in positioning itself in the art market but failed to establish a competitive advantage in trading experience and specialized products in a timely manner. If this transformation does not quickly establish brand recognition among DeFi users, it may face the dilemma of "having created a product that no one uses."

In addition, the wallet market has long been dominated by several strong brands. Although the acquired wallet projects have made innovations in social and mobile, their user base and product maturity are still limited. Whether this platform can build a wallet product with scale effects in the short term through this acquisition remains to be seen.

Transformation: Opportunities and Challenges Coexist

This transformation is both a self-rescue and a gamble.

The platform is trying to reshape its competitiveness through three major strategies: building an ecological closed loop to bridge the gap between NFT and DeFi, launching a native token to activate liquidity, and expanding the mobile market through wallet acquisitions.

These choices are reasonable in terms of strategic direction. However, the platform does not have a significant leading advantage in execution rhythm, community mobilization, and product implementation. When the native token will be launched and whether it has a clear incentive model will become key variables in the coming months. If the airdrop is delayed, and user activity on the platform continues to decline, it may face real marginalization risks.

In the fast-changing world of cryptocurrency, just a few months can determine the fate of a platform. For this former NFT giant, the window for transformation may indeed be running out.