Foundation, once one of the most prominent Ethereum-based NFT marketplaces from the 2021 boom, is officially shutting down after a planned acquisition fell through.

Founder and CEO Kayvon Tehranian announced the closure on Wednesday, confirming that the deal intended to keep the platform running under new ownership is no longer viable.

Failed Sale Forces Shutdown

While Tehranian did not explicitly name the buyer, the failed deal is tied to digital art platform Blackdove, which had previously planned to acquire Foundation.

The goal of the acquisition was to ensure continuity for the marketplace, but with the agreement collapsing, Foundation said it is no longer in a position to continue operations.

The platform will briefly come back online to allow users to delist their NFTs before shutting down permanently.

A Major Player From the NFT Boom

Launched in early 2021, Foundation quickly became a key platform during the NFT boom, facilitating high-value digital art sales at a time when the market was rapidly expanding.

According to Blackdove, the platform generated over $230 million in primary sales and hosted works from well-known artists such as Jen Stark, James Jean, and Reuben Wu.

It also gained attention for hosting Edward Snowden’s NFT “Stay Free,” which sold for around 2,200 Ether, valued at roughly $5 million at the time.

Declining NFT Market Takes Its Toll

Foundation’s closure reflects the broader downturn in the NFT market since its peak in 2022.

As trading volumes and liquidity declined, many independent platforms have struggled to sustain operations, leading to consolidation across the sector.

Wave of NFT Platform Shutdowns

Foundation is not alone. Several NFT marketplaces have either shut down or pivoted away from the space in recent months.

Platforms such as Nifty Gateway, Rodeo, and MakersPlace have all ceased operations or shifted focus, while X2Y2 and Bybit have scaled back or exited their NFT offerings.

Even infrastructure projects like Mint Blockchain have announced closures, signaling a broader contraction in the NFT ecosystem.

Market Consolidation Continues

Despite the downturn, OpenSea remains the dominant NFT marketplace, accounting for more than 70% of trading activity.

Competition still exists from platforms like Blur, but overall market activity has fallen back to levels seen before the 2021 surge.

Outlook for NFTs Remains Uncertain

While the current environment remains challenging, some industry leaders believe NFTs could see a resurgence in the future.

For now, however, Foundation’s shutdown highlights the reality of a maturing market where only a handful of platforms are able to survive reduced demand and tighter liquidity conditions.

French authorities are preparing additional measures to protect crypto investors amid a rising wave of kidnappings and so-called wrench attacks.

Speaking at Paris Blockchain Week, Jean-Didier Berger, minister delegate to the interior minister, said the government is already taking steps to address the growing threat and is working on a more comprehensive plan in the coming weeks alongside Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.

Government Steps Up Prevention Efforts

Berger revealed that authorities have launched a prevention platform aimed at helping crypto holders better protect themselves. The initiative has already attracted thousands of users.

He described these efforts as part of a broader push to reduce incidents where criminals target individuals known to hold digital assets.

Latest Kidnapping Sparks Urgency

The comments come shortly after another high-profile case in France.

Earlier this week, a mother and her 11-year-old child were reportedly abducted in Burgundy by four suspects who demanded a €400,000 ransom from the father, a crypto entrepreneur. Authorities quickly intervened, arresting the suspects and safely freeing the victims.

The incident has added pressure on the government to respond more aggressively to the trend.

Sharp Rise in Wrench Attacks

France has become a hotspot for wrench attacks, where victims are threatened or physically harmed to force the transfer of crypto assets.

Since the start of 2026, there have been 41 reported crypto-related kidnappings in the country, averaging one incident every 2.5 days.

Globally, such attacks rose sharply in 2025. Data from CertiK shows a 75% increase, with 72 verified cases worldwide. France accounted for the highest number of incidents, with 19 confirmed cases, while Europe made up around 40% of the global total.

Crypto Holders Increasingly Targeted

Several recent incidents highlight the scale of the issue.

In March, a French couple in their late 50s lost approximately $1 million in Bitcoin after criminals posing as police officers robbed them.

In another case earlier this year, six individuals were arrested in connection with the kidnapping of a magistrate and her mother, targeting the magistrate’s partner, who is involved in the crypto sector.

Stronger Measures Expected Soon

With attacks becoming more frequent and organized, French authorities are expected to introduce stricter protective measures in the near future.

Berger indicated that the upcoming plan will go beyond prevention efforts, signaling a more serious and coordinated response to safeguard crypto investors.

Ethereum closed 2025 with a major milestone that underscores its continued leadership in the smart contract ecosystem. According to data from Token Terminal, developers deployed 8.7 million smart contracts on Ethereum in Q4 2025, marking the highest quarterly total in the network’s history.

The figure reflects more than just raw activity. It points to sustained confidence in Ethereum as the primary platform for building decentralized applications, even as competition from alternative blockchains intensifies.

Ethereum contract deployments have steadily increased over the past year, but the sharp acceleration in the final quarter signals that developers are not slowing down. Instead, they appear to be doubling down on Ethereum’s infrastructure as the foundation for long-term innovation.

Ethereum’s Developer Ecosystem Shows Structural Strength

The surge in Ethereum smart contract deployments is closely tied to the rapid expansion of its Layer 2 ecosystem. Rollup networks such as Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base have lowered costs and improved scalability while maintaining compatibility with Ethereum’s core architecture. As a result, developers can deploy contracts more frequently without facing the same economic constraints that once limited on-chain experimentation.

This rollup-driven model has effectively extended Ethereum’s reach. While contracts may execute on Layer 2 networks, they still rely on Ethereum for settlement and security. That relationship helps explain why Ethereum contract activity continues to rise even as usage spreads across multiple chains.

At the same time, developer tooling around Ethereum has matured significantly. Improved frameworks, clearer documentation, and broader grant support have reduced friction for teams launching new protocols or testing novel ideas. These improvements make it easier to move from concept to deployment, contributing directly to the record numbers seen in Q4.

DeFi and NFTs Contribute to Renewed On-Chain Activity

Another factor behind the increase in Ethereum contract deployments is a rebound in decentralized finance and NFT-related experimentation. While earlier cycles saw speculative excess, recent activity has leaned more toward infrastructure upgrades, protocol iterations, and utility-focused applications.

DeFi teams continue to refine lending, trading, and liquidity mechanisms, often deploying multiple contracts as part of iterative development. NFT projects, meanwhile, are expanding beyond simple collectibles into areas such as gaming, identity, and digital rights, each requiring more sophisticated smart contract architectures.

Together, these trends create consistent demand for new deployments rather than one-off launches.

Why the 8.7 Million Figure Matters

Reaching 8.7 million Ethereum contract deployments in a single quarter is not just a symbolic achievement. It highlights the depth of developer engagement and suggests Ethereum remains the default environment for building complex on-chain systems.

Unlike short-term metrics tied to price or speculation, developer activity tends to reflect long-term confidence. Builders invest time and resources where they expect ecosystems to remain relevant and secure. The Q4 data indicates that, despite higher competition and ongoing debates around scalability and fees, Ethereum still holds that position.

Looking ahead, Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap is likely to push deployment numbers even higher. As more activity shifts to Layer 2 networks, developers can experiment faster while relying on Ethereum as the settlement layer. That dynamic reinforces Ethereum’s role as the backbone of Web3 rather than diminishing it.

For now, the record-setting quarter sends a clear signal: Ethereum’s developer ecosystem remains one of the strongest indicators of its long-term resilience and relevance in the blockchain space.