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- The leading NFT marketplace on Optimism and Arbitrum are winding down operations
- Quix and Stratos will redirect their trading activities to OpenSea
- The platforms source code will be made available for use by the public from January 2023
Quix, the leading NFT marketplace on Optimism, has revealed that it intends to halt operations by the end of February next year, roughly one year after launch. However, the trading of digital collectibles on the platform will be redirected to OpenSea, while the platform’s source code will be opened to the public. Following the announcement, the top NFT marketplace on Arbitrum, Stratos, said it will also exit the space.
From Quix to OpenSea
In a press release, Quix revealed that its revenues are lower than “monthly infrastructure costs” leading to losses and a smaller team thus making it an unviable business. Data from Dune Analytics shows that the Optimism-based platform handled slightly above 300,000 NFT trades since its launch in December 2021.
We’re working with @optimismFND on a seamless transition to open source. For collectors, we’ll soon begin redirecting users to trade on OpenSea. For creators, our launchpad will remain available through January 16th.
Read our full message here: https://t.co/YnfphuXUpP
— Quix 🔴✨ – Optimism NFT Marketplace (@qx_app) November 23, 2022
The Ethereum layer-two platform announced that its code will be publicly available for anyone wishing to “leverage and build with.” Luckily, users holding their NFT collections on the marketplace will be able to access them on OpenSea, an overall leader in the NFT marketplace.
Losses from Quix to Stratos
The Quix NFT launchpad is also halting operations and marked to go dark on January 18, 2023, but the Quix team has promised to work with affected users to “help them transition to an alternative solution.” On learning about the developments at Quix, the leading NFT marketplace on Arbitrum, a layer-two Ethereum sidechain launched in May 2021, Stratos tweeted that they will also cease operations, terming Quix as a “sister marketplace.”
A huge thank you to everyone in the Arbitrum and Stratos community. Our sister marketplace, Quix, is winding down, and we are as well. Quix will be open-sourcing their code, which also powers Stratos. https://t.co/6Lj6QLlqSe
— Stratos (💙,🧡) – Arbitrum NFT Marketplace (@stratosnft) November 23, 2022
In announcing its own closure, Stratos revealed that their marketplace is powered by Quix’s engine. By virtue of using the same engine as Quix, it’s likely that collections on the platform will also be redirected to OpenSea. The developments come at a time when the NFT space is under a bearish spell, with the FTX collapse making it worse.
