Some announcements leave a bitter taste that will take time to get over... The beginning of the year marked by the closure of @niftygateway is obviously one of them. I didn't expect such a radical decision, but it seemed inevitable. After the craze of 2021, Nifty Gateway never really found a viable business model, despite a few bright moments, notably @SamSpratt's Lucy drops. For me (Rem), this is a real blow. I started collecting NFTs thanks to Nifty Gateway. The era of open editions was probably when I had the most fun in this field. Yes, it wasn't perfect (custody wallets, various artists who rode the hype to launch uninteresting collections...), but what are these criticisms worth when you consider that thanks to Nifty Gateway, several thousands of people started collecting NFTs easily? What hurts the most is the pattern. Seeing the major platforms disappear one after another: @KnownOrigin_io, @AsyncArt , @MakersPlace, and now Nifty Gateway, is unsettling, even if there is some encouraging news on the institutional art side. Despite everything, we've always believed in digital art as a major new medium, and we will continue to do so.... The path of faith in art is never easy. It is winding, fragile, but it exists. And somewhere, right now, the next great artist is probably coding tomorrow's masterpiece. Let's pay one last tribute to NiftyGateway, which succeeded where many others failed: democratizing NFTs and making digital art accessible to as many people as possible. Thank you for that! 🙌 Image: The Bitcoin Angel by @trevorjonesart, one of NiftyGateway's most iconic open edition drops.