Voice has opted to close its doors just two years after switching from a social network to an NFT platform.
Voice was originally intended to be a decentralized social media network, but it was eventually “upgraded” into a platform for creators using non-fungible tokens (NFT). It is currently reducing its services despite regulatory obstacles.
The NFT platform said in a thread on X (previously Twitter) that it will be “winding down operations” in the next months due to the persistent unpredictability of the cryptocurrency and NFT markets.
The startup made no further comments on its choice. Nevertheless, it clings on to its belief in the “tremendous potential web3 holds to empower creators.”
“At this point, we feel that it is in the best interest of Voice and its community to use our resources to optimize our wind-down process for you.”
In the next weeks, voice will introduce a tool to connect NFTs from its platform to self-custody wallets with support for open networks like Ethereum, Polygon, or EOS.
The first hint regarding Voice came in 2019 when Block.one, the organization behind EOS, paid MicroStrategy a stunning $30 million in cash to acquire the domain name Voice.com.
Along with that contribution, Block.one also contributed an additional $150 million to the project’s expenses. Voice was initially intended to be a decentralized social networking site that used blockchain technology to completely transform the social media environment.
Dan Larimer, a co-founder of Block.one, left the company in January 2021 in order to concentrate more on developing “free market, voluntary solutions for securing life, liberty, property, and justice for all.”
The company would “upgrade” to a social platform “where users can create digital arts across all formats,” including NFTs, in 2022, according to a now-deleted blog post by Voice CEO Salah Zalatimo. But since then, the platform has yet to succeed in challenging other NFT marketplaces like OpenSea or Rarible.
